Fat Cat ... or why to watch your cats weight
Don't read if you are easily grossed out. I'll use the spoiler feature.
SPOILERS! (Click to view)
I love cats. I got my first cat when I was 5 years old, she was born on St Patricks Day - mom and dad adopted a partially feral cat that went into heat, the vet said he couldn't spay her in heat, best thing to do is let her have a litter of kittens and then spay her - and that's where my first cat, Tiger Lily, came from. I've been a cat lover ever since.
I use to allow my cats outside, however, I no longer do because of the ecological damage cats cause. They are one of the few species that hunt for sport, and will exterminate local populations of birds, lizards, etc.
Unfortunately it is hard to keep a cat within a healthy proper weight spectrum when they can't go outside to exercise. Both of my cats are overweight.
On Friday, it looked to me like Cleo had hemorrhoids. I called the vet, and made an appointment to bring her in on Saturday.
The diagnosis? Diaper rash. Because of her weight, she is having trouble properly cleaning herself, especially since she has long hair.
They shaved her tushy and put some cream on it, and now I have to put cream on it daily for seven days. It already looks much better - but man, this is a gross thing to have to do.
I'm switching my cats to a prescription diet cat food, hopefully that will help them lose some weight, and cleo will be better able to clean herself. I'm also suppose to have her tushy shaved once a month until she has lost a few pounds, as the long hair in combination with her fat is why she is having trouble keeping it clean herself.
Anyway - putting this diaper rash cream on her butt is not fun, it's really gross, and is definite motivation for keeping their weight under control. Hopefully I never have to deal with this again.
