Something about educating and feeding still growing cats (8mo) would be awesome - mine are the right weight and “form”😊 but are very violent and greedy when it’s feeding time, even though we have fixed rituals and playing sessions. They only get healthy wet food and only few treats, no free feeding or dry food. I don’t know what to do anymore 😢
How common is diabetes in cats? Isn't the symptoms of diabetes and hyperthyroidism the same? Believe me, it's off to the vets with any issues. I was just wondering.
@@stefanieschelch2028 do you put their food in separate bowls in quite few steps away each other, we should feed like 4 times a day, when they're kitten's I'm Rescuer and Foster, that's what I have been learning from my vet's, article's, from trainers Jackson ❤️, and from my friends at the Rescue staff too.
I adopted a cat for the first time 2 weeks ago and these videos are super helpful. Yesterday evening was the first time he was comfortable enough to play with the feather chasing toy!! Gave him his evening food right afterwards too
I get judged when I say my cat weighs 17lbs. What people don’t get is that he is half Maine Coon! Thank you for mentioning breed! My 2 year old tortoiseshell is 9lbs. Breed is such a big factor!
My 10 month old kitten is 7 kilo and whenever people hear that, they are in shock. Then I show them pictures of him and don't understand because he's thin and muscular. He's also taller and weighs more than my 2 year old female but she looks heavier than him. He was more than 5 kilo at 6 months when I took him to get neutered and my vet refused to believe me when I said he was only 6 months. Once he anesthetized him, he checked his teeth and was in shock he had baby teeth. He has no Maine coon or Norwegian forest cat or other stocky or large breeds. He's clearly an oriental short-hair and he has a very thin build. He's just tall and all muscle.
Some breeds are made to be big, and some breeds are mini. I think a lot of people forget that, bc most cat breeds look similar in shape, unlike dogs which are clearly differential. My cat is 16lbs and people always call her fat when they hear that or see her. But she isn't- she's, to my best guess, a siamese/birman-tabby mix and she's HUGE all-over. Like she's over a foot tall and has a face the size of a grapefruit. She was fat (20lbs) when we got her, but she's slimmed down to a size that our vet has said is good condition. She's not fat, she's just spayed and fluffy so she looks a little flabby lol. I do think it's really funny how she's literally TWICE the size of an average cat, but that's just the way she's built!
Jackson, may we please have more videos about the benefits of adopting senior shelter cats? This has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences ever.
If you adopt older cat, pet insurance! My cat got sick 4 months after i adopted her. Insurance .ade getting get care quickly a no brainet. Or prepare for high bills.
i adopted my senior kitty almost 2 years ago now, and jackson's videos were the reason i opted for my boy rather than a younger one, and i've never been more thankful to him tbh. he's very sweet, and he has the perfect energy level for my lifestyle.
I think especially as we age rather than taking in kittens, it benefits everyone if you take in the elderly cats that you might actually outlive , rather than having to worry about who will take care of Fluffy after you er, leave. Not everyone appreciates our passion for cats.
Thank you for talking about the top-down view! This is called BCS (Body Condition Score) at your vet. BCS charts are a great way to eyeball your cat's situation weight-wise. Your vet will usually note this at each exam in the SOAP notes, so you can keep an eye on it in the vet notes, too.
I was never a cat person until recently. Adopted a sweet tabby girl with my girlfriend about a year ago. It was a bit rough in the beginning; as a first time cat owner I didn't completely understand the reasons behind some of her more undesirable behaviour. But thankfully I found Jackson's channel . He's given me the tools and knowledge I needed to be a better cat dad and I'm forever grateful.
Jackson is awesome in cat behaviour. Also understanding cats make you both have a better relationship. Love that things are better. They are very special souls once you speak the same language.
Hey, I’d love to see more videos about cat emotional health. For instance, I’ve seen them get depressed when a kitty friend dies. And, my own cat Garland is just an anxious cat, and figuring that out, and how to help him, has taken a lot of investigation!
I also have an anxious kitty. We have a play/eat routine, cat trees, cat beds, multiple litter boxes, scent soakers, CBD for her... She still seems to have her tail wagging or down most of the time she is walking and gets super angry when the other cats initiate play with her (she's fine if she initiates though). The vet says there is nothing physically wrong. I really wish I could figure out her mental health...
My sweet late cat Nala also had a low hangin' pouch! Her belly was a light peachy colour with rusty spots and it was so soft. She passed at 17, I truly miss her.
I’d love to see a video about FIV and how FIV positive cats are still very adoptable. I have the sweetest FIV foster who came to me extremely traumatized and now he’s the most cuddly, loveable boy, but people see the FIV status and won’t give him a chance which is a shame because he deserves all the love.
My cat had a small issue with her eye and she kept getting overlooked at the shelter! I adopted her at 1 years old and she had been there for 6 months. I don't think she was super friendly either.. she can be a bit skittish and I guess wasn't a people-cat at the shelter. But cats don't act the same at a shelter as they do in a happy home. She's the sweetest little cuddle bug. All cats should be given a chance.
I agree! I have a 6 year old orange rescue FIV+ boy who is the happiest floof! It is really sad that people do not want to adopt pets that are labeled with some health issues. People see it as a situation that will cost them a lot and will end in a heart break. Pet insurance companies are also pretty useless. They do not reimburse many things because they relate it to FIV.
I believe that he's in his Forever Home now. No-one will love him as you do. You may foster, but i believe that he's supposed to be your Forever Baby & Family.
@@redomisia I'm actually looking into pet insurance now that my one kitty is having some issues. The other one is in great health but I'm starting to wonder if the cost of insurance is worth it. It's just annoying that a lot of them won't handle the basics like wellness visits. That's preventative!
Never had a cat before. 1 year ago a stray started coming around and I fed her and put a box for her to sleep in. She gifted me with 3 kittens. I fed them all summer, and now I have 4 cats🤷♀️ one spaye, one neuter,2 more girls to go. I let them out everyday. We live in the country so they get plenty of exercise. Never thought I would be a cat person, always had hounds. God gave me a gift that He knew I needed. Love your channel. Lots for a newbie to learn.👍
You shouldn’t let them out as long as they‘re not spayed/neutered. Otherwise you get again 4 cats and again and again and again. Ask your local rescue for help if it’s too expensive for you.
@FlameCat Gaming I‘m quite torn about this. It depends on where you live. In a residential district in Germany you don’t have dangers like wild animals. Only cars. But „roaming“ cats is definitely a thing here. So if we get more older cats from the streets they‘ll have to be adopted by people living in a more rural area or 30 km/h zone where it’s more safe for them. And while I do love nature more than anything and studied environmental science cats having a tremendous impact on ecosystems is just a straw man fallacy. Compared to us humans and what we do to the nature (sealing of soils, wood clearing for districts, rockeries etc.) is way worse for the local fauna (and flora) than cats hunting a few birds or mice. The majority of birds die of hunger here and not because they get killed by cats. So again it’s us living in their habitat, taking away their place of food, using way too much pesticides, intensive agriculture and climate change. Cats outside are the least of their problems.
@sewer~rat thank god that we don’t have these kind of sick people in the neighborhood in Germany where I live in. Free roaming cats are totally normal here. I almost know no one with indoor cats. Our cats went outside all their life and thankfully nothing happend yet in 20 years. But yes something could happen anytime. That‘s the risk. If I think about what fun they have outside, the amount of kilometers they walk I will never keep them inside. They can come and go as they please. To me that’s species appropriate. Unless they have some illness, are blind etc. Oh and cats usually don’t get kidnapped. There is a law, that free roaming cats have to be spayed and chipped. So if they go with a stray cat to the vet they check first if the cat has a chip and is registered. Also voluntarily worker from associations and shelters check for the Chip first. If you find a stray cat which is not familiar to you or your neighbors you can always call them to come and check. Again it’s totally normal here and many shelters let cats only be adopted if they have the opportunity to go outside.
So glad to hear that you read the comments! I would love to see a video introducing us to your cats! It would be so fun to meet them and hear about their personalities. Also, I would like to know specifically what you feed your cats on a daily basis. You have helped us so much with our kitty, as we are relatively new to having a cat. Thanks, Jackson!
I would LOVE for you to talk more about special needs cats! Whether they're aesthetically imperfect (missing eyes, ears, legs and so on) or something deeper like CH, deafness, paralysis or whatever it may be! These cats are so often overlooked in shelters and my heart just beats extra hard for the special needs kitties ❤️
This video is perfectly timed. We have a domestic short haired rescue kitten and with us she’s put on a lot of weight. We were scared she’s overeating but the vet said she’s okay.
As long as she is growing it shouldn't be a problem because she needs the food to become a healthy grown cat. When she's adult you can ask the vet again.
I love the primordial pouch, it’s so cute, especially when it swings while they run. And I also have a soft spot for jowly cats, the roundness of the face is very charming, lol.
Something you didn't mention is that a cat's ideal weight at different points in their life is going to look different. For example my cat took 3 years to get full sized at which point she weighed a healthy 15 pounds very muscular big Norwegian forest cat. Now as a super senior at the age of 17, healthy weight is 10 pounds, due to muscle loss.
@@morganc.m1830 Breed of cat makes a big difference on what size is healthy or not. Also trust me my vet would not have told me that that was her healthy weight if it wasn't because I was concerned cause I'd never had that big of a cat before.
Thanks so much for this video. My super senior tortie is 16 1/2 and has lost weight in the past couple of years. Now I understand why. She’s diabetic and sees her internal medicine doctor twice a year plus regular vet visits and they are not concerned. When she was younger we were always trying to keep from getting overweight and now it’s the opposite.
