By now, we’ve seen the pictures of 39-pound Meow the cat everywhere- that lucky bastard’s been on Anderson Cooper’s lap; he lives in Santa Fe; he is all thick an’ shit. We know. We’re basically rewarding this cat for being obese. (And also a rescue and all those other things, LAY OFF ME).
But have you ever considered the opposite: the dangers of fat-shaming your cat?
Yesterday, in a brief aside in the Open Thread, I said that discussions about obesity in animals should generally stay between owners and their medical professionals, just like with humans, unless advice is asked for.
And as always, xoJane takes it further. Lesley of xoJane was made fun of once for having a fat cat. IN THE COMMENTS ON A WEBSITE, which we all know is the deepest cut. And it hurt her fee-fees.
Okay. It is true that more than a couple days off food can cause feline hepatic lipidosis (FHL), which is why you don’t suddenly decide that your baby replacement needs to drop 10lbs without talking to a vet.
Facts about FHL(here’s what University of Minnesota Vet Med has to say about it): obese cats are actually more prone to it (which is why it is, in the end, important to find ways to help a cat lose weight safely), force-feeding prevents it– and you can do it by mouth; while I greatly sympathize with the “my cat won’t eat what I need it to eat” argument, there are usually ways. My point is, “I am going to hurt my fat cat by trying to help him lose weight” is a suspect argument.
Did you know xoJane has a sister site? (Me neither.) Catster. I assume the crazy cat ladies here must be familiar. At any rate, Catster talks to the daughter of the former owner to find out just how a cat gets to be 39 lbs.
Lesley thinks it’s worth a read too, “if only for the reminder about the dangers of judging a book by its cover — even when the cover is fat and fluffy.”
Mmmm. That’s a subtle analogy. Too bad this is the same woman who was profoundly annoyed when an artist she didn’t know decided to lose weight.
Don’t fat-shame your cats, guys. Cat bikini season is almost here, and won’t they have enough issues of their own then?
