Question:
When cats get fixed do they get fat? My cat Samantha well she was fairly good sized but once we fixed her she got fat, LOL when she walks her tummy flops around, oh and another thing she was all black but after getting her fixed her tummy is now white


Answer:
Well, when I got Peppurr fixed, he weighed 9 lbs, now he weighs 16 ol I think it's because after they get neutered it lowers their metabolism or something


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that and a male doesnt go out tomming all the time,,,,,every cat I have ever owned has gained weight after being fixed


Answer:
I have 2 males that were neutured at 6 months. I've kept them on a "light" diet since they were about 2 yrs and they weigh the same...I keep a record of my pets weight (is that weird?) and when my cats were 7 months old they weighed 7.5 and 9.5 pounds...now they are 4 1/2 yrs old and they weigh 9 and 9 1/2 pounds...so I think it's mostly the diet they are fed. Most indoor cats sleep all day...but people continue to feed them like they're active kittens...if your cat is overweight, I'd switch to a better quality food (calorie-control, if over 1 yr)...feed 2 times a day at certain times instead of free-fed...and measure the food (don't guess!)...don't feed too many treats (1 or 2)...and lots of play time! My cats play together "occasionally" so I have to initiate the play sessions...they love the cat dancer and the wand with the feather on the end (they do back-flips when they get going..)


Answer:
Hmmm, I guess Hank is unusual. She is spayed & has a little pouch of skin & fur than hangs down over her incinsion, but she is not remotely fat. It may have to do with the fact that she is fed free choice, & has always been, so she doesn't overeat, plus the fact that when I am in the Valley we go for an hour long walk outdoors everyday. She is 3 y.o. & weighs 11 lbs of pure muscle. She is currently eating Precise dry with Precise, Nutro & Excel soft food once or sometimes twice a day.
I think the quality of the food & the walks make a difference. Hank always has a long nap after our walks. High quality food means the cat eats less as they get more nutrients from a smaller amount, without ingesting garbage like by-products & "animal" fat whose only purpose is to fatten the animal up.
Shannon, I would look @ what you are feeding. While I mostly agree with Suzoo, I do not think a calorie reduced diet should be necessary for an adult cat unless the cat is already overweight.


Answer:
Your right about the calorie- control diet...I think it's my own paranoia that made me worry about them getting fat...I see SO MANY overweight cats come to the shelter that I vowed my cats wouldn't end up like that! Now that their on Innova...I feed them the Lite dry food (orange bag) and the regular adult canned Innova (red can). Until then I was feeding them Science Diet light dry only.


Answer:
I also feed my cats Innova Lite because they are not as active (indoor only cats). However, I recently bought them both harnesses (stay tuned for a thread Neuro ) and I am hoping to be able to walk them frequently.


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That is a great idea CC!! I think the big problem is many cats stop exercising when they are indoor adults. Innova lite is probably a fine diet for a less active cat, I'll probably switch to something along those lines when Hank gets much older, but for now she is fighting fit on her non-diet cat food.
Oh yes, watch for other, fibrous, non-digestiable filler in some diet/lite cat foods, like peanut hulls, wheat mill run, etc. A good thing to avoid.


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Neuro, I am starting a thread about how to harness train a cat.


Answer:
Good idea.