Potato chips were on my mind when I got up at 4:30 this morning. I didn't eat much the day before, so maybe that was it. I didn't eat or drink anything, except half a Coke, until after I got home at 3 p.m. For supper, half a cup of rice, half a cup of green beans, and a roasted chicken drumstick--no skin, average size or a little bigger. Not bad. Oh, forgot a full glass of ginger ale. Around 700 calories, give or take. Or that's my best estimate. I'll have to look up calories somewhere.
I have two cats who eat whatever they want. One eats wet food because he has no teeth from a hit-and-run driver. That's how we met. I picked him up off the boulevard and after nine surgeries, he became mine. Just what I needed, another cat. The other one, a tuxedo kitty, only eats dry food. Every once in a while she nibble on his wet stuff, but it's rare for her. She has become quite fat over the past two years. He, however, remains slender. She's more active than he is, and would love to play all day. He doesn't like it--he might not have played much before his extensive injuries, because he was very young, under a year, when he was hit. He's about 14 or so, right now.
So why is he slim when he's older and eats what he wants, including treats? Plus he doesn't exercise. And why is she fat (not obese yet)? I don't think they have eating disorders, a lack of self-esteem, or a feeling that they're not in control. I think this speaks to genetics, and probably environmental issues.
What do you guys think?
Tasty Cats... Yummy..
ReplyDeleteFirst, you should smack Allan for that. I guess he isn't a cat person. LOL
ReplyDeleteI had a lovely gray tuxedo cat that I adored very much. We lost her last June to liver failure. I still miss her very much. We have 4 cats, one of whom is our older cat. I think older cats gain weight faster than the younger ones but she gets extra food because she is a fearsome hunter and spends most days outside chasing birds and rabbits. Unfortunately, she usually catches them and we find presents on the porch.
This is just my theory but I believe that some animals get overweight on the dry food because it is high in carbs and low in protein. Animals in the wild eat meat. So maybe your thin cat is getting more protein from the wet food than your heavy cat is getting from the dry. We give our cats both. They get one can each of wet food and we keep dry food available all the time. Two of the cats are a little pudgy but the other two are normal. It might also be a difference in the breed of cat. Our two pudgy cats are short and stubby of body and the other two are longer and sleeker. Just my 2 cents which probably isn't even worth 2 cents. :)
Good god Alan! ;-)
ReplyDeleteMy cat is fine for 16 and he's eaten dry food his whole life as staple meals. He does get wet treats from a can once in a while and more often than I would like, recently pigging on whatever he can meow or paw his way onto anyones bowl or plate. He won't eat shirataki but he sure loves the smell. Makes him go biserk!
The dog on the other hand is known as that fat dog of yours. Sigh.... I guess that restricted diet and special diet food isn't doing her any good. She goes out to play. And I do my best to take her on walks but it's not consistent. None of us can walk with her well. She pretty much rips your arm out of socket. We adopted her long after puppy stage as a fatty and she's stayed that way.
So slim cat, fat dog. I don't maybe genetics. More than likely a combination of things.
I don't know or think you're waiting for the same reasons I do currently. When I go all day because I'm to busy and then I don't eat well when I do get a chance (feel like it) to eat, I feel ick the next morning. And potato chips are a fast hit of fat and salt. I just chalk it up to that's what my body is craving. If I listen closely to what it is trying to tell me, especially in the morning - seems to be most sensitive then, I want protein heavy followed by fat and then some sensible carbs. If I'm not paying attention and I eat something it's not looking for say a bowl full of carbs. I'm doomed for the rest of the day. It's like trying to put a fire out with gasoline. So I think those potato chips you're craving are yes about convenience because they're fast and easy going down. But I think what it's really asking for is you to slow down or pay attention to what it needs. And in this case something salty and has a touch of fat. Say like sausage or hashbrowns or an egg with mayo and mustard. Make sense?
And I know all those foods above may sound scary. Honestly they don't have to be. As there are so many healthy alterantive foods out here now, than ever before. Just get a small breakfast and go on with the day. I stand in the food aisle and study. :)
Cats are so odd. We have two and one is fat and one is skinny...but we love them both the same. I'll never figure it out!
ReplyDeleteAllan, you're awful! Eating poor, defenseless kitties. I should have known you weren't a cat-lover by all the pups you have. And those aren't pussy pups, either--they're drastically tough guys (even when they're female, I'm sure). lol
ReplyDeleteStay away from my kitties! The thin one is too stringy, and the fat one has too many calories.
Karen, you have my sympathy for the death of your tuxedo girl. I know exactly what it feels like to lose a loved one from your animal family. It hurts like hell, and rips your heart out. I still cry when I think about ours from the past. Take care of yourself when it comes to grief, okay?
ReplyDeleteI'm in awe of your hunter! She must be quite something. Like a good mother, she brings home eats for her children, or like a good child, she brings things home in tribute to her human mother. I have no clue what they're thinking about when they do that, so I go either way on it. :~)
I liked your two cents. They made sense, which rhymes. Seriously, what you say is logical. As usual!
Wait a second, Twix. Your cat wants to eat shirataki??? LOL! So he won't actually eat it, but goes crazy with the smell. He's an odd duck. 16 is a nice elderly cat. You must take very good care of him.
ReplyDeleteI feel bad for your dog. I say, if he's not on the edge of pre-diabetic, you might as well give up. Well, that's how I feel right this minute, having struggled with my chubby girl and her dinner. It's even hard for you to walk her. She sounds big, so is probably too large to exercise in the house with playing. Yeah, it's a dilemma.
I think we agree that our bodies crave something, and we "read" the signal wrong a lot. As you said, salt and fat. Maybe a body needs meat when you feel that, not chips. I always thought that craving sweets meant needing Vitamin C, since in the wild, the only sweets available to us for millenia were fruits and berries, which have it. We aren't really craving Hostess cupcakes. It's probably a cockamamie theory on my part, but it sounds as though you lean that way, too.
Drazil, you're so right. Dogs are like normal people. Dogs are the head cheerleader; the captain of the football team; the student body president, et al. They vote Republican, usually, although some are Democrats. Cats dress in Goth clothes, smoke reefer, write poetry, and rarely vote at all because "life is madness."
ReplyDeleteAt least it seems that way.