As an example of how *you* know your pet best, I knew my baby was sick for a year before anyone else. She seemed too thin despite how much she ate, and she was dropping weight but not to an alarming degree so only I thought something was wrong despite multiple vet visits. It turns out the tumor hadn't developed yet, but she had cancer. Melanoma.
Aww I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. Weight loss is so weird in cats. With my last one, I had no idea that was linked to kidney disease. I'd taken her to the vet to have certain tests and urinalysis done and they all came back normal. That was months before chronic kidney disease onset and the weight loss started. I just put it all down to stress. Still beating myself up about this seven months after her passing.
i adopted my senior cat just a few months ago, and he started gaining a lot of weight bcus i was being too nice on the food portions. now i do loads of tiny meals and he is so food motivated i have taught him how to sit on command before he gets his food. such a smart little man
Thank you for talking about the tummy pouch. I have a big Siamese mix who is twice the size of a normal cat, paws too. He has a lot of muscle and runs and jumps with no problem. In the late evening, when it is quiet, I take him out into the stairway, and with some treats I entice him to go up and down three flights of stairs. He goes up the stairs much faster than I can. He is very smart. He will go over to the door and trill and meow for me to open the door, sometimes actually reaching up and touching the door knob with an outstretched paw. After, we come back inside and I feed both my cats. Vets have told me that he is overweight, one was freaking out, even though she and her Vet tech were quite obese. The other one just said it was something to watch. But, I believe he may have some Maine Coon in him which would explain his weight. Otherwise, he seems to be quite healthy. He likes to follow me around if I go into another room, and also sleeps next to me........your videos have been very helpful...Thank you!
I have spent the last two months trying to puzzle out if my extremely long-haired domestic cat was getting her winter coat or getting a bit chubby. Her body shape is totally hidden behind all her fluff!
I just adopted a cat and I absolutely love these videos. Every little question that comes up, Jackson seems to have a video for it. Thank you so much for posting these!
Agreed. Also, no matter how much time we spend with our cats, we can still learn from one another, when ready the comments, they are very helpful, we just have to discern, wisely, the accurate information, from the inaccurate ones. Thank you for adopting, you're life must be much happier now😊.
We have too giant Maine Coons, they're huge, 27lbs each, but with very little pudge. Also, don't judge your cat by their primordial pouch. Some breeds have a big pouch regardless of gender. Our youngest it's like two goose eggs, swinging free. They don't have pudge anywhere else.
I have a half Maine coon and our vet at the last visit told me that she is extremely overweight and that she needed to lose weight. She’s 13 lbs and they were asking her to get down to 8-9lbs, which is a lot to ask. Maine Coons can be really large and heavy, and I didn’t think she was overweight and I’m doubting my vet
@@susiezhang5742 Not all vets are good at estimating how much cat should weight. Many vets unfortunately learns only about how much should mutt weight not large breed cats. Find vet who specializes in MC and ask for another opinion :)
Our cat just loves to play after she eats...really. Her favorite thing to do is chase and be chased, ambush, chase,be chased...and on and on until she's tired. This is pretty amazing, kind of funny but sometimes not convient. We do it anyway. 😁
Lol, I was going to say. . .our ginger boi gets more hyper /after/ he eats which leads to him chasing his new brother around who. . .isn't always enthused by it! He also likes being chased around the house, which is tiring when its 10:30 and you're wanting to just got to bed!
My ginger boy likes to be chased and my big girl doggo likes to “fake” chase him. Other cats don’t get it, but I’m glad these two are on the same page.
We've got two cats, one that runs on the slightly chunky side and would love to be chunkier, and one that came to us as an underweight teenager and had to be chunked up ASAP. Their introduction-to-civil period took 107 days (and yes, I can count it that precisely because they literally just decided to be friends one day about a week ago), and the main thing we could use to encourage them to tolerate each other was treats, because they were too on edge to play if the other was in the room most of the time. Especially towards the end of the getting-to-know-you period, we were trying to keep them in the same room as often and as long as possible, and that meant a lot of treats. Cat #1, who is deeply food-motivated, was delighted with this. Now that they're friends and they don't NEED two tube treats, a handful of Greenies, and some freeze-dried chicken every day to get along, she's been begging a lot more. Sorry, sweet girl, but the extra treats were a necessary evil, and now it's back to reduced rations for you!
Thank you Cat Daddy for all of your insight of cats. You always have great advice. I've had cats for 30+years and I am always learning something new from you. PURRRR
❤❤❤HI MR GALAXY ❤❤❤. THANK YOU so much for introducing us to the proper way to feed our fur babies!! I ditched the kibbles, started him on wet food and I’m looking into raw! Now the treats will be changed!!! Thank you thank you thank you for helping me keep wolfman on a path to longevity!❤❤❤❤
My sister and I both got a kitten from the same litter. They're 8 months old right now. My sister is already worried about her cat getting overweight as he's growing up because he *loves* eating and doesn't like being active. For my cat it's almost the opposite problem, lol. She's not super enthusiastic about food and she's super active. Personality also matters a lot, lol.
My cats weights around 2.5kg to 3kg But she is a Ghanaian cat which are quite small. It is a struggle to get her to eat sometimes I managed to feed her 200g to 250g of wet food and zero carbs
We adopted our cat about 6 weeks ago. He came from a house with 50 cats. He has put on weight since we got him. I think he is so happy to not have to compete with lots of cats for food. Hopefully his issues with food will calm down. He is doing very well for coming from a house with so many cats. He is very good about the litter box and is not aggressive. We are thankful that he is doing as well as he is. He is so sweet. We do feed our cat some dry food and some wet food. We are still trying to find the best canned food for him. He does not like pate. For the ones with gravy and meet, he just licks the gravy, but does not eat the meat.
Hi Jackson! I’m a little concerned by my vets answers to my questions about the raw diet and his seeming lack of concern about my cat in general. Have you made a video about how to find the right vet? That may be hard to answer 😅.
I've found that some vets tend to care more about dogs then they do cats which is sad. The best starting place in my opinion is to talk with other pet owners in your area and find out who they see and what their experiences have been. If it's affordable, try out a different vet. When I got my girls I knew I wouldn't take them to the same vet we used for our childhood pets as we've had some issues about their handling and demeanor towards our family dog. In some cases you may even be able to call a clinic and ask a few basic questions like how to get started on a raw diet. If they are willing to give some basic positive information over the phone I would say that's a good sign.
@@Sinovian Thank you for the advice! After posting, I had to take my 21 year old cat to a local animal hospital, they treated him with such care and I was honestly shocked that they told me I had options other than to just “ put him to sleep “ which is what I was told by the other place. I took this cat in three years ago from my Uncle and he is doing so much better, more affectionate because he is in less pain! I’m going to ask them about the raw die. Fingers crossed 🤞. Also, I found out at the last vet, that man was the one who normally saw dogs and his wife was the one who primarily saw cats! But she was the one who almost let my little cat die after being fixed!
I love your channel! I agree with you- play with the kitties! Even when there are multiple kitties that play together- playing with all of them is bonding and so much fun! I would play with my cat an hour every evening. It’s so much better than watching TV! And, having many different play toys like a tunnel, dangling feathers, scratching posts that are tall so they climb on them and places off the floor for them to rest in a sunny window and look around at the birds etc. If anyone wants to get ideas watch some of the Japanese kitty videos as their culture loves to have happy cats. Thank you for sharing your love and how to care for cats.
You say that you read the comments so I want you to know that for over 15 years I lived in a small apartment overseas (Hong Kong). My daughter begged me every day for a cat but I said no because I knew it was cruel to keep a kitty on the 25th floor of a tiny apartment and not be able to bring them with us when we left eventually. Now I live in Morocco! I have a huge place and my daughter finally got her kitty :). Your videos were part of our lives Jackson! We would watch your show before we found you on TH-cam. Cats bring so much happiness and I'm blessed now we have ours and we can give them the life they deserve. Thank you😻
My Felicity started licking bald patches into her fur, and I assumed she was stressed out because two kittens had joined our family. Luckily I took her to the vet and found out she was hyperthyroid. Thanks to her medication she spent many more happy and healthy years with us.
I adopted 2 orange kittens last October they now 6 months and one of the brothers has always been smaller and 'skinnier' he eats, plays and sleeps the same. The bigger one has the pouch and the smaller one does not. They have had the jabs and just been castrated so they have been seen by the vets and they are not worried. Hes just a smaller kitty :) If you want to see them I have lots of 'shorts' from the 1st day up to today on my channel :)
Found this curious about my cats large stomach pouch. It seems empty, just loose skin. She is healthy in every way and doesn’t feel underweight at all! Love you Jackson, and so does my cat! (I think she just watches the other cats on the show)!
Thank you for reminding folks that cats are obligate carnivores!!! None of my cats have been obese. They have all passed on now (after 10+ years of love and life🥰) and we fed them when we ate so they ate 3 square meals a day. Building and keeping a solid routine really does help.
I am a first time cat owner. We got my baby when he was 9 weeks old; and we started harness training him right away. He’s now a little over 2 1/2 years old. We only let him outside supervised and on the harness. We have a run that goes from the back door to the back of the yard that he can be hooked up to so he can have ‘freedom’ to explore while we sit and watch or we put him on a leash and walk him around our yard, he really likes that because he can check out more of the back yard than the run allows him too and he can go all the way around the house to explore the front yard as well. My husband and I have never actually taken him for a walk outside of our yard. We are afraid if he were to ever get loose (he doesn’t usually try to dart towards the door, but I don’t want to risk it) that he would feel more confident to go further away if we were regularly walking him around the neighborhood. In my mind, if he’s only familiar with with our yard he won’t want to stray too far away from it. I do plan on watching the video you referenced about walking your cat next. I was just curious on your thoughts on this, and figured I’d have a better probability of getting a response to a comment on this video than an older one.
