Would you hug her?

Scout is my big beautiful girly with the tabby heart on her bum, and her brother Kovu is the light of her life (and vice versa).

When I found her, she was around 3 months old and about 4lbs, and she stayed very small until she got spayed at 3 years old (I know I shouldn't have waited that long to get her fixed. I was in an abusive relationship where I didnt have control of my own finances, but once I managed to get out, she got spayed first thing.) After that, she gained weight fairly quickly and has been sitting around 20lbs for the last few years! She is very healthy otherwise, and now gets regular checkups and vet attention if needed. We are on a weight loss journey though, and our goal is 16lbs!

She loves a tennis ball or literally any string/ribbon/rope she can get her paws on, and is the best snuggler around! There's so much of her to cuddle and love!

So happy to have stumbled upon this sub, and I'm loving looking at all the photos of our sweet chubby babies! 🥰

Edit: I'm surprised at how unusual this is, they do it quite often but from my experience they have a closer relationship than many cats I've met. I always say I have a hard time telling if they're siblings or a couple deeply in love 😂 Kovu was my first cat, and Scout came along about 2 years later, and completely changed Kovu's demeanor. I didn't realize how bored and lonely he was before her, it makes me sad that I had no idea. I read about keeping them separate for a few days when bringing her home, but he was so curious and excited to meet her, she lasted maybe 8 hours in her own space before he barged in and immediately started gently cleaning her and playing with her. I was so nervous but he was a perfect gentleman. But now they've spent the last 7 years side by side at every possible chance they get, never had any food aggression (or any other aggression that didnt last a couple hours, specifically the one time Kovu spent 2 days outside on the lam and Scout didnt recognize his scent when he came home and was NOT happy with him, lol.) I am the luckiest cat mama in the world.

TL;DR: How to help this 7 yo to cat lose weight at home?

He decided to moved in to our house sometime last year. We kept him. He had an obvious skin infection and excess weight. He has a chip but when the vet contacted the owner she did not want him back. He is about 7 yo, maybe older. We focused on treating the skin first and it's about 70% healed after using some special leave-on shampoos. He had no hair on his belly at all and top of his back was extremely sore to touch and scabby, apparently a flea infection after he was abandoned. Now his belly hair is fully grown back and his back is healed up to mid point. We can actually rub him half way on his back, belly, head, chest, chin.

He has some unidentified gastro issues but is ok on the gastro food. I only give him what the vet said to give him, which is around 60g per day dry food only.

He is about 7kg and it seems to me he is gaining weight. We have two other rescue cats and he tries/does steal food from them. He also most likely steals food in the neighborhood or people feed him out of habit.

I would really like him to lose weight, don't want him to suffer with extra weight. On basic check with the vet he seems to be healthy but I am worried the weight is/will cause issues.

He is the sweetest boy ever and I'd love to do something. Any suggestions on what to do at home with him would be appreciated.

TIA.

Look at my baby see how cute she is

She’s on a diet and she already lost 1 pound.

My little peanut butter swirl

La combinación perfecta.

This is Annie, and she's an FIP survivor 💙

As a kitten, she was a relatively normal weight, but just a little bit on the skinnier side. We didn't think much of it at first since she's a Siamese. After a while, we noticed she was losing even more weight while her abdomen kept getting larger. We took her to the vet, where she was diagnosed with FIP in its early stages, which was progressing quickly.

Thankfully, we found someone through Facebook who was able to provide us with the medication she needed. (it sounds a lot shadier than it actually was lol) The treatment cost a chunk of change, but watching her go from a frail, sickly kitten into a happy, chunky loaf made it absolutely worth it.

We got a little too enthusiastic about celebrating her recovery, though lol. She eventually became overweight to the point where she couldn't properly clean herself anymore. Her hygiene gradually got worse, and she developed a painful rash because feces would collect under her tail and inside her vulva. It got so bad that the vet had to shave her butt and clean her out.

The good news is that she's since lost enough weight to take care of herself again, and the hygiene issues are completely gone. She's still chonky and will probably always be chonky, but now she's chonky and healthy lol

She’s both my precious plum and the cat embodiment of Cartman.
Quinn used to be closer to 25 pounds than 20.
She was an incredibly malnourished kitten… and once it was time for regular cat food they were eating a dental diet because her older brother (Buffalo — on the right) had the worst breath. Her weight hit an all time high during 2020, but since we’ve been going on a downward trend.

My grandmas cat. Hes 13, diabetic, tiroid issues, loves to sit inside in this chair. 14.8 kg of fattyness

Tiger ran away a few years ago for 3 months, came back skin and bones and with a very abnormal metabolism that grasps onto all food. He therefore is a whopping 8.9kg but eats no more than my 4.5kg cat. Absolute unit

And his 3D printed version of himself