I’ve just seen Mitzi.
Mitzi is a fat cat, although not as fat a cat as the recently disgraced Sir Fred (‘the shred’) Goodwin who was back in the news again recently. He apparently attended a charity auction but declined to bid for anything, which seems a bit on the tight side given the amount of our collective cash that he is trousering for his pension.
Menawhile, Mitzi has just been weighed in at a mere 8.75 kg.
Given that the average weight for a domestic cat in the UK is about 4.5kg, by any measure Mitzi is a trifle overweight. She had always been on the large side at 5.5kg but during a short period in early 2007 when she moved into the calmer surroundings of bachelor accomodation (images of beer and pizza, but actually it was because she was out of the clutches of Coco the hyperactive Minature Pinscher who would never leave her alone), she ballooned to 7.5kg.
And there she stayed (having meanwhile moved to Las Vegas, although that lifestyle change didn’t work out at all, mainly for human reasons) until the beginning of this year, since when, back in the UK, she has edged up to 8.75kg, which is really TOO MUCH.
Given the potentially very serious health consequences of obesity in cats, her Dad and I had the fat cat chat again this morning and agreed a reduced calorie intake diet for her.
“Feed her less”
“I can’t”
“Yes you can”
“But if I feed her less at night she’ll attack me”
“?”
“In the middle of the night, if she’s cross or hungry she’ll creep up on me then pounce…”
“Sounds OK – a small price to pay”
“With full evil intent, scratching and biting to draw blood? Want to see the scars?”
“Hmm. Not really. Maybe you should give that extra late night snack after all. But go light on the breakfast”
I figured that he might be in better shape to fend off the Kato-style attacks (remember Peter Sellars in the Pink Panther?) if they occurred during daylight.
I’ll keep you posted, but Mitzy’s Dad took some consolation from my tale of Larry the cat who came in last week weighing a massive 11.25kg.
That’s 11.25kg.
But he is the size of a small Labrador, so maybe it’s allowed