This video is so helpful! It's always great to get an explanation about our cats' bodies and needs. The vets sometimes don't have the time to explain everything.
Valuable and straightforward advice as ever, Jackson- thank you. The pouch explaimed! A vet I had not consulted before described my 5.3kg boy as "a bit tubby"; okay, so she is a vet, but truly, it's the right weight for him. He is solidly built with a large frame, is active and eats good food, regularly spaced throughout the day. I thin, just like humans, weight is entirely individual for animals and good cat guardians know instinctively what is healthy for their furry buddy. Best wishes to you, Jackson, from. Teddy and me.
Jackson!! Your videos have helped me so much with my cat. The only snag I've run into with my little puffball is that she bites a lot. I play with her daily, I boil and simmer, I give her space when she asks for it but I'm constantly running into the problem of her biting me. We did find her as a strat at about 5 months and she was by herself so she didn't really get to socialize with other cats. She is very sweet and loving and asks me for hugs all the time. She'll stand up on her toes and snuggle up to my face purring and everything. Then after about a minute, She'll either bite my face or my arm. I'm not sure what else to do.
I loved this video! What I find challenging when it comes to cat weight management is when you have two completely different cats, one who is prone to be overweight and the other prone to be underweight. My boy, aged 7 next July, has been super active all his life. Despite being an indoor cat he just plays around and explores around every day. He hates dry food, always eats wet food (sadly no trustful source of raw food in my country), LOVES cream treats, and he's absolutely obsessed with greens and catnip. Max weight I've seen on him was 4.5 kgs as a neutered male British Shorthair, which is below the breed average. Took him to the vet, thankfully no problems. But we need to make sure that he doesn't fall below 4. My girl, on the other hand, aged 5, is a lazy cat who gets only around 2 energy explosions per day. And she loves eating. A lot. She's currently 5 kgs as a spayed British Shorthair. We try to keep her in control meanwhile trying to feed my boy and it really is challenging to manage both extremes lol.
I am relating so much to this post haha. You made me laugh!😂 That was exactly the reason why I decided to start feeding times and also being with them when they eat. Because if I don’t, there is a high chance that my older one eats the food of the skinny one too haha. So I control everything now. No way around it at that stage.
Jackson, would you ever do a video discussing cats that have to be left at home a long time? I only have a one bedroom apartment, so no room for a second cat, but I’m single, I have one cat, and I teach so a lot of times, I’m stuck at the school for 12 hours or so. Then I also have the days when I have to go to the store, run other errands, which extends the days. I feel so bad leaving him home so long by himself.
He has talked about this subject before!😊 If you cannot get a second cat he has talked about a cat sitter, as in someone you know and trust to keep your cat company for a while when you are not at home. Perhaps a friend or family member your fur baby is also fond of? ❤ I hope this helps! If I can find the video for you I can share it to you.
Thank you Jackson for another great video. Always talking with my veterinarian about my cat's weight and diet. Love that your mottos are, "play with your cat", and "take your cat 🙀 to the vet regularly". ♥
Thank you so much, Jackson! Ever since I have been watching your videos I have completely changed the way I feed my cat, and he has never been happier or looked healthier! I have him on a raw diet and stopped free feeding him, thanks to your advice! ♥️
My cat Jack was a stray. He still is an outdoor ish cat. He spent a winter very young starving on the streets. I didn't want to brake his spirit so he has full access to the outdoors. The business behind thanked me saying he kills more rodents than any stray they have ever had. Don't worry he gets dewormed regularly. He is now 10 yrs old and worried the other kitties can't hunt, he has started stocking the house with mice and baby rabbits. He brings them in and drops them, refusing to kill them himself. He just watches and shakes his head at how bad the other 2 are at killing. Anyway I asked the vet if his gaining a pound ( or 1lb +) in the fall then losing it the spring was an issue. With a bit of conversation we figured out he hunts like crazy in the fall so he can strave a bit in the winter and still survive. Sigh, even if it's sub zero temps he insisted he has to hunt. We close the cat door and allow access through the front door but only if we are awake to let him in and out. He gets treats when he comes back in. I was told by one vet tech in March he was getting fat. I made him actually stand up and pointed to the visual chart you showed and told her she was stupid. He is scared of them and afraid I'll leave him at the vets due to his time at the pound. Crunched down the whole time he there, they don't really know how big but thin he actually is. At home he has that big cat walk and others people notice him. I've seen the guys on the forklift stop and let him walk through the yard, because he killed something and needs to share at home.
Thank you for all your wonderful advice! I adopted an overweight cat the first week of January, and have been using your videos to keep her happy and active ☺️
I free feed my cat and she just eats a few times a day but as she’s aged (she’s 10 now) she’s put on weight. She used to be 3.5-4kg and is now 4.8kg. The vet confirmed a few weeks ago that she’s a bit overweight so now I’m measuring out her food and reducing her calorie rich wet-food as that’s what the vet recommended, but it sounds like I should be doing this the other way around. She doesn’t get fed treats often, only one or 2 and when she does a trick in her training. Your videos are really helpful for ideas to keep her active (we play every day and we go on walks) but a video for how to help cats transition into their older years and still stay fit, especially for people who rent or live in flats so are limited in what they can do to catify the living space.
I was called "big-boned". 😂 My vet told me my 10lb cat should weigh 9lbs and as soon as I tried to put her on a diet, she started showing pica like behavior, eating foam, cardboard and stuffed toy parts she ripped off. As soon as I went back she was totally fine and all her kitten energy came back zooming about everywhere. I think part of it is that she has more muscle because of how active she is and muscle weighs more than fat.
Just a note. I tried to change the bell from "none" to "all" or "personalized", but it doesn't change. It shows the bell, crossed over, saying "none". 😲 This video showed up in my timeline, so I guess it's just a glitch on TH-cam.
It's amazing how different cats can be even changed by the first few weeks of their lives. My old cat was incredibly food insecure her entire 14 years of life, and we suspected it was partially because the people we adopted her from fed the litter of kittens by throwing a single piece of meat and having them fight it out, and she was the smallest. On the other hand, one of my current cats is slightly food insecure but improving with accommodations, and the other has no food issues so far (besides not growing out of his "yelling at mom to give me food" phase lol)
Not all vets are built equally. I'm certainly looking for another one after this video. I have a beautifully large baby. His papa was an orange tabby barn cat (only ate what he caught) who weighed in at 24 lbs of pure muscle when we had him neutered. My baby weighs in at 16 lbs and has an hourglass shape when you look at him from above, yet his vet always says he needs to lose 5 lbs. His primal pouch is loose, too. If you know the parentage of your furbaby, take that into consideration. I also have a 12 lb baby who is oval from above. He is fat. He steals his mama's food (she's a petite 6 lbs and stands a little over 8 inches tall at the shoulder). Thank you, Jackson for helping all of us cat moms and dads to give our babies their best lives.
So incredibly grateful for all the work that you do to help educate us. I’m a first time cat adopter and your videos have been vital throughout the whole process. My cat and myself thank you! ❤️
A month ago I adopted Grilka, an 11 year old female cat who weighed a whopping 26 lbs. She is amazingly agile and active, which I take advantage of for exercise. We are on a strict diet. I even bought a baby scale to weigh her. Today she weighed in at 25.3 lbs, so we are on the right track.
My vet said to feed my fat cat dry food because wet food has so many calories. 😳😩 I’m baffled. Ace is a grey tabby stray, we got him at around two years old, and he chonked up real quick cuz he acted like he was starving every single minute - MUCH different than my other cat. Ace is on a strict feeding schedule & strict amount (unless he steals Bueller’s food 🤦♀️). I do play with him best I can. Anyway, we’re working on it all. Thanks so much for allll the videos!! 😄😻
You need a real Vet, this one isn't knowledgeable. Dry is junk food full of carbs, and can give them Kidney & other health issues. Cats are carnivores, they don't hunt corn, wheat, etc, just as dogs don't.
My cats get one meal grain free dry and one meal wet. One of them has digestive issues and needs the extra fibre. If I feed him only wet he poops puddles. That's literally the only benefit of dry over wet and even then, I make sure he still gets wet because cats need it to hydrate.
Have you looked at in the bag where it shows calories? Always higher in dry food. If you look at the cans of wet food, much lower in calories. Maybe you need to check out some other vets… Just a suggestion because all of my vets (we’ve moved a lot so I’ve had several different vets) say can food.
