Re: 'Monster' Cat In China Weighs 33 Pounds


jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@xxxxxxxxx wrote:
In rec.pets.cats.anecdotes sriddles@xxxxxxx wrote:

>> I saw this on the news this morning. Poor kitty, it was really
>> pathetic that anyone would let their cat get that fat :(

> Poor thing. Cherokee was 25 lbs but he didn't look anything like that!

It's not about how the cat looks, though. It's about whether the cat's
weight is affecting its health.

It makes me suspicious whenever someone tells me, "I'm just concerned for
your *health*", when they suggest I lose some weight - when I know that
what they really mean is that they don't like my looks. I am pretty healthy,
after all. (And I'm not young.)

Anyway, I don't think the issues are the same for humans and felines.
Human bodies can adapt to storing a lot of fat, and it doesn't mean one
is unhealthy (contrary to popular myth). But cats really can't tolerate a
lot of fat in their system, as it can lead to fatty liver syndrome and a
host of other problems. Also, a fat person can choose to exercise more,
to build up their muscles so they can carry their weight better and not
suffer so much damage to their knees and so forth. A cat isn't going to
do that. And since a person is in control of their diet, they can choose
whether to eat healthful food or not (which doesn't necessarily determine
one's weight, but certainly can affect one's health). A domestic cat cannot.

Still, when I hear someone talking about how bad a fat cat *looks*, I
wonder if we're not just projecting our own prejudices on the cat (and
by extension, onto their human caretaker). Someone else compared the cat
in China to a bloated tick. We don't really need to go there, do we?

Joyce

No, I'm not projecting anything of the sort. I just didn't elaborate or
perhaps choose my words well. By the way the cat "looks" I don't mean
the asthetic beauty, I mean that fat cats "look" miserable and unable
to be active. Cherokee didn't look that way. At 25 lbs, he was big, he
was overweight, but not to the extent I would have considered him
morbidly obese. He died at 17 and was still as active as any cat I've
had.
Come to think of it, there are *people* who are overweight, and then
there's people who likewise look miserable and unable to be active.
But if someone told me I needed to lose weight for my health, I'm
afraid I'd be pretty annoyed and suggest they MYOB.

Sherry

.