Does your cat need to lose weight?*

As with all of us during lockdown, it has become harder to maintain a healthy weight. With limits on physical movement through the lockdowns, social distancing, closed gyms and more it’s no surprise that some of us have put on the pounds. 

Unfortunately, the same goes for our pets and furry friends. With most of us self-isolating at least once during the pandemic, this has caused some of our pets to become less active, more accustomed to laziness and as a result, a little on the tubby side!

There are a few telltale signs that your cat needs to lose weight and if you feel like this is something they might be struggling with at the moment then the following advice is for you. 

As always, do remember to seek medical advice from your veterinarian before proceeding with any dietary changes, as they will always know what is best for your pet.

How do you know if your cat needs to lose weight?

If you’re concerned about your cat’s weight, chances are that you’ve noticed something a little out of the ordinary. If your cat has a bed, you may notice that they’re fitting into it a little differently now. 

Alternatively, you may be noticing changing patterns in their eating habits as well. This may include, but is not limited to: eating more often or very rarely, consuming larger or smaller quantities, throwing up or excessive toilet trips. 

Whichever issue your cat is struggling with, addressing these symptoms the moment you spot them by taking them to the vet is essential for maintaining your cat’s health.

What can you do to help your cat lose weight?

If after addressing any relevant symptoms, a medical professional has indeed advised you that your cat needs to lose weight then don’t worry; there are a whole host of steps you can take to ensure you provide for your cat’s needs, whilst ensuring their health through a weight loss process.

Supporting a cat through weight loss is quite similar to supporting a human through it actually! The main things to focus on are diet, exercise and nutrition.

Exercise

First off you’ll need to ensure that your cat is getting enough exercise. As much as cats aren’t like dogs and can’t really be taken for walks you can still encourage your cat to go outside and stretch their legs. 

If they are very resistant to going outside you can always invest in some cat toys to try and encourage them to play with you inside. Exercise in small bursts throughout the day can be beneficial for cats to use up a healthy amount of energy.

Diet and nutrition

Of course, there’s diet and nutrition to consider as well. With most supermarket versions of cat food containing hidden sweeteners and additives that your cat definitely doesn’t need, it’s products like these that could well be facilitating your cat’s unhealthy weight gain. 

Experts and vets alike have suggested that a switch to healthier, more nutritious cat food can be a great starting point and usually the most efficient solution to feline weight loss. A popular alternative to the most common cat food brands is raw cat food, a phenomenon that has only recently come on the market and has revolutionised healthier eating for pets.

Where can I buy healthier food for my cat?

If raw cat food sounds like a good alternative for your cat, then one of the best brands for pet owners to look into is Bella and Duke. A brand that has been slowly and carefully cultivating the best recipes for cats, Bella and Duke have taken the raw cat food market by storm with plenty of happy customers. 

You can browse through their website here, where you can find more information about the content of their meals, their delivery and shipping information, as well as how to set up a subscription with them so you’re never caught short; always having got some cat food ready for your cat to eat.

Feline Fine

Cat Print Dress: Joy

Excuse the super cheesy title, but when a post contains so much cat related goodness there really is little else it could have been.

Two weeks ago it was my birthday, and I celebrated turning the grand old age of 33 in lockdown, just like many others have done and will continue to do.
It was a strange birthday, that much is for sure, but in it’s own way it was lovely. Spent with Bob, in my pjs, speaking to family and friends on the phone or by the dreaded video call. We drank gin and Bob cooked my favourite dinner and that was that. I’d taken the day off work anyway and decided to keep it. Maybe I’ll celebrate again later in the year, but maybe I won’t; once you get past a certain age birthdays really become much less of a big deal!

I hit the kitty jackpot when it came to gifts. Bob bought me this incredible geo-cat print dress from Joy which has been on my wish list since it first landed on their website. It truly is a dress of dreams, not only has it got the coolest print ever (fact), but it also makes me feel good when I wear it, which right now is no mean feat.