Jackson - thank you for your videos about free feeding, wet vs dry, clicker training etc. I transitioned my senior cat from free feeding dry food to a set mealtime twice a day (and she eats half wet food now with every meal.. she's a dry food addict so it is a process)... She's lost a lb that her vet wanted her to lose, has more energy, leaps into the air to play with her toys now, and has more of that "mojo" you talked about but I didn't know what you meant, but now I do. I felt mean changing her to timed meals but now I can see the positive changes and she's used to the new schedule. And, now she actually will go for treats! And I'm teaching her clicker training. And all of this means we're spending more time playing together, and it's been really nice!
i’m going to be a first time cat owner very soon hopefully (within a few weeks or month) and i’ve been watching a lot of your videos for advice as well as doing my own research so i can get as many things as i can right the first time! i’m not sure if you’ll see this Jackson, so if anyone has any tips or suggestions, by all means lemme know ☺️ i know that cats like established routines, but i honestly won’t be able to provide them a solid schedule every day due to my job. i’m a full time customer service manager at a grocery store so i get 40+ hours a week. i also don’t have a set schedule since my availability is open, so i can be scheduled any time from open to close. some days i’m 5am-1pm or 12pm-8pm or 4pm-midnight, etc so i won’t be able to feed my cats at the same times or play with them at the same times. i thought about an automated feeder but i don’t want to feed them dry kibble ( i know how unhealthy it is for them!) is there anything i could do without having to find another job? *ps : sorry for the whole essay 😅
I’m excited for you being a first time cat owner soon! I was going to advice you to get more than one cat due to having a busy schedule and to avoid having a sad & lonely cat waiting for you, but I see you’ve written “cats” and “them”. I only have experience with a kitten who is now 11 months, but Jackson’s Satellite toys saved my LIFE 😩 in terms of play time. These balls can be whacked and played with for HOURS, whether solo play or me tossing it and my kitten going ham chasing after it and forgetting I exist. Jackson’s wand toy is a favorite as well. All in all, trust the process and don’t stress too much. You’ll find what your cats love, and best of luck on your cat journey !
I know what you mean about a schedule for feeding your cats. They will do fine with close to every 12 hrs for wet food, and a cat puzzle feeder for high quality kibble to snack during the day (and it’ll help keep them busy). Ask people you know with cats for a ziplock snack size bag, label it, and see if your cat will eat it, or make sure your store your store will accept returns if your cat won’ eat it. I put out wet food about 7am, then again around 7pm and that works out fine. All of my 4 are now seniors (15 in May), and I have2 different senior kibbles and one hair all formula kibble. They take a few pieces here and there, but they know (and remind me by walking over me) when wet food should be served. Plus or minus a couple of hours won’t hurt, but make it part of your routine. Good luck with your cat! You’ll learn together.❤
@@freenemo5 thank you so much for the suggestions! i do intend on adopting 2 young adults preferably around 1-2 years old. i would love to get kittens but i understand they need a lot more attention and care, so i can’t get them. i’ll take your advice on leaving toys out for them, but i will make sure to do interactive play with them before i leave and when i come home ☺️
@@Biosbiz2 thank you for your help! i know that cats usually eat twice a day but i wanted to make sure that when i left for work they wouldn’t be starving by the time i got home. i’d also like to try to feed them a raw diet? i have a few local butchers in my area and i hear this is the best diet for them. maybe i can set a timed feeder for them when i know i can’t feed them at their preferred time?
If you want to do a raw diet but are concerned about scheduling, I've actually seen some brands of freeze dried raw food. Far as I know, the nutrients are still preserved.
Thanks for this! My tabby cats (one is 18 lbs) and they have check ups this weekend. I'm going to talk about this with them as they're 11 years old and want them to have the best quality of life!
My kitten (cat) is almost 2 years old and very stable at a weight of a little less than 6 pounds for more than a year. When I adopted her (when she was 6 months old), the vet and shelter told me that she would always be a small/petite cat. I think of her as a “runt,” cause she and her brother were rescued by the shelter at only a few days old. She eats a lot, is super healthy, is very, very active. I would actually love a video on cats who are SO active and playful that they will only sleep when you are sleeping (or away). She has no trouble sleeping, cause will fall right asleep anytime I fall asleep, take a nap, or leave the house. Does anyone else have a very, very active cat?
Also, if she actually DOES fall asleep during the day while I am doing work and I accidentally rustle some paper (she loves playing with anything that sounds like paper), she will immediately wake up and run over. She actually sleeps much more like a dog than a cat. I know that she actually sleeps really WELL and for long hours during the afternoon, cause, when I am staying at home, my mom, dad, or sister will check on her, and she will always be sleeping like a baby. It’s so sweet that she loves playing with me so much and I love playing with HER so much, but, due to this, she sleeps around 12 hours a day and not more.
Omg my cat is like this too. She only wakes up at 6am to eat and watch birds outside but then she falls asleep again and waits for me to wake up. She does take a 4 hour nap after her lunch so she sleeps around 12-16 hours a day. Shes 2. I play with her for an hour everyday so thats probably why she sleeps throughout the entire night
My cat Taffy (rest her little soul) was a whopping four pounds as a senior cat (17y). She was all fur and continued to have her little pouch. She was always a small girl with long hair. She maxed out at like 12 lbs in her youth when she was built and athletic.
I prepped with JG too and I've been with my boy Zuki now for a year and 3 months and he is loving life with his floor to ceiling cat tree... It was only £30 on amazon!
Supremely grateful for this video, getting my 9 year old cat checked for hyperthyroidism, I just thought it was age and stress he became cranky and fighty towards my younger cat and lost weight despite eating everything given to both of them, drinking like there has been a 10 year drought and toileting wherever. Thank you for sharing this information
I love watching your videos!!! Just makes me know I'm still doing everything I can right for my furbabies. I like to bring up your videos and show ppl, just to prove that I know what I'm talking about! Jackson has taught me well!! Thank You!
Love you brother. So cool how you get into cat evolution. At the risk of being creepy,I wish we were old familiar friends who could just hang out. I'm a 54 year guitarist,64 years old, and was a Nightwachman at the Cleveland Zoo for 30 years. I spent more time around animals than humans and they changed me. I fell in love with a job that just fell into my lap. We could have a helluva chat,trust me, buddy. Keep fighting the good fight,man! 🕯️🌟
I'm a really new cat owner in my 40s. Have always been a dog person. But I found an adult cat that was abandoned after Florence and was left in a kitten collar that cut into his neck skin. I saved him and he weaseled his way into my home and became an indoor cat. Then just before Christmas, we found a super tiny kitten in our backyard that my lab had cornered into one of the cinder blocks that we use for stepping up into our chicken coop. We thought it was one of our Buff Orpington chickens stuck in the cinder block. LOL! I have stopped free feeding my first rescue adult cat and in less than a week, he already looks more like the shape he should instead of an eggplant. I feed both of mine dry food but I'd rather do a completely raw diet though. (We do wet food 2 or 3 times a week but that doesn't seem to be enough). TL:DR - I tried to do a carnivore type diet for one of my previous doggies and when it was time to say goodbye and send him over the rainbow bridge, the vet asked if I had given him supplements. I didn't, because I stupidly trusted TH-cam. Is there a way I can feed my two orange/ginger boys raw natural without sacrificing their health? I feel like because domestic cats are...errr..domestic, surely there is more they need since they aren't in the wild like their fellow feline friends like lions and tigers. I just want to be the best cat mom (NOT crazy cat lady...LOL!).
My kitty's nickname is 'big mama'- she's HUGE! (16lbs) but she's more muscular than flabby, she loves to play and climb up across furniture. I'm pretty sure she's mixed with siamese or birman. She was fat at 21lbs, when we got her, because she was free-eating from her previous owner. Now she's on a weight-control wet food but a fully stable weight :) it was wonderful watching her go from being too fat to jump up on the couch, to being a nuisance climbing across our bathroom counters lol.
Terrific video, as always. I have two cats, one a 14 year old Tortie. She is round. She is short of squat, short legs, short tail, short ears so while she looks chubby I think a lot of it is based on her body style. If her legs, tails and frame were longer, like my other cat, she would seem less chubby. I’m just happy she’s 14 and relatively active and loves to eat. No bones as a lot of senior cats get. Appreciate all you do, sir. I have been a fan since your Cats 101 days on Animal Planet.
I will have to do some conversions into kg 😂 my vet said that he should have a little pouch but its more obvious coz he was shaved for an op but I often worry he might just be fat, he's very slender though so by this video I think he's a healthy weight. He was 3kg last month an just turned 7 months old at the time (so 8mnths now) for a British Shorthair the vet said he's quite big! This video definitely helped put my mind at rest and yes...he's raw fed and is absolutely thriving on it! (also cheaper too!)
Believe me, I asked my vet and she told me my cat was slightly overweight but just change diet to food for sterilised cats. I've researched and my baby has lost quite some weight now. I'll happily listen to what you have to say
Jackson thank you for what you do and for some many things you’ve taught me about my kitty-kids. I have 5 cats and they have all benefited from your advice and all of us appreciate you more than you could imagine. Thank you again and keep making videos cause all 6 of us look forward to your latest ones. Meow meow
I have two cats under 3 years old, same mother different father. One is big and chunky, (15 pounds) the other is a 'forever kitten' as we call her, tiny and slim (7 pounds). They are both perfectly healthy, nor too fat or too thin (after the visit to the vet) So it is what it is, genetics🤩
My sweet calico , Daisy Is over weight . She is a rescue cat that ate non stop when I brought her home at 12 weeks . I was home during the look down so I was there to feed her often . Now I see she wasn’t hungry back then but just was eating for fear it might be her last meal . She is a short and round kitty . I desperately try to cut back on her food intake but I have another cat who is a much larger and rather thin . They actually weigh very close to the same . SoI can’t give them diet prescription . . ❤
Hi Jackson. You've convinced me to switch to meal times and raw food. I'll go check those videos you've recommended but two questions are about transitions. How do I transition them to meal times and raw food and still get some sleep at night? Should I both switch their food and transition to meal times instead of free feeding at the same time or do one first and then the other?
I converted my cats from free feeding to meal times and unfortunately it made one of them very food anxious. She now has a major habit of eating too much too fast, like she's binge eating. It causes her to throw up if she gets too carried away, which is most often when she's offered some dry food. Both my girls really love dry food, and I only let them have a little bit at a certain time. (It's also a brand that doesn't put bunch of crap in them, supposedly. They really missed the dry food when I took it away, so that's why I still let them have some, but as a snack rather than freefeeding.) She will also beg for food outside of mealtimes, and try to steal food from the other cat. I feel awful sometimes about having messed up the transition, and doing that change while she was still a kitten. The way I slow her down from eating the dry stuff roo fsst is with a feeding toy. So yes, better be really careful!!
