A pet parent returning after a month away was left speechless once she saw her cat had indulged a little too much during his stay with grandma.
Lina Redford told Newsweek via email that she won an artist residency, which would bring her away from home for over a month. As an artist, she works from home and rarely leaves her Abyssinian cat, Sinbad, alone. But with this residency, she decided he would do best with her mother in Prague.
“I traveled to Prague, where my mom lives, and I stayed there for two weeks until Sinbad got accustomed to the changes,” she said. “Of course, I was sad leaving him for so long, but I wasn’t nervous.”
She knew Sinbad would be in good hands, as her mother has cats of her own who are “spoiled.” She said Amazon packages come every other day, delivering new cat toys. But how Sinbad looked when Redford returned left her speechless.
Redford shared in a September 26 Instagram video, under her account @linaredford, that Sinbad’s weight had taken a hefty toll. The cat added extra pounds during the month at her mother’s house.
She first noticed the weight gain in one of the photos her mother sent to her. Redford said she originally thought the picture was artificial intelligence.
“I couldn’t believe that my hyperactive cat managed to get that fat,” she said. “My mom, in a message, said, ‘I was testing new food brands and flavors, but he was eating everything okay, except for the rabbit…'”
Her mother was giving Sinbad about two tins of wet food, with dry food always accessible in a special slow-feeding bowl, per Redford’s instructions. But soon after seeing Sinbad’s weight gain, her mother cut down his portions. She would feed the cats separately. However, Sinbad would sneak extra helpings of the other feline’s food, who wouldn’t finish.
Her mother believes in leaving out an abundance of food for the cats, which works for her cats because they stop eating when they are full. But, unfamiliar with this routine, Sinbad kept eating.
Redford knew Sinbad was about 12 pounds before, as he needed to be weighed at the airport. Then, on the way home, he weighed about 14.7 pounds. The average size of Abyssinian cats is six to 12 pounds, according to Catster.
“She felt like she overdid it with Sinbad, but she tried to give him more exercises and made him run upstairs and downstairs to lose weight,” Redford said, adding he has since lost weight and is nearing his pre-vacation pounds.
Obesity in Cats
Sinbad’s rapid weight gain is a common issue with cats. About 61 percent of felines are overweight, an article from the VCA Animal Hospitals stated. Cats are considered overweight when they weigh between 10 and 20 percent of their ideal body weight, and obese if they weigh more than 20 percent.
Obesity can shorten a cat’s life and expose them to diseases such as diabetes, heart issues, orthopedic conditions, urinary bladder stones, and cancer.
Owners should consult with their veterinarian or healthcare team to develop an appropriate diet plan. Simply reducing the volume of your cat’s current food could result in deficiencies of micronutrients. Instead, a calorie-restricted, portion-controlled and meal-frequency regimen will be most efficient.
Viewer Reactions
The Instagram video, which reached over 1.4 million views, left viewers up in arms as they expressed their frustrations with her mom for allowing the weight gain.
“That’s genuinely horrible, poor cat,” said an Instagram user.
Another person added: “I would not trust them with my cat again.”
A third jokingly asked: “So grandma effect even works on animals?”
Others knew firsthand how grandparents tend to indulge: “My parents did this. They claim ‘her hair grew longer.'”
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