Cat Blogging: Biggest Loser Weigh In

Last month I posted the first installment of Biggest Loser Feline Edition. Since then, we've had a few setbacks. First, we miscalculated how many calories were in Orson's twice daily meals.  I couldn't figure out why he wasn't finishing his supper. "We don't want him to lose weight too fast. Remember what the vet said," I told T as I chased Orson around with his not-yet empty dish. Rather than sticking to a strict 290 calorie a day diet, we accidentally force fed Orson about 390 calories. A week later, we recalculated Orson's calorie intake and fixed the issue.

More recently, we realized Orson was snacking from his siblings' dishes. Now, T feeds Orson separately from Olive and Oskar each morning, and we remove any dishes that aren't empty when we leave the house. In the evenings, I watch the kitty-diners while I am in the kitchen. When Orson starts to bud in on someone else's supper, we gently nudge him back to his own.

In spite of the setbacks, I thought our guy was looking ever so slightly thinner. Not yet svelte, but certainly Orson was on the road to healthy weight loss. Yesterday we had an official weigh-in at our vet clinic. The results were not so great. I am blaming the slight weight gain on the heft of Orson's kitty harness. T believes that Orson has gained muscle mass. Muscle weighs more than fat, right?

Orson's measurements last month:
Front midsection girth 21 inches
Torso girth 25 inches
Weight 20.6 pounds

Orson's current measurements:
Neck 15 inches 
Front midsection 22 inches
Torso 25 inches
Weight 20.8 pounds