Sneaky Little Devil

We have been hoodwinked! 

Bamboozled, confuzzeled, made a fool of. 

Pollycakes has GAINED weight. Which is the opposite of what we're trying to do. We thought it might be one of two things. We recently switched to feeding her 3 times a day, much to Polly's delight. We figured we must not be measuring out the correct amount and feeding too many big portions. OR, she's been sneaking food somewhere. 

EXHIBIT A!

EXHIBIT B!

Do you see the smug look on her face? We were starting to wonder why she wasn't her usual talkative self after her play session. Well, because of her indiscretions. She is back to her starting weight. 

DOH! DOUGH! DOUGHBALL!

Sadly for the Cakes, this looks like she's going to have to be confined during night hours. 

But, who can resist this face? Not many. We'll be strong for her, because we want her to be healthy and  happy. Right now, she's really happy. 

Back to the drawing board. Starting weight AGAIN, 13.6 pounds. 

-Nature's Pet Market

Questions and Answers w/ Pollycakes

Pollycakes continues her weightloss streak!

Here she is modeling:

I mean look at that superfly cat. I'm not gonna lie, she wasn't too happy about the coat. I will put video up soon. It's too good not to share. 

We've gotten a few questions about the whole process of losing weight for Pollycakes, so I'd like to present those here. 

Question #1:  Isn't raw food dangerous for animals?

Answer: Raw food is not dangerous for animals with a strong healthy immune system. Raw food is processed for the purpose of being fed without being cooked. Most of the raw food you would buy for animals is processed very cleanly because they know it won't be cooked. Meat you would buy from a butcher or grocery store won't be as clean since it's meant to be cooked. Primal Pet Foods, which Pollycakes is eating, uses HPP (High Pressure Pasteurization), a method where water is used at a high pressure to "squeeze" any pathogens out. 

Question #2: Why is raw food a good method for helping pets lose weight? 

Answer: Short answer: raw food is what cats need in their diet and nothing extra. It's the extras that add the weight.  Long answer: especially for cats, high protein/low carb diets are, in our opinion, the best way to feed your cat. Cats are carnivores and naturally eat meat. Those cats you see outside running around are chasing birds and small rodents. Basically raw food is just meat. Primal Pet Foods is 93% meat, 7% fruits and vegetables. Since raw food is just what you need and there are not extras, it is much easier to determine how much food your cat or dog needs to eat per meal. Plus raw food is absorbed much easier by the body and the waste amount is very minimal. 

Question #3: What is the best way to transition an animal to raw? 

Answer: For the least disruptive method to your animal's digestive system, we recommend taking about 9 days to transition food. Especially if you've been feeding kibble for a while you will want to take it slow.  For the first 1-3 days, mix a quarter of the food with the current food for both meals and monitor the stools. If they are firm, for the next 3 days do one meal raw in the morning and kibble at night. If the stools are soft then take another couple days to transition. We would also recommend a probiotic to help with the transition. If all goes well, you'll notice smaller, more firm, less smelling stools. 

Thank you for the questions!!! 

Here's a bonus, behind the scenes of Pollycakes modeling shoot.

 

Until next time!

-Pollycakes and Nature's Pet Market

13.1 - Racing down!

13.1 pounds!!!!!

We are so incredibly proud of her. She's down 4 ounces since we started this endeavor. I know 4 ounces doesn't sound like a lot, but let's put it this way, that would be the equivalent of a 200 pound person losing 7 pounds. Now THAT sounds pretty good. So our little Pollycakes has lost a good chunk so far.

How do we do it?

First, we are taking it slow. We want the weight to come off easily and with minimal stress on her body. She's still getting enough food, enough vitamins, nutrients, protein to keep her a well energized and happy. She is still loving her Primal food and her Weruva BFF canned food. 

Second, EXERCISE!!! We run this cat up and down cat trees, make her chase us around with Da Bird, around displays. Make her do some cat sit ups. 

Here she is after running up the cat tree and catching her prize, The Cat Charmer. The Cat Charmers are awesome because they only cost about $5 bucks and are super strong, and boy can Pollycakes yank on this poor defenseless toy. 

I know it's silly, but that's what we call sit-ups. It actually works though, she is moving, and using those abdominal muscles, and she's breathing hard after doing some. 

We've noticed a lot more energy from her; she is actually RUNNING! That video will come much later. 

 If you have any questions feel free to ask! Thanks for following. 

-Nature's Pet Market

Polly Wanna Cracker?

How's Polly doing? How is she getting along on her adventure? Has she turned on every employee in the store and started eating their lunches? 

A picture speaks a thousand words. 

She is actually doing great! She's not constantly meowing for food or following us around the store pointing out our flaws. She's being extra cute and playing a lot. 

Toys: Currently, she is loving the Cat Charmer as pictured above. She also likes the Da Bird, the Mouse Catcher, and of course laser pointers. 

This is Polly's good angle. She also loves this feathery toy as well. 

The good news! She's lost weight. She is now at 13.3 pounds. It is only a slight drop from the 13.4. But it is right on track for what we want to achieve; the diet and exercise are working!

Why Raw? Here are a few reasons:

- Smaller, less stinky stools

- Super soft and shiny skin and coat

- Clean bright teeth

- Clear Eyes

- Strong Digestive Tract

- Strong Urinary Tract
- Strong Immune system

Besides those points, it is also a super healthy way of keeping a cat or dog at their optimal weight. When feeding raw, you feed just enough with no extra carbs, no fillers, and generally no hormones or antibiotics in the meats. 

We're glad that Polly likes her Primal! 

Next Post: Cat Exercises

STAY TUNED!

-Nature's Pet Market

The Weigh In

Ding Ding Ding! In tonight's corner!!

Pollycakessssssssss!

Today, we got the starting weight for Pollycakes.

Why is she in a basket you ask? There is a method to our madness. We have a tiny scale that Pollycakes won't stand still on, so-- we have some baskets and she can't jump out of... too quickly.

The Starting Weight: 13.4lbs

Our goal: 10 pounds in 3 months. Wait, let's clarify, not to lose 10 pounds in 3 months. That would be the weight of a kitten! That's ridiculous. We mean for her to be about 10 pounds when we're all done with the diet. We'll adjust in case she really IS big boned. 

Here is what Pollycakes has to say about this nonsense:

Transition: 

The transition is going well. We are at 2 Primal Nuggets, and half a can of Best.Feline.Friend(BFF)! 

We will detail why the Primal and the BFF are great choices for Feline Diets in a later post. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot us a message.

We mash those all together and she is in love. She scarfs it down like we're starving her, which we are definitely not. We just adjusted how much food she's been taking in. Then of course there's the exercise. But, we'll save that for next time. Thanks for following! 

Question:

What foods or exercises do you do when slimming a cat OR dog down?

We would love to hear your answers in the comments! 

-Nature's Pet Market