Senior Citizen Dates
Ha ha ha. The title is kind of funny, because Dates is our nickname for Data. I am not talking about senior citizens going on dates. I make me laugh. Moving on…
When my parents surprised me by visiting in March, my mom commented on how skinny Data is. I told her that Data is in perfect health and the vet has commended him on his weight for the past few years (after he lost a pound or two per the vet’s recommendation). I politely told my mother she wasn’t used to seeing a fit cat, since their cats are more… robust.
Ha ha.
But I did ask the vet during Data’s routine check up on Friday if we should be concerned about his weight.
And yikes, I am happy we asked – Data has lost a pound over the past year. That’s 10%* of his body weight. We haven’t changed his diet. He’s been getting fed the same amount of food for the past few years. What is wrong with Dates?!
The vet said Data is a senior cat now (at the old age of 8) and that thyroid issues are common for senior cats… so maybe Data has a thyroid issue. And maybe that is why he’s lost a pound.
This was all a surprise to me! I didn’t think Data was “senior.” I think he’s a hyper little punk.
Anyway, I am going to take him in next week for blood work (and a teeth cleaning, boo yah). Until then, he’ll be enjoying a bit more food at breakfast and dinner.
So there you have it. A lot of information about my cat that you never cared to read.
Where does your pet fall on the health chart?
From here
I can say, Data is the only one in the family who has an issue with being underweight. But he might not be the only one with a thyroid problem! I found out recently that quite a few of the women in my family have thyroid issues. Could that explain why I hit the wall every afternoon, can’t stop yawning and feel like I could fall asleep at any moment? It surely couldn’t be my poor diet, or all the running I do… (<– sarcasm).
*Or something, I am not so good at math these days.
Themocracy
snort. Nice pics today. Very comical!
I have no idea what 16-25 % body fat is in my cats. What weight that is in pounds I mean. I think they are both at an ideal weight. The vet doesn’t say they are to fat or to skinny. they both weight about 10 pounds.
My cat definitely needs to lose another pound or so. Probably more like 1.5-2 lbs. All her life, she did perfectly well with me free-feeding her, but then as she got older it just didn’t work anymore. She ate too much and got too fat before I really realized how big she was getting. She topped out at 16.8 pounds. Now that I’ve got her on scheduled feeding, she’s down to 13. She’s really a pretty big cat, though, so 11-12 would probably be good for her. Even though she’s slowed down quite a bit in her old age (she will be 13 in July), I still don’t think of her as “senior” either. I know she’s getting old, but I just don’t like to think about it!
I like the tie, very classy!
Awww, I hope Data’s just working out too much (aftr that big weekend 20-miler, I mean neighborhood walk) and nothing’s wrong with his thyroid! I wouldn’t consider him a senior either – that surprised me…
LOL, Steven and I have a joke that each piece of sidewalk Data walks on is a mile. So if he walks 26.2 then he does a marathon. He has done quite a few marathons lately!
I think most animals (dogs/cats at least) are considered senior when they are older than 7. My best friend’s cat is now a senior but he usually is a bit over weight. He did get his teeth cleaned this year though!
Delilah fits into the healthy ideal weight category. She always gets high marks with the vet for not being overweight. If I let her choose how much she eats she’d definitely be overweight though. She has NO concept of how much is too much. She is not the kind of dog that we can just leave food out all the time and she’ll eat when she’s hungry. haha.
Also, I loved all the Data photos in this post! Hope he is ok!
My family is used to raising obese cats. I’m not sure what happens, but they just are fat! I always heard that cats will only eat what they need to, but after having seen that most cats aren’t as fat as the ones we had growing up, I’m not sure.
I hope Data is OK!
Yeah, Data is definitely not like that. If we leave food out when we leave he eats it all at once. But have WE made him that way? Hmmm.
Thanks 🙂
Yes, this sort of proclamation always comes as a surprise. Senior, what do you mean senior? Though Data is a pretty smart senior cat, for sure 🙂 My cat, which I heartlessly deserted to my mother, turned 11 years old. So now, she’s an old, fat, grumpy cat. But I still like her, though she has forgotten all about me and totally ignores me whenever I visit. I can’t wait to move to a pet friendly apartment to get a cat. I miss the feline companionship!
Data is so dapper in that tie. I wish him and Rhoni could be mischievous together.
