Cat Blogging: Biggest Loser in the New Year

 

"You are starting to look like a cat!" exclaimed our vet, referring to Orson's Butterball turkey physique.

Trying to kick-start your weight loss in the New Year? Take a page from Orson's diet journal: slow and steady beats the scale. At Orson's post holiday weigh-in this week we learned he is down to 18.4  from September's 20 pounds. That means he has lost more than 6 1/2 pounds since this transformation began. We think he is about a pound and a half away from his goal weight.

Orson's restricted calories diet started last spring after he gained weight on his previous diet. Initially  he lost about a pound each month, and I am happy that things are slowing down now. As with humans, cat who drop weight too quickly can get sick.

The answer to losing weight is simple enough: consume fewer calories and move more. We all like to imagine that weight loss would be a heck of a lot easier if we had a food Nazi measuring out our kibbles and demanding we run the stairs, but Orson is the one doing the real work and it shows.