2 problems,Vinnie and Chico

[chico2]

First off,Vinnie(almost 9 yrs old) is getting obeseif I did not know better,I'd think he's depressed after Rocky passed,he was his pal..
I know he needs exercise and I try every day to play with him,featherwand,balls whatever he used to like.
He used to like to come outside even in the winter,but now he comes out for 2 seconds and that's it.
When Rocky was alive,he kind of led both Vinnie and Chico outside and they'd run around.
All Vinnie wants to do is,eat,sleep,cuddle and get brushed...how on earth can I get him to lose weight.???

He eats one half 5,5oz can of Wellness or Natural Balance for breakfast,the same at dinner.
Lunchtime,either a few pieces of cooked chicken,or some pieces of Blue Buffalo dry for a treat.

My vet is not happy with him,he might end up diabetic,just like Peppi another white cat I had.
So far,the vet has not suggested any of the prescription diet food,which I really do not want to give Vinnie...but what do I do..
He has to lose weight.
Raw he will not eat...any help appreciated...thank's !

[chico2]

secondly Chico(almost 14yrs),who's licking his hair off,his tummy is now bare as are patches on his back-legs.
This is not new,it started when Vinnie moved in 8 yrs ago,he does not like Vinnie,will not interact with him,but there's no fights.
Chico will hiss if Vinnie gets too friendly.
My vets says it's an emotional problem,not allergies,but it looks really ugly,my old vet gave me some kind of cream and Chicos hair grew back,but my new vet does not like to do that and says just to leave it be,unless I want to get rid of Vinnie and that is not going to happen..

Chico is otherwise the sweetest,will cuddle anyone that comes to the house,loves to be on our laps a real love-bug.
Is there anything maybe something homeopathic to get his hair to grow back,other than a foul tasting creme

[catlover2]

Originally Posted by chico2

secondly Chico(almost 14yrs),who's licking his hair off,his tummy is now bare as are patches on his back-legs.
This is not new,it started when Vinnie moved in 8 yrs ago,he does not like Vinnie,will not interact with him,but there's no fights.
Chico will hiss if Vinnie gets too friendly.
My vets says it's an emotional problem,not allergies,but it looks really ugly,my old vet gave me some kind of cream and Chicos hair grew back,but my new vet does not like to do that and says just to leave it be,unless I want to get rid of Vinnie and that is not going to happen..

Chico is otherwise the sweetest,will cuddle anyone that comes to the house,loves to be on our laps a real love-bug.
Is there anything maybe something homeopathic to get his hair to grow back,other than a foul tasting creme

I had a girl that was very much like Chico....whenever she got stressed (whether it was because I had too many cats at the time) or there was a cat she didn't get along with, she licked her tummy bare too, as well as the inside of her hind legs. I had her for 18+ years, and this overlicking would happen from time to time. It did not ever happen when she was pregnant or nursing her kittens. After doing the vet route with creams, etc. we decided it was behavioural. Unfortunately this overlicking becomes obsessive and a habit. The only thing that cured my girl was when I had fewer cats. Four girls she could tolerate and she got along well with them all, and she stopped her overlicking which I think was really a response to stress, and like smoking, she found it a calming action. Since Chico really does not like Vinnie, I think I would give Chico more alone time by himself where he feels save, or another cat he likes (if you have one). But do give him lots of attention as well. It may just calm him down. I don't know of any homeopathic remedy for this. You could try and break the licking "habit" by putting some lemon juice on his tummy. Most cats don't like citrus. Good luck!

Another thing you might try is putting a tube top on him, so that it covers the tummy area...the only thing is he might start licking his legs.

[chico2]

Catlover2,thank you for your reply and don't worry,Chico is a love-bug,gets all kinds of attention.
It's not bad between Chico and Vinnie,since Vinnie is not aggressive,they can sit beside each other,even sleep almost touching.
But if Vinnie feels playful and tries to chase Chico,then there will be hissing and Vinnie stops right away.
But like you say,it's a habit that started when Vinnie arrived 8 yrs ago.
I only have the 2 cats right now,my Tabby-Boy Rocky passed in september last year.

[Love4himies]

You know, chico, I think cats are just like humans, some have a higher food drive than others. Changing from a quality canned to a raw diet is not going to make a difference in the food drive that a cat has, otherwise Sweet Pea and Rose would not be obese.


Puddles eats about half of what Vinnie eats and maintains her perfect 8 lbs. Jasper eats double of Puddles (or what you feed Vinnie) and maintains his perfect 12 lbs, however, Jasper is a very hyper kitty. So I am thinking because Vinnie is not as active of a cat, he should be fed about what Puddles eats, half a 5.5 oz can per day. If he doesn't like raw meat, then mixing it with his canned food is not so bad, he won't eat so much . You get to control the fat content in the raw, so you have the choice to feed only low fat chicken breast. The only issue would be the calcium to phosphorus ratio if he is not getting any bones. I guess you could purchase the additives to raw meat that can be purchased online.

The only way I can in somewhat control Sweet Pea and Rose's weight is to feed Jasper and Puddles their main meal at night and keep them separated from SP and Rose.

[chico2]

L4H,I know what you mean,Chico eats about the same as Vinnie,but he's nice and slim,he also gets the zoomies 5 times a day..
I am going to try less canned and add chicken chopped up,they don't eat sliced or chunky food,only pate.
They like cooked pieces of meat,but only 3 or four pieces.
Vinnie also does not drink often,so I always add warm water to his food.

They are both due at the vet beginning of April,Chico for a senior Wellness Test and Vinnie for bloodtest and probably urine-test...if something is wrong,I want to nip it in the bud. Thank's L4H.
Also when spring arrives(if)he will be a lot more active,being outside more,so we'll see..

[pattymac]

I recently bought one of those laser toys for Noella to wear off some of her kitten energy. Well Coco thinks it's great too. I don't know how old he is exactly, but it sure gets his butt moving, one of the few things that does. He's one of those cats that likes to eat too. With mine they split a can of Natural Balance between the 3 of them and have Now Senior crunchies when they want them. Noella has kitten crunchies, so of course the boys have to have some of those too but she gets 1/2 can of Natural Balance for herself...well mostly..I usually find either Bobee or Coco helping themselves.

I was going to suggest a kitten to liven things up for your older boys!! Bobee is finally getting his...she loves to tackle him.

[hazelrunpack]

Do they eat it their meals all at one sitting, chico? Can you just give Vinnie less food? Or is it left out so they can nibble at it all day?

[TeriM]

Chico I would probably cut back Vinnie by at least a quarter can of food (maybe even a third every second day). My Fred is a big cat (Maine Coone mix about 15-16 lbs) and Desi is quite petite (about 8.5 lbs). I feed both a 1/4 can each Wellness or Natural Balance in the morning and then they each get about 65g of raw in the evening. Fred generally gets a slightly bigger half then Desi. Some days they get canned at night and those days they each get a 1/2 can. Total for the day would only be 3/4 of a can plus a few pieces of kibble as a nightime snack. Both my cats are at very healthy weights.

Can you pick up Vinnie and take him out to the end of your yard and make him walk back to the house? If you do that a bunch of times in the day it might get some exercise in for him .

Desi is also slightly neurotic and will put her hair out when she is stressed but has never been to the degree that Chico has . I will have a look in my homeopathic reference book to see if I can see anything. I have used traumeel ointment on rashes etc and that has worked well.

Good luck .