Thank you for this informative video. A 2022 survey by APOP, shows 61% of cats are overweight or obese. This is because 81% of cat owners state they feed dry kibble all or most of the time. My two 15 month old females are normal weight, maybe slightly thin. They eat chicken thigh meat or raw ground beef every day. Every other day or so, a grain free wet cat food. Once a week, a tin of sardines. Sometimes I hide freeze dried chicken treats for them to hunt and find.
Ty! Ty! Ty! I was horrified when I got out my magnifying glass and finslly read the label on the wet food my vet had recommended; it contained Wheat! Having bad eyesight, I had trusted the Vet to know; wrong! I took him off of that and stopped all dry food, and now he's a normal size with more energy. He was starting to look like a fat bowling pen. Thank goodness I took action before he got seriously ill from those processed, crappy food like substances. LOVE YOUR ADVICE! ❤️ I've learned so much and we even took in a 2nd ferral, because YES, as you advise, Two IS better! They have so much fun chasing each other, grooming each other, pestering each other and sleeping together...life is twice as nice!
I would like to know your opinions/thoughts/tips about how you would pick out the best wet food/raw for a cat. Also would like to know how to read cat food labels and what to avoid and what is actually good ingredients.
Hey Jackson! I hope you are well! I've done a few things that you said, taking the bell off their collars, and using saucers instead of dishes and my cats are so much happier! I have three cats...two brothers, Tuna and Moona are black and white, the other, Radish, is a rare male calico! You are an amazing cat daddy! Thank you so much for your videos, we love them! Sending you much love and peace from the UK! 🥰
Thanks as always Jackson! You're my favorite cat source. I know you truly care about them like we do 😊 I have 2 cats, one who is a grazer and will only have a few bites at a time and the other will gobble down all kitty food in sight including her sisters. As you can imagine one is getting chunky and the other always (not always but it's often enough to be noticeable) seems hungry and wanting a little food. Right now I feed them a tablespoon six times a day, that's just about the amount my grazer will eat in a sitting. But it's so time consuming and unsustainable! Help! Love you! Thanks for all the amazing content over the years ❤️
Thank you for taking about super senior cats. We have a little girl who is 18! We do a lot of vet visits and weight checks to do our best to help her weight up, but we also know the reality that she will never look the same as our 4 year old cat. The vet is always amazed at how healthy she is and how she shows to signs of cancer or major arthritis (wow, can she jump!! and she has no issues going up and down 3 flights of stairs for food or litter boxes. Water is on every floor). Just like humans, her body is wearing out the older the age gets. Not as much energy, doesn't see or hear quite as well... unless she sees or hears "treats". When it comes to that, she is a super cat since they don't happen very often unless one of the cats gets claws trimmed or medication given etc, haha! All this to say, thank you for taking about the weight issues that come into play with kitties hitting milestones like mine. 😻
Hello Jackson, I am almost a cat expert compared to other people thanks to you, may I make a question and video suggestion? what is the most domesticated/domestic breed of cat humans have "created" and the suggestion of video, a video where you talk about if someone is ready to adopt a cat or two and maybe a playlist where you talk the basics to know before having a cat, of already made videos, thhanks for the videos
Great video! I love how you said that each cat is a different individual, because mine, for instance (a mutt who jumped into my arms from the street, literally), had his metabolism messed up when he was less than 2 yrs old - he had to undergo a life-saving treatment based on steroids. It resulted in him being taller and overall bigger. He also got a bit on the chubby side. Not very fond of wet food (he has his moments), but what I've found is that when his bowl is full of dry food (grain free, high protein, no crap fillers) he eats less than when I serve portions. He actually got leaner and more active since I chose free feeding. Of course, I measure the amount I leave out for him. It just works for us, and the vet says "Let him do him, his tests are great, he's almost 11 yrs old, let the man live his best life" 🤷🏽♀️ PS I subscribed, your channel is too good not to.
Thank you all for watching- I hope this helped! Please don't forget to subscribe and put your topic suggestions here in the comments. I DO read them!
Thank YOU!
Something about educating and feeding still growing cats (8mo) would be awesome - mine are the right weight and “form”😊 but are very violent and greedy when it’s feeding time, even though we have fixed rituals and playing sessions. They only get healthy wet food and only few treats, no free feeding or dry food. I don’t know what to do anymore 😢
Thank you so much for your videos! They are very helpful 😊
How common is diabetes in cats? Isn't the symptoms of diabetes and hyperthyroidism the same? Believe me, it's off to the vets with any issues. I was just wondering.
@@stefanieschelch2028 do you put their food in separate bowls in quite few steps away each other, we should feed like 4 times a day, when they're kitten's I'm Rescuer and Foster, that's what I have been learning from my vet's, article's, from trainers Jackson ❤️, and from my friends at the Rescue staff too.
I adopted a cat for the first time 2 weeks ago and these videos are super helpful. Yesterday evening was the first time he was comfortable enough to play with the feather chasing toy!! Gave him his evening food right afterwards too
so adorable
Nice
I think watching tutorials like this should be a must for all cat owners, they have helped me immensely.
So good on you.😸👍
Yes
Buy the cat wand with rainbow. Somehow cats favor that to play with
I get judged when I say my cat weighs 17lbs. What people don’t get is that he is half Maine Coon!
Thank you for mentioning breed!
My 2 year old tortoiseshell is 9lbs.
Breed is such a big factor!
Same weight as my black Main Coon cat. He is longer and naturally bigger than most cats.
My 10 month old kitten is 7 kilo and whenever people hear that, they are in shock. Then I show them pictures of him and don't understand because he's thin and muscular. He's also taller and weighs more than my 2 year old female but she looks heavier than him.
He was more than 5 kilo at 6 months when I took him to get neutered and my vet refused to believe me when I said he was only 6 months. Once he anesthetized him, he checked his teeth and was in shock he had baby teeth.
He has no Maine coon or Norwegian forest cat or other stocky or large breeds. He's clearly an oriental short-hair and he has a very thin build. He's just tall and all muscle.
Exactly, it's like with people. If my son was 100 lbs, he'd be very sicly. If i was his weight, I'd be overweight.
Some breeds are made to be big, and some breeds are mini. I think a lot of people forget that, bc most cat breeds look similar in shape, unlike dogs which are clearly differential.
My cat is 16lbs and people always call her fat when they hear that or see her. But she isn't- she's, to my best guess, a siamese/birman-tabby mix and she's HUGE all-over. Like she's over a foot tall and has a face the size of a grapefruit. She was fat (20lbs) when we got her, but she's slimmed down to a size that our vet has said is good condition. She's not fat, she's just spayed and fluffy so she looks a little flabby lol.
I do think it's really funny how she's literally TWICE the size of an average cat, but that's just the way she's built!
Wow my cat is a 16 lbs too, and he's a giant 😮 really huge frame just like yours ❤ mine is British
Jackson, may we please have more videos about the benefits of adopting senior shelter cats? This has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences ever.
I adopted a senior cat last spring. Was hesitant but she’s full of energy and loves to play and I’m glad I brought her home.
Old kitties are the best. I have a 7yo that I adopted last year (she's not old but she's not a kitten) and a couple weeks ago I adopted a 15yo baby
If you adopt older cat, pet insurance! My cat got sick 4 months after i adopted her. Insurance .ade getting get care quickly a no brainet. Or prepare for high bills.
i adopted my senior kitty almost 2 years ago now, and jackson's videos were the reason i opted for my boy rather than a younger one, and i've never been more thankful to him tbh. he's very sweet, and he has the perfect energy level for my lifestyle.
I think especially as we age rather than taking in kittens, it benefits everyone if you take in the elderly cats that you might actually outlive , rather than having to worry about who will take care of Fluffy after you er, leave. Not everyone appreciates our passion for cats.
Thank you for talking about the top-down view! This is called BCS (Body Condition Score) at your vet. BCS charts are a great way to eyeball your cat's situation weight-wise. Your vet will usually note this at each exam in the SOAP notes, so you can keep an eye on it in the vet notes, too.
I was never a cat person until recently. Adopted a sweet tabby girl with my girlfriend about a year ago. It was a bit rough in the beginning; as a first time cat owner I didn't completely understand the reasons behind some of her more undesirable behaviour. But thankfully I found Jackson's channel . He's given me the tools and knowledge I needed to be a better cat dad and I'm forever grateful.
Jackson is awesome in cat behaviour. Also understanding cats make you both have a better relationship. Love that things are better. They are very special souls once you speak the same language.
Hey, I’d love to see more videos about cat emotional health. For instance, I’ve seen them get depressed when a kitty friend dies. And, my own cat Garland is just an anxious cat, and figuring that out, and how to help him, has taken a lot of investigation!
This is also something I would be very interested in!
My too! I have 4 cats, and one of them, Murray, is very high strung.
Me too, one of my kittens is super skittish while his brother (litter mates) is quite a socialite.
Yes! We're always looking for ways to make them happy, would be good to hear about how to care for them if it's just not working.
I also have an anxious kitty. We have a play/eat routine, cat trees, cat beds, multiple litter boxes, scent soakers, CBD for her... She still seems to have her tail wagging or down most of the time she is walking and gets super angry when the other cats initiate play with her (she's fine if she initiates though). The vet says there is nothing physically wrong. I really wish I could figure out her mental health...
I used to call Cleo's primordial pouch "the jelly belly." RIP, Cleo - you will always be my queen.