We’re both off work this week as we were meant to be up in Scotland on a big family holiday- with Bob’s mum, his brother and his other half, his cousins, aunts, uncles and friends, but alas that wasn’t to be but we decided we’d have the week at home anyway. We’ve both been working full time throughout lockdown, and I for one was definitely very ready for a break from dealing with Covid-19 related chaos on a daily basis. Obviously we don’t have plans to do much, but we’ve done some local walks and I’m in the process of up-cycling a bird table.

I hesitated over posting this photo as I’m really struggling with various body image woes at the moment and currently my face is one of my “I can’t stand it” targets for reasons I don’t even think I can begin to rationalise…
But here it is anyway, because I wanted to share another cat themed birthday gift, this time from my lovely mother in law to be.

This is another item that has been on my wish list from the second it launched- this adorable tiny kittens necklace from Amanda Coleman jewellery. This so perfectly fits my more minimal taste in jewellery that I’ve developed as I’ve got older, whilst remaining quirky (and feline) enough to reflect my style.

I hope everyone is staying safe (and alert?!) and finding ways to keep themselves amused.
I’m not going to make any real promises but I do feel like I might be starting to love the idea of blogging again, so maybe, just maybe there will be more frequent posting for the next little while (but like I said, no promises!)

Top six festive gifts for cat lovers and their cats

By Kathrin Burckhardt and Julie Barnes, Cat in a Flat

Any excuse for a Pablo photo!

It’s nearly Christmas! Yes, the time of the year when we’re thinking about our loved ones and what will bring a big smile to their faces on Christmas day… Or at the very least, panicking that we’ve not been thinking about it at all and hastily scribbling to-do lists! To help you out a bit, Cat in a Flat has put together a hot-list of gift ideas for those cat lovers in your life! 

Advent Calendar for your Cat

Start the festive season with a fun gift for your cat to count down to Christmas in the most entertaining way. Lily’s Kitchen charming, hand drawn Advent Calendar for cats whisks you into the world of a Christmas pantomime celebration with plenty of merriment and mischief! Each window of the theatre is generously filled with Lily’s Kitchen naturally wholesome treats.

Molecular Motifs

This necklace pendant is designed after the molecular structure of Nepetalactone which is the active compound found in Catnip. When a cat eats catnip, it acts as a sedative, but when smelled, it mimics feline pheromones and triggers those receptors causing kittens to go crazy! This gift I perfect for all those science-loving cat lovers out there. Wearing this will make them purr!

Necklace

Cat Tea Towel

This beautifully illustrated tea towel is created by Amy Fenton who is a member of the ARTHOUSE Unlimited collective. The cats are printed in striking orange on 100% cotton will definitely brighten up any cat lover’s kitchen!

Tea Towel

Cat sitting voucher 

For the cat lover who wants to go away, without the guilt, give them a Cat in a Flat voucher; the gift of a trusted, kitty loving cat sitter. Ready to drop by and pamper your recipient’s furry loved one at agreed times during the days they are away, a cat sitter will follow specific cat caring instructions. That way you and your friend/family can be sure that their cat will be properly cared for and won’t get lonely while they are away.

For the Men

And here is a little gift idea for the extra special cat lovers in our family. The cat lovers that might not go as crazy and loud as the rest of us, but instead show it in their very own subtle way. You all know who we are talking about! 

2020 Cat Calendar by Axel Scheffler & Friends

Looking forward to the new year, as a cat lover, who wouldn’t love planning their months ahead on a beautifully illustrated kitty calendar by Axel Scheffler (the illustrator of The Gruffalo) and friends? Available exclusively through CatInAFlat.com, all profits are donated to support endangered wild cats in the care of BornFree.org.uk. So, while you organise your life, you also get to save a life, win-win for all. 

Calendar

With all these Christmas ideas we’re sure cat lovers won’t be disappointed with their Christmas stocking.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kathrin Burckhardt and Julie Barnes are Co-Founders of Cat in a Flat. Cat in a Flat is a trusted cat-sitting community created by cat lovers for cat lovers. Its mission is to help cats stay in the comfort of their own homes by connecting cat owners with trusted, insured, local, cat-loving sitters.

