For the past sixteen days my life has been very much about what’s happening inside my own four walls. But tomorrow I have to go back to work, and today that feels kind of ominous.
For one thing, my alarm clock is going to start making an obnoxious noise at 6:14 a.m. For another thing, my cat and I are not going to have the luxury of drifting in and out of our multiple morning naps. For another thing, I’m not going to be doing whatever I feel like doing all day long. And for another thing, I’m going to have to run in the evening dark instead of in the morning light.
So I went out today, in an attempt to reacclimatize myself to the world.
I went to the CUBE Gallery, and the Parkdale Gallery, the National Gallery, and a bar.
At the bar I picked up a copy of the Ottawa Sun so I could enjoy my cat’s 15 minutes of fame (I learned he was in today’s newspaper from the comments on this blog). Duncan Donut, the Glorious Dogcat, is this week’s Pet of the Week. Green Colander took his picture. (GC, have you ever considered a career as an animal portrait photographer?)
This was not Duncan’s first bout with fame either: yesterday he was featured on Aggie’s blog.
From today’s newspaper I learned that Duncan is six and a half years old (I thought he was five) and 22 pounds (I thought he was 25). I also learned that he had two resolutions for 2008: Find a new home, and lose a few pounds.
About those few pounds….he IS a meaty cat, for sure. He’s a cat of some considerable substance. He’s solid and substantial. You can tell he hasn’t skipped many meals. But obese? No way. Chunky, sure. Hefty. Sturdy. Stocky. Solid. But not obese.
Nevertheless, I am determined to help him lose those few extra pounds. The adoption counselor told me he only needs a tablespoon of food twice a day, so that’s what I’ve been feeding him. A small tin of cat food (the size of a tin of tuna) lasted him two days. But two tablespoons a day doesn’t seem like enough for a cat of such substance, and he seems awfully hungry. She said that that isn’t even a diet portion; it’s just all the food any adult cat should be eating. Does that seem right to you?
(I promised myself I wouldn’t blog about my cat’s bowels, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt just this once. He pees regularly but has not pooped since he got here. Do you think it’s because he’s starving?)
Don’t GET me going about animal poo! I would check with the vet about whther non-poo is normal at this stage – they are the experts. It could be nerves.
Anyway, my 80 pound Labrador ate 3 cups of food a day. Per pound, that’s 0.6 tablespoons. So a 20 pound animal would have 12 tablespoons. Hmm. Of course, that was DRY kibble. As far as the cat being hungry goes, we do tend to anthropomorphize them too much. My Lab always looked starving if there was food in the room. She never did starve but I did make her fat sometimes. If you feel uncomfortable, get a second opinion. I’m sorry, I only know dogs and dry food.
a tablespoon twice a day? that’s nothing. I’m feeding pablo about 50 grams twice a day though I’ve heard before that you only need to feed cats once a day.
love the Ron Mueck by the way
Hrm, that does seem like too little. I always check the side of the bag of pet food – it usually has a feeding guide according to the animal’s weight or age.
Two tablespoons a day doesn’t seem like nearly enough. My 8.5 lb cat gets 1/4 cup of dry food a day and a tablespoon of wet food twice a day. I would definitely get a second opinion from a vet.
He’s just getting wet food for now because he’s healing from dental surgery. I’ll start giving him dry food after our vet says it’s okay. (I’m going to take him to the vet at the end of the week for a checkup and the rest of his shots and nutrition counselling.)
Interesting question. There are so many different opinions of what to feed these critters. Some vets say only dry, some say only wet,some say both, some say give them vegetables as well, some say milk, some say no milk. According to the can of cat food an adult cat is supposed to be getting a can of food a day. But, I suppose that’s without the dry. I think I’ve been feeding our cat too much because he keeps gaining weight and according to the chart at the vet’s the average domestic cat is only supposed to weigh 10 pounds max. The 2 T per day plus 1/4 cup dry sounds like it’s probably right and that’s what I’m cutting him down to starting today! Still would like to hear what your vet says though, zoom
how’s the grooming thing going? is he static-y or flaky?
Lushley, I’d say he’s more flaky than static-y. He’s got lovely silky fur. He’s got some dandruff along the top of his back near his tail.
XUP! I’m aiming for an appointment with the vet on Friday, and will let you all know what he says. In the meantime, I’ve upped his feedings to about 1.5 tablespoons twice a day.
Zoom, that seems like too little food…My guy eats 27 grams of dry food twice a day…. Good luck at the vet!