My sweet late cat Nala also had a low hangin' pouch! Her belly was a light peachy colour with rusty spots and it was so soft. She passed at 17, I truly miss her.
@@jonahandthewolf Aw, I'm sorry, Jo! Losing them is so, so hard.
I am sooo gonna call them jelly belly from now on ❤
❤❤❤
I’d love to see a video about FIV and how FIV positive cats are still very adoptable. I have the sweetest FIV foster who came to me extremely traumatized and now he’s the most cuddly, loveable boy, but people see the FIV status and won’t give him a chance which is a shame because he deserves all the love.
Second this. I also have a FIV+ happy boy (who also happens to be a black cat, so double prejudice!). He’s the love of my life, my baby Yan.
My cat had a small issue with her eye and she kept getting overlooked at the shelter! I adopted her at 1 years old and she had been there for 6 months. I don't think she was super friendly either.. she can be a bit skittish and I guess wasn't a people-cat at the shelter. But cats don't act the same at a shelter as they do in a happy home. She's the sweetest little cuddle bug. All cats should be given a chance.
I agree! I have a 6 year old orange rescue FIV+ boy who is the happiest floof! It is really sad that people do not want to adopt pets that are labeled with some health issues. People see it as a situation that will cost them a lot and will end in a heart break. Pet insurance companies are also pretty useless. They do not reimburse many things because they relate it to FIV.
I believe that he's in his Forever Home now. No-one will love him as you do. You may foster, but i believe that he's supposed to be your Forever Baby & Family.
@@redomisia I'm actually looking into pet insurance now that my one kitty is having some issues. The other one is in great health but I'm starting to wonder if the cost of insurance is worth it. It's just annoying that a lot of them won't handle the basics like wellness visits. That's preventative!
I've been following Jackson's advice for 2 months. Wet, grain free food and play! My 18 pounder is now a 16.5lb energetic 8 yo cat.
Thank you
Never had a cat before. 1 year ago a stray started coming around and I fed her and put a box for her to sleep in. She gifted me with 3 kittens. I fed them all summer, and now I have 4 cats🤷♀️ one spaye, one neuter,2 more girls to go. I let them out everyday. We live in the country so they get plenty of exercise. Never thought I would be a cat person, always had hounds. God gave me a gift that He knew I needed. Love your channel. Lots for a newbie to learn.👍
You shouldn’t let them out as long as they‘re not spayed/neutered. Otherwise you get again 4 cats and again and again and again. Ask your local rescue for help if it’s too expensive for you.
@FlameCat Gaming I‘m quite torn about this. It depends on where you live. In a residential district in Germany you don’t have dangers like wild animals. Only cars. But „roaming“ cats is definitely a thing here. So if we get more older cats from the streets they‘ll have to be adopted by people living in a more rural area or 30 km/h zone where it’s more safe for them. And while I do love nature more than anything and studied environmental science cats having a tremendous impact on ecosystems is just a straw man fallacy. Compared to us humans and what we do to the nature (sealing of soils, wood clearing for districts, rockeries etc.) is way worse for the local fauna (and flora) than cats hunting a few birds or mice. The majority of birds die of hunger here and not because they get killed by cats. So again it’s us living in their habitat, taking away their place of food, using way too much pesticides, intensive agriculture and climate change. Cats outside are the least of their problems.
@sewer~rat thank god that we don’t have these kind of sick people in the neighborhood in Germany where I live in. Free roaming cats are totally normal here. I almost know no one with indoor cats. Our cats went outside all their life and thankfully nothing happend yet in 20 years. But yes something could happen anytime. That‘s the risk. If I think about what fun they have outside, the amount of kilometers they walk I will never keep them inside. They can come and go as they please. To me that’s species appropriate. Unless they have some illness, are blind etc. Oh and cats usually don’t get kidnapped. There is a law, that free roaming cats have to be spayed and chipped. So if they go with a stray cat to the vet they check first if the cat has a chip and is registered. Also voluntarily worker from associations and shelters check for the Chip first. If you find a stray cat which is not familiar to you or your neighbors you can always call them to come and check. Again it’s totally normal here and many shelters let cats only be adopted if they have the opportunity to go outside.
My father, who passed, always would say that "swingy little thing" was normal and from having been "fixed". 💜
So glad to hear that you read the comments! I would love to see a video introducing us to your cats! It would be so fun to meet them and hear about their personalities. Also, I would like to know specifically what you feed your cats on a daily basis. You have helped us so much with our kitty, as we are relatively new to having a cat. Thanks, Jackson!
I think he has one on his channel somewhere! He introduced all of his pets, which if I remember correctly, even included turtles.
@@YoGabbaGibbs Thanks so much! I will look for it!
Yeay will be fun to see yr cats
I would LOVE for you to talk more about special needs cats! Whether they're aesthetically imperfect (missing eyes, ears, legs and so on) or something deeper like CH, deafness, paralysis or whatever it may be! These cats are so often overlooked in shelters and my heart just beats extra hard for the special needs kitties ❤️
This video is perfectly timed. We have a domestic short haired rescue kitten and with us she’s put on a lot of weight. We were scared she’s overeating but the vet said she’s okay.
Young kittens tend to look a little chonky, more to grow with 😸 If the vet isn't worried it should be fine.
As long as she is growing it shouldn't be a problem because she needs the food to become a healthy grown cat. When she's adult you can ask the vet again.
Kittens are supposed to be gaining weight. They're growing.
The cat we are fostering will NOT eat canned wet food. We've tried every brand I'm aware of. Only dry. Only thing we haven't tried is raw.
This is something I worry about. I’m looking forward to this video!
Same!
Me too - esp since my oldest guy is 14 and getting skinnier.
I love the primordial pouch, it’s so cute, especially when it swings while they run.
And I also have a soft spot for jowly cats, the roundness of the face is very charming, lol.
Something you didn't mention is that a cat's ideal weight at different points in their life is going to look different. For example my cat took 3 years to get full sized at which point she weighed a healthy 15 pounds very muscular big Norwegian forest cat. Now as a super senior at the age of 17, healthy weight is 10 pounds, due to muscle loss.
How is 15 pounds healthy. My cat was that and he was fat as f*ck.
@@morganc.m1830 Breed of cat makes a big difference on what size is healthy or not. Also trust me my vet would not have told me that that was her healthy weight if it wasn't because I was concerned cause I'd never had that big of a cat before.
Also, just male versus female of any breed. Males tend to be larger/bigger.
He did mention it
Great praise for you in New York Times Magazine (Jan. 24th) !! SO happy for you! 🙂
Thanks so much for this video. My super senior tortie is 16 1/2 and has lost weight in the past couple of years. Now I understand why. She’s diabetic and sees her internal medicine doctor twice a year plus regular vet visits and they are not concerned. When she was younger we were always trying to keep from getting overweight and now it’s the opposite.
As an example of how *you* know your pet best, I knew my baby was sick for a year before anyone else. She seemed too thin despite how much she ate, and she was dropping weight but not to an alarming degree so only I thought something was wrong despite multiple vet visits. It turns out the tumor hadn't developed yet, but she had cancer. Melanoma.
So sorry, I hope she gets better. A loss of a family member is so hard. Sending good vibes!!!
Aww I'm so sorry to hear about your kitty. Weight loss is so weird in cats. With my last one, I had no idea that was linked to kidney disease. I'd taken her to the vet to have certain tests and urinalysis done and they all came back normal. That was months before chronic kidney disease onset and the weight loss started. I just put it all down to stress. Still beating myself up about this seven months after her passing.
i adopted my senior cat just a few months ago, and he started gaining a lot of weight bcus i was being too nice on the food portions. now i do loads of tiny meals and he is so food motivated i have taught him how to sit on command before he gets his food. such a smart little man
Thank you for talking about the tummy pouch. I have a big Siamese mix who is twice the size of a normal cat, paws too. He has a lot of muscle and runs and jumps with no problem. In the late evening, when it is quiet, I take him out into the stairway, and with some treats I entice him to go up and down three flights of stairs. He goes up the stairs much faster than I can. He is very smart. He will go over to the door and trill and meow for me to open the door, sometimes actually reaching up and touching the door knob with an outstretched paw. After, we come back inside and I feed both my cats. Vets have told me that he is overweight, one was freaking out, even though she and her Vet tech were quite obese. The other one just said it was something to watch. But, I believe he may have some Maine Coon in him which would explain his weight. Otherwise, he seems to be quite healthy. He likes to follow me around if I go into another room, and also sleeps next to me........your videos have been very helpful...Thank you!
I have spent the last two months trying to puzzle out if my extremely long-haired domestic cat was getting her winter coat or getting a bit chubby. Her body shape is totally hidden behind all her fluff!
My cats pouch is absolutely ridiculously swingy
I love my kittie’’s swingy pouch❤
Same my Natasha’s so funny when i see her run down the hallway we say “swing that thing girl”
I just adopted a cat and I absolutely love these videos. Every little question that comes up, Jackson seems to have a video for it. Thank you so much for posting these!
Agreed.
Also, no matter how much time we spend with our cats, we can still learn from one another, when ready the comments, they are very helpful, we just have to discern, wisely, the accurate information, from the inaccurate ones.
Thank you for adopting, you're life must be much happier now😊.
We have too giant Maine Coons, they're huge, 27lbs each, but with very little pudge. Also, don't judge your cat by their primordial pouch. Some breeds have a big pouch regardless of gender. Our youngest it's like two goose eggs, swinging free. They don't have pudge anywhere else.
And, my 2 Maine Coons eat a lot. They are 11 years old and 16 lbs and 3 years old and 18 lbs. He'll get bigger, I'm sure.