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Disclaimer: This is a guest post/advertorial for Cat in a Flat for which I received no compensation, I just so happen to love cats and have experience with the site having used them to look after our fluffy liability with great success, so I can personally vouch for them. I hope you enjoy!

Spoiling my Feline Friend with Wilko

The items in this post were kindly gifted by Wilko

Followers of my social media will know that last month my little fluffy companion, Pablo had a pretty rough time of it. What started as a reoccurrence of a longstanding digestive issue resulted in a Friday night dash to the emergency vet, major abdominal surgery (8 inch wound, poor baby!) and a lengthy recovery. Not only did Pablo have to endure the cone of shame for two solid weeks, he also managed to fall off the sofa and give himself an impressive limp. We’ve been back and forth to the vets more times than I care to remember, but he’s on the mend now and full of beans, just in time to pounce on a box of treats from the folks at Wilko.

Wilko has been one of our favourite places to stock up on pet supplies ever since Pablo was a palm-sized bundle of fluff. Everything is so well priced, and good quality and they have a great range of toys and accessories as well as great value food and kitty litter.

Our dining room has now become a dedicated feline play area for Pablo and it’s a joy to see him back to his normal, rambunctious self.

This pop up cube is an absolute bargain at £4.00 and Pablo’s favourite thing ever. He’s always loved tunnels and tubes and this has fast become his new hiding place, “secret” place to stash toys and something to drag around the house. He’ll spend hours in here and all we hear from his is the occasional thud where he’s crashed in to something, and a few growls as he bashes his toys around.
Pablo has an impressive tunnel collection (four at last count) but this £3.25 one from Wilko is the fanciest (and cheapest) one yet. He loves sliding through and batting the ball, and occasionally he’ll lounge in it for a nap.
We’ve been contemplating a new scratching post for a while as the one Pablo had when he was tiny (inherited from Mae) has long seen better days. They all seemed very pricey though, especially as it’s hit or miss whether he’d actually take to a new one. This Wilko cat scratcher post is only £8.00 so not that much of a gamble, and with a couple of toys attached to lure him in this quickly became a hit. Pablo is a big cat and has pulled this over on himself a couple of times but he doesn’t seem too bothered and for a smaller cat it would absolutely perfect.

Our house is absolutely covered in cat toys of all shapes and sizes. Pablo is an indoor cat on vet advice (he has an as yet undiagnosed digestive problem and can’t be trusted not to eat things that he really shouldn’t) so we want to keep him as entertained and stimulated as possible. This is easy thanks to the wide array of affordable cat toys on the market, most notably at the moment from Wilko. There’s a few more products I’m hoping to pick up, and for anyone just starting out with a cat I can’t recommend them enough for getting everything together that you’ll need without breaking the bank.

What is your cat’s favourite toy?

Cat Lady Fashion feat. Oasis

A few days ago I posted a spring dress wish list and mentioned that I’d re-discovered the high street hero that is Oasis. They’d somehow slipped off of my radar for a while but a month or so ago a fellow crazy cat lady at work mentioned they had some fabulous feline themed pieces in store, and with a shopping tripped planned with my Mum that weekend it seemed only right that I pay them a visit.
It was a tough call between this dress and this jumper but after trying both on it was swiftly decided that it was the skater dress that was coming home with me.
This dress is just part of a partnership with the animal charity Blue Cross which provides support for pets, and pet owners in need, ensuring they can access affordable veterinary care and finds homes for abandoned animals. I could quite easily have taken everything home as I had forgotten just how well Oasis clothes fit and how good quality they are.
It’s not just this collection that has caught my eye either. Oasis are currently killing it with their new arrivals and it’s seriously paining me that I can’t afford to go on a wild spending spree (especially as they are running 25% off some of their seasonal styles at the moment).

For now I’ll just enjoy my latest addition to my ever growing cat themed clothing collection. Is being the wrong side of 30 a bit old for this kind of novelty print? Not a chance…not in my book anyway…the more cats the better for this lady.