Me too! I wonder what trouble they would get in to 🙂
You crack me up! You really dress Data up to go to the vet? What will he be wearing for his teeth cleaning? 🙂
My mom used to call our house the senior citizen ward since all our dogs were 7+ years old. We even bought “senior” food for them. Crazy.
Hopefully if Data does have a thyroid issue it will be easily treated with meds.
Data normally wears his tie to the vet… they always think it’s funny! Maybe he will wear a bowtie next week!!!
The vet did think meds or even radiation (?!) would help if he has an issue. I hope he doesn’t!
what an amazing tie! your cat dresses better than i do. Poor kitty, i hope he doesn’t have to take meds!! The animal weight chart cracks me up. I am always tempted to fatten up waffles, but her breed is naturally thin like a greyhound. i think i express love through over-feeding!! 😀
I am wondering about the thyroid issue as well. I will say I have noticed if I eat sugar when I hit the wall, I completely bounce back. Which leads me to believe I am addicted to sugar.
Poor Data – I hope his tests come out okay.
Keep an eye on your thyroid, Kim – all the women in my family have it too… I finally realized something was wrong when a friend of mine told me it wasn’t normal for me to be needing a nap every afternoon as a young mom! I got diagnosed with Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis maybe 8 years ago and I am so glad I got it sorted out – feel much better now than I did then.
Do you take meds for it Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis?
That makes me LMWAO that you dressed Data up to take him to the vet!! He is so stinking cute (poor “tiny” kitty)!! Let us know what you find out about Data and his bloodwork!!! Your mom shouldn’t feel bad, I always think “healthy” cats are way too skinny because mine, well, mine are more towards the right side of your chart!!!
=^..^=
Yeah, we took one of our dogs in JUST because he had lost some weight. We weren’t sure how much but when we went in, it was about a 10-lb loss over 8 months which made me feel like a terrible owner (he is NOT a small dog, but still)! Fortunately, all we had to do was switch his food and now he is still lean but not too thin.
I’m so impressed that you walk Data, by the way!
I am hoping he can gain it back by food, but it seems silly since we have not been feeding him less! I am happy your dog is better! 🙂
Data really wants to be walked these days. It’s more like him walking us though.
What did the vet say about Data’s tie? Let’s give Dates some cookies! I have a hypo-thyroid easily managed with some meds.
The vet said to Data, “You didn’t have to dress up for me.” Data was dissapointed.
Dash falls between overweight and obese. This is after we changed his food and fed him less for an entire year! Sigh. He really needs his teeth cleaned which means going under but with that much weight it’s dangerous. 🙁 We are seriously hoping moving to a bigger house means he’ll get more exercise (stairs!) and we’ll see him drop a few pounds (he is 18lbs!). Dot on the other hand, after changing her food, gained a pound.
Here’s hoping Data is okay!
Bastet is overweight…the vet likened it to what would be considered “chubby” in a human. Hee hee. Beatrice is fine, she is small–she lot a good % of her body weight a couple years ago after dental surgery but recovered fine.
If you’re concerned about possible thyroid issues, I’d recommend having your doc do a blood panel. My family has a history of thyroid problems–my mom, both of her sisters, and my grandmother all had hyperthyroid. My doc prefers to do a full blood panel every couple years just to keep an eye on it (and everything else). So far I have been fine…which is kind of too bad, because hyperthyroid makes you hyper and skinny. 😉 Bwah hah.
Love the commentary included within each of the pictures, and love the continuum of pet weights with illustrations!
All humor aside, I do hope that Data’s health is okay and I’m glad that you’re getting him checked out.
I love Data’s tie. That is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen.
My mom was just commenting that her dog is looking kind of thin, but the senior thing makes sense, I mean, shes 15. Lexie on the other hand is just perfect. Or at least, she’s not overweight. The vet just doesnt want to see her gain any – she may be pushing it a little. 🙂
We had our dogs fixed a couple of years ago. After that, our youngest male started packing on the pounds. When we went to the vet last year, the vet said he looked like a POTATO! He’s gained a pound since then. Yikes.
Glad to hear that Data is all healthy and good.
As I write this, our cat Rocko is at the vet getting checked out to determine if he needs teeth surgery. He will be 19 in August. Hoping for some good news in a couple of hours.