I have a half Maine coon and our vet at the last visit told me that she is extremely overweight and that she needed to lose weight. She’s 13 lbs and they were asking her to get down to 8-9lbs, which is a lot to ask. Maine Coons can be really large and heavy, and I didn’t think she was overweight and I’m doubting my vet
@@susiezhang5742 you should definitely ask for another vet's opinion
@@susiezhang5742 Not all vets are good at estimating how much cat should weight. Many vets unfortunately learns only about how much should mutt weight not large breed cats. Find vet who specializes in MC and ask for another opinion :)
your cat should weigh exactly one cat. no more, no less...
What even is that supposed to mean?
LOL!
Our cat just loves to play after she eats...really. Her favorite thing to do is chase and be chased, ambush, chase,be chased...and on and on until she's tired. This is pretty amazing, kind of funny but sometimes not convient. We do it anyway. 😁
Lol, I was going to say. . .our ginger boi gets more hyper /after/ he eats which leads to him chasing his new brother around who. . .isn't always enthused by it! He also likes being chased around the house, which is tiring when its 10:30 and you're wanting to just got to bed!
Same with my ginger boy haha
i make my cat play fetch up and down the stairs so he goes to sleep at night 😂
My ginger boy likes to be chased and my big girl doggo likes to “fake” chase him. Other cats don’t get it, but I’m glad these two are on the same page.
You have no clue how much anxiety as a cat mum you helped me overcome ❤️
We've got two cats, one that runs on the slightly chunky side and would love to be chunkier, and one that came to us as an underweight teenager and had to be chunked up ASAP. Their introduction-to-civil period took 107 days (and yes, I can count it that precisely because they literally just decided to be friends one day about a week ago), and the main thing we could use to encourage them to tolerate each other was treats, because they were too on edge to play if the other was in the room most of the time.
Especially towards the end of the getting-to-know-you period, we were trying to keep them in the same room as often and as long as possible, and that meant a lot of treats. Cat #1, who is deeply food-motivated, was delighted with this. Now that they're friends and they don't NEED two tube treats, a handful of Greenies, and some freeze-dried chicken every day to get along, she's been begging a lot more. Sorry, sweet girl, but the extra treats were a necessary evil, and now it's back to reduced rations for you!
Thanks for everything Jackson, I rescued 2 stray cats, and have found deep love for them because of your help ❤ I’m now a passionate cat guy 😇
Thank you Cat Daddy for all of your insight of cats. You always have great advice. I've had cats for 30+years and I am always learning something new from you. PURRRR
❤❤❤HI MR GALAXY ❤❤❤. THANK YOU so much for introducing us to the proper way to feed our fur babies!! I ditched the kibbles, started him on wet food and I’m looking into raw! Now the treats will be changed!!! Thank you thank you thank you for helping me keep wolfman on a path to longevity!❤❤❤❤
My sister and I both got a kitten from the same litter. They're 8 months old right now. My sister is already worried about her cat getting overweight as he's growing up because he *loves* eating and doesn't like being active. For my cat it's almost the opposite problem, lol. She's not super enthusiastic about food and she's super active. Personality also matters a lot, lol.
And males tend to be bigger anyway :)
@@kthearcher3357 really depends on the breed
My cats weights around 2.5kg to 3kg
But she is a Ghanaian cat which are quite small.
It is a struggle to get her to eat sometimes
I managed to feed her 200g to 250g of wet food and zero carbs
We adopted our cat about 6 weeks ago. He came from a house with 50 cats. He has put on weight since we got him. I think he is so happy to not have to compete with lots of cats for food. Hopefully his issues with food will calm down. He is doing very well for coming from a house with so many cats. He is very good about the litter box and is not aggressive. We are thankful that he is doing as well as he is. He is so sweet.
We do feed our cat some dry food and some wet food. We are still trying to find the best canned food for him. He does not like pate. For the ones with gravy and meet, he just licks the gravy, but does not eat the meat.
I start watching and think why do we need this video, but THEN 2 minutes in, I always learn something!! 😊
Hi Jackson! I’m a little concerned by my vets answers to my questions about the raw diet and his seeming lack of concern about my cat in general. Have you made a video about how to find the right vet? That may be hard to answer 😅.
I've found that some vets tend to care more about dogs then they do cats which is sad.
The best starting place in my opinion is to talk with other pet owners in your area and find out who they see and what their experiences have been. If it's affordable, try out a different vet. When I got my girls I knew I wouldn't take them to the same vet we used for our childhood pets as we've had some issues about their handling and demeanor towards our family dog.
In some cases you may even be able to call a clinic and ask a few basic questions like how to get started on a raw diet. If they are willing to give some basic positive information over the phone I would say that's a good sign.
@@Sinovian Thank you for the advice! After posting, I had to take my 21 year old cat to a local animal hospital, they treated him with such care and I was honestly shocked that they told me I had options other than to just “ put him to sleep “ which is what I was told by the other place. I took this cat in three years ago from my Uncle and he is doing so much better, more affectionate because he is in less pain! I’m going to ask them about the raw die. Fingers crossed 🤞. Also, I found out at the last vet, that man was the one who normally saw dogs and his wife was the one who primarily saw cats! But she was the one who almost let my little cat die after being fixed!
@@lacesspace sounds like you found a much better place! I hope you and your kitty get the help and support you need ❤️
I love your channel! I agree with you- play with the kitties! Even when there are multiple kitties that play together- playing with all of them is bonding and so much fun! I would play with my cat an hour every evening. It’s so much better than watching TV! And, having many different play toys like a tunnel, dangling feathers, scratching posts that are tall so they climb on them and places off the floor for them to rest in a sunny window and look around at the birds etc. If anyone wants to get ideas watch some of the Japanese kitty videos as their culture loves to have happy cats. Thank you for sharing your love and how to care for cats.
You say that you read the comments so I want you to know that for over 15 years I lived in a small apartment overseas (Hong Kong). My daughter begged me every day for a cat but I said no because I knew it was cruel to keep a kitty on the 25th floor of a tiny apartment and not be able to bring them with us when we left eventually. Now I live in Morocco! I have a huge place and my daughter finally got her kitty :). Your videos were part of our lives Jackson! We would watch your show before we found you on TH-cam. Cats bring so much happiness and I'm blessed now we have ours and we can give them the life they deserve. Thank you😻
My Felicity started licking bald patches into her fur, and I assumed she was stressed out because two kittens had joined our family. Luckily I took her to the vet and found out she was hyperthyroid. Thanks to her medication she spent many more happy and healthy years with us.
I adopted 2 orange kittens last October they now 6 months and one of the brothers has always been smaller and 'skinnier' he eats, plays and sleeps the same. The bigger one has the pouch and the smaller one does not. They have had the jabs and just been castrated so they have been seen by the vets and they are not worried. Hes just a smaller kitty :) If you want to see them I have lots of 'shorts' from the 1st day up to today on my channel :)
My male fixed cat is huge and he loves to cuddle at night on my chest!he’s also a quad polydactyl! Thank you for your kitty information:)
I also have a large fixed male who is a quad polydactyl. He also loves to cuddle. 💕
Found this curious about my cats large stomach pouch. It seems empty, just loose skin. She is healthy in every way and doesn’t feel underweight at all! Love you Jackson, and so does my cat! (I think she just watches the other cats on the show)!
Thank you for reminding folks that cats are obligate carnivores!!! None of my cats have been obese. They have all passed on now (after 10+ years of love and life🥰) and we fed them when we ate so they ate 3 square meals a day. Building and keeping a solid routine really does help.
I am a first time cat owner. We got my baby when he was 9 weeks old; and we started harness training him right away. He’s now a little over 2 1/2 years old. We only let him outside supervised and on the harness. We have a run that goes from the back door to the back of the yard that he can be hooked up to so he can have ‘freedom’ to explore while we sit and watch or we put him on a leash and walk him around our yard, he really likes that because he can check out more of the back yard than the run allows him too and he can go all the way around the house to explore the front yard as well. My husband and I have never actually taken him for a walk outside of our yard. We are afraid if he were to ever get loose (he doesn’t usually try to dart towards the door, but I don’t want to risk it) that he would feel more confident to go further away if we were regularly walking him around the neighborhood. In my mind, if he’s only familiar with with our yard he won’t want to stray too far away from it. I do plan on watching the video you referenced about walking your cat next. I was just curious on your thoughts on this, and figured I’d have a better probability of getting a response to a comment on this video than an older one.
This video is so helpful! It's always great to get an explanation about our cats' bodies and needs.
The vets sometimes don't have the time to explain everything.
Valuable and straightforward advice as ever, Jackson- thank you. The pouch explaimed! A vet I had not consulted before described my 5.3kg boy as "a bit tubby"; okay, so she is a vet, but truly, it's the right weight for him. He is solidly built with a large frame, is active and eats good food, regularly spaced throughout the day. I thin, just like humans, weight is entirely individual for animals and good cat guardians know instinctively what is healthy for their furry buddy.
Best wishes to you, Jackson, from. Teddy and me.
Jackson!! Your videos have helped me so much with my cat. The only snag I've run into with my little puffball is that she bites a lot. I play with her daily, I boil and simmer, I give her space when she asks for it but I'm constantly running into the problem of her biting me. We did find her as a strat at about 5 months and she was by herself so she didn't really get to socialize with other cats. She is very sweet and loving and asks me for hugs all the time. She'll stand up on her toes and snuggle up to my face purring and everything. Then after about a minute, She'll either bite my face or my arm. I'm not sure what else to do.
same!
I loved this video! What I find challenging when it comes to cat weight management is when you have two completely different cats, one who is prone to be overweight and the other prone to be underweight.
