Caring for a Three Legged Dog or Cat
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This is Shadow's mom again...been awhile since I was on here. We are struggling with weight gain here. He is a right front leg amputee for almost 1.5 yrs. Did good in the beginning, I only rescued him after his amputation, was a stray before injury. Anyway, I fell in November and broke my ankle and so was "riding the couch" for 3 months nonweightbearing. Both of us porked up big time. In February the vet put him on prescription diet food (metabolism brand that I have to buy there). His weight dropped from 15.8 to 15.4 in 4 months but is now back to 15.8 because he won't eat it...I keep throwing kibbles away cause they get stale and this food is too dang expensive for that. He is supposed to get 2/3 cup of dry food a day...he will eat 1/3 cup in the morning but in the evening? Forget about it. He does get a little wet food at breakfast and supper too. For activity I bought 'da bird (a wand toy) at Petsmart. He loves it. We play 2-3 times a day for a couple minutes at a time til his sides are heaving and his heart is pounding. I make him go up and down the stairs a couple times a day. We have feather toys and 2 laser pointers. I am at a loss as to what else to do...hate to keep spending money on this prescription food if it isn't helping. I work from home so while I am on the computer working he is sleeping all day, which actually is normal cat behavior, and many evenings I am working til 8 or 9 at night. I am actually debating getting a playmate for him to help him be more active...but as I know nothing about his previous life I don't know how he would do with another cat. I did call the vet's office but couldn't get a live person on the phone so left message. I read on one blog here that frequent faceplants are a sign of being overweight. Shadow faceplants a lot. I keep hollering "use your core" and he doesn't listen. Hence the feather toys to try to get him to sit up. This is my first tripawd pet ever...I am so out of my element. I hate that I am making his health more precarious because I can't get his weight down. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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Hi Shadow's Mom, welcome. Please consider starting a new topic and registering as a member. Your future posts won't need approval that way, and also we can follow along much closer and help you better.
You are doing so many awesome things for Shadow, congratulations! 
I really do mean that. Please don't be so hard on yourself OK? Cats are exceptionally challenging when it comes to helping them lose weight, and you are off to a great start.
As I mentioned earlier in this topic, we learned from pet weight loss expert Dr. Ernie Ward that when it comes to weight loss in cats, 90 percent of it begins at the food bowl. So what I'm confused about is when you mention:
His weight dropped from 15.8 to 15.4 in 4 months but is now back to 15.8 because he won't eat it...I keep throwing kibbles away cause they get stale and this food is too dang expensive for that. He is supposed to get 2/3 cup of dry food a day...he will eat 1/3 cup in the morning but in the evening? Forget about it. He does get a little wet food at breakfast and supper too.
If he's not eating, what else could be causing him to gain weight? Has Shadow had a full blood workup done recently to rule out any other conditions? I would definitely want to get that done if you haven't.
I'm also thinking that a culprit of his weight gain could be the wet food you are adding. What exactly is "a little" as in measurement? And what kind?
As Dr. Ward said in this interview about pet weight loss, a good vet will work with you to 1) come up with a food Shadow will eat, and 2) help you manage his weight loss situation more closely. If your vet isn't doing that now, it's time to find one who can OK?
By the way, this just cracked me up:
I keep hollering "use your core" and he doesn't listen.
Haha I need a coach like YOU! Keep up the great work, you'll both get there. Be sure to check out Purrkins' blog to follow their weight loss journey.
Tripawds Founders Jim and Rene
tripawds.com | tripawds.org | bemoredog.net | triday.pet
Regarding Shadow and weight loss, I wanted to mention that if he only wants 1/3 cup then maybe that's all he needs. Perhaps there are enough calories with the 1/3 cup and wet food for the day.
I weigh, not measure, my cats' food every day. That way they get the same amount. My tripawd Mona doesn't finish the food at each meal so I just remove it (otherwise my other cat will eat it) and give her more later when she looks for a snack.
Weight loss for a cat is a slow process and it's unsafe for them to lose weight quickly.
It sounds like your play time is really good for Shadow. Another cat may not provide Shadow with more activity. Mona rarely plays with my other cat. His idea of fun is to touch her so she runs while hissing but she does not like it so I have to put a stop to it.
Although a vet may help you with your cat's weight loss you may also find that staff at some of the better pet stores may have some suggestions of quality cat food and weight loss.
Kerren and Tripawd Kitty Mona
I did talk to vet, we are trying a different dry food which I pick up tomorrow. He gets 1 ounce of wet food for breakfast and about 1 ounce for supper. She is figuring that into the plan now. Turns out that my mixing an old food with the new food cancelled out the fat burning properties, hence the weight regain. So we will see what happens in another month. Today we played with 'da bird and the laser pointer. Vet said it sounds like I am doing the right things.
Hi, Big Kitty's mom here - sorry I didnt make it back for a while, life! He's getting around better, and seems to want to be outside not in his crate more now. We are all too busy to babysit him for hours on end outside, so I am getting quotes for a privacy fence for the back yard - we have a cat door for the back, so maybe that will help, having more free outdoor time. We just dont want him running off because he went off and got seriously injured twice - which led to the amputation.
Hubby loves feeding his cat. I'm not sure I can convince him that leaving him hungry is really the best choice. He's incapable of saying no to a cat.
But I think Mamatux might be right - he's doing ok, I think. I actually think he's changed his gate to hold his one leg more central, as opposed to hopping around with his old gait, so it looks more awkward but is actually more stable. He does go up and down the steps (well, hubby carries him to bed every night, but the cat WOULD come up on his own, he does during the day some times.).
Thanks for the chat - and Tuxedo is adorable!
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