My boy, aged 7 next July, has been super active all his life. Despite being an indoor cat he just plays around and explores around every day. He hates dry food, always eats wet food (sadly no trustful source of raw food in my country), LOVES cream treats, and he's absolutely obsessed with greens and catnip. Max weight I've seen on him was 4.5 kgs as a neutered male British Shorthair, which is below the breed average. Took him to the vet, thankfully no problems. But we need to make sure that he doesn't fall below 4.
My girl, on the other hand, aged 5, is a lazy cat who gets only around 2 energy explosions per day. And she loves eating. A lot. She's currently 5 kgs as a spayed British Shorthair. We try to keep her in control meanwhile trying to feed my boy and it really is challenging to manage both extremes lol.
I am relating so much to this post haha. You made me laugh!😂 That was exactly the reason why I decided to start feeding times and also being with them when they eat. Because if I don’t, there is a high chance that my older one eats the food of the skinny one too haha. So I control everything now. No way around it at that stage.
Jackson, would you ever do a video discussing cats that have to be left at home a long time? I only have a one bedroom apartment, so no room for a second cat, but I’m single, I have one cat, and I teach so a lot of times, I’m stuck at the school for 12 hours or so. Then I also have the days when I have to go to the store, run other errands, which extends the days. I feel so bad leaving him home so long by himself.
Another cat would be helpful! You have enough room!!!!
I worry about this too. I have to work two jobs to make ends meet and I feel super bad
He has talked about this subject before!😊 If you cannot get a second cat he has talked about a cat sitter, as in someone you know and trust to keep your cat company for a while when you are not at home. Perhaps a friend or family member your fur baby is also fond of? ❤ I hope this helps! If I can find the video for you I can share it to you.
Take your cat for a walk on a leash once a day, even if only for 10 minutes. Will do wonders for you as well as your cat. 😽
I am also a teacher so I relate!! It’s long hours and then so tired when we get home all we want is cuddles
Thank you Jackson for another great video. Always talking with my veterinarian about my cat's weight and diet. Love that your mottos are, "play with your cat", and "take your cat 🙀 to the vet regularly". ♥
Thank you so much, Jackson! Ever since I have been watching your videos I have completely changed the way I feed my cat, and he has never been happier or looked healthier! I have him on a raw diet and stopped free feeding him, thanks to your advice! ♥️
My cat Jack was a stray. He still is an outdoor ish cat. He spent a winter very young starving on the streets. I didn't want to brake his spirit so he has full access to the outdoors. The business behind thanked me saying he kills more rodents than any stray they have ever had. Don't worry he gets dewormed regularly. He is now 10 yrs old and worried the other kitties can't hunt, he has started stocking the house with mice and baby rabbits. He brings them in and drops them, refusing to kill them himself. He just watches and shakes his head at how bad the other 2 are at killing.
Anyway I asked the vet if his gaining a pound ( or 1lb +) in the fall then losing it the spring was an issue. With a bit of conversation we figured out he hunts like crazy in the fall so he can strave a bit in the winter and still survive. Sigh, even if it's sub zero temps he insisted he has to hunt. We close the cat door and allow access through the front door but only if we are awake to let him in and out. He gets treats when he comes back in.
I was told by one vet tech in March he was getting fat. I made him actually stand up and pointed to the visual chart you showed and told her she was stupid. He is scared of them and afraid I'll leave him at the vets due to his time at the pound. Crunched down the whole time he there, they don't really know how big but thin he actually is. At home he has that big cat walk and others people notice him. I've seen the guys on the forklift stop and let him walk through the yard, because he killed something and needs to share at home.
Thank you for all your wonderful advice! I adopted an overweight cat the first week of January, and have been using your videos to keep her happy and active ☺️
I free feed my cat and she just eats a few times a day but as she’s aged (she’s 10 now) she’s put on weight. She used to be 3.5-4kg and is now 4.8kg. The vet confirmed a few weeks ago that she’s a bit overweight so now I’m measuring out her food and reducing her calorie rich wet-food as that’s what the vet recommended, but it sounds like I should be doing this the other way around. She doesn’t get fed treats often, only one or 2 and when she does a trick in her training. Your videos are really helpful for ideas to keep her active (we play every day and we go on walks) but a video for how to help cats transition into their older years and still stay fit, especially for people who rent or live in flats so are limited in what they can do to catify the living space.
I was called "big-boned". 😂 My vet told me my 10lb cat should weigh 9lbs and as soon as I tried to put her on a diet, she started showing pica like behavior, eating foam, cardboard and stuffed toy parts she ripped off. As soon as I went back she was totally fine and all her kitten energy came back zooming about everywhere. I think part of it is that she has more muscle because of how active she is and muscle weighs more than fat.
My cat weighs 10 lbs too. From neck to base of tail he is 14 1/2". He has always weighed the same. 😽
Worked my cat from 14 lbs down to 12.8! I'm rlly proud of her progress!
The primordial pouch is just my fav! Ids super cute. I love to pet on my cats belly. Like a kid swinging grandmas arm fat lol.
🤣
we call them "bingo wings" from where I come from.
@@anniethemese1215 haaa perfect
Just a note. I tried to change the bell from "none" to "all" or "personalized", but it doesn't change. It shows the bell, crossed over, saying "none". 😲 This video showed up in my timeline, so I guess it's just a glitch on TH-cam.
It's amazing how different cats can be even changed by the first few weeks of their lives. My old cat was incredibly food insecure her entire 14 years of life, and we suspected it was partially because the people we adopted her from fed the litter of kittens by throwing a single piece of meat and having them fight it out, and she was the smallest. On the other hand, one of my current cats is slightly food insecure but improving with accommodations, and the other has no food issues so far (besides not growing out of his "yelling at mom to give me food" phase lol)
Not all vets are built equally. I'm certainly looking for another one after this video. I have a beautifully large baby. His papa was an orange tabby barn cat (only ate what he caught) who weighed in at 24 lbs of pure muscle when we had him neutered. My baby weighs in at 16 lbs and has an hourglass shape when you look at him from above, yet his vet always says he needs to lose 5 lbs. His primal pouch is loose, too. If you know the parentage of your furbaby, take that into consideration. I also have a 12 lb baby who is oval from above. He is fat. He steals his mama's food (she's a petite 6 lbs and stands a little over 8 inches tall at the shoulder). Thank you, Jackson for helping all of us cat moms and dads to give our babies their best lives.
So incredibly grateful for all the work that you do to help educate us. I’m a first time cat adopter and your videos have been vital throughout the whole process. My cat and myself thank you! ❤️
A month ago I adopted Grilka, an 11 year old female cat who weighed a whopping 26 lbs. She is amazingly agile and active, which I take advantage of for exercise. We are on a strict diet. I even bought a baby scale to weigh her. Today she weighed in at 25.3 lbs, so we are on the right track.
My vet said to feed my fat cat dry food because wet food has so many calories. 😳😩 I’m baffled. Ace is a grey tabby stray, we got him at around two years old, and he chonked up real quick cuz he acted like he was starving every single minute - MUCH different than my other cat. Ace is on a strict feeding schedule & strict amount (unless he steals Bueller’s food 🤦♀️). I do play with him best I can. Anyway, we’re working on it all. Thanks so much for allll the videos!! 😄😻
I’ve heard, read, and been told just the opposite.
You need a real Vet, this one isn't knowledgeable. Dry is junk food full of carbs, and can give them Kidney & other health issues. Cats are carnivores, they don't hunt corn, wheat, etc, just as dogs don't.
Cats need meat. Canned food will lessen the risk of diabetes. Dont free feed dry!
My cats get one meal grain free dry and one meal wet. One of them has digestive issues and needs the extra fibre. If I feed him only wet he poops puddles.
That's literally the only benefit of dry over wet and even then, I make sure he still gets wet because cats need it to hydrate.
Have you looked at in the bag where it shows calories? Always higher in dry food. If you look at the cans of wet food, much lower in calories. Maybe you need to check out some other vets… Just a suggestion because all of my vets (we’ve moved a lot so I’ve had several different vets) say can food.
Jackson - thank you for your videos about free feeding, wet vs dry, clicker training etc. I transitioned my senior cat from free feeding dry food to a set mealtime twice a day (and she eats half wet food now with every meal.. she's a dry food addict so it is a process)... She's lost a lb that her vet wanted her to lose, has more energy, leaps into the air to play with her toys now, and has more of that "mojo" you talked about but I didn't know what you meant, but now I do. I felt mean changing her to timed meals but now I can see the positive changes and she's used to the new schedule. And, now she actually will go for treats! And I'm teaching her clicker training. And all of this means we're spending more time playing together, and it's been really nice!
i’m going to be a first time cat owner very soon hopefully (within a few weeks or month) and i’ve been watching a lot of your videos for advice as well as doing my own research so i can get as many things as i can right the first time! i’m not sure if you’ll see this Jackson, so if anyone has any tips or suggestions, by all means lemme know ☺️ i know that cats like established routines, but i honestly won’t be able to provide them a solid schedule every day due to my job. i’m a full time customer service manager at a grocery store so i get 40+ hours a week. i also don’t have a set schedule since my availability is open, so i can be scheduled any time from open to close. some days i’m 5am-1pm or 12pm-8pm or 4pm-midnight, etc so i won’t be able to feed my cats at the same times or play with them at the same times. i thought about an automated feeder but i don’t want to feed them dry kibble ( i know how unhealthy it is for them!) is there anything i could do without having to find another job? *ps : sorry for the whole essay 😅
I’m excited for you being a first time cat owner soon! I was going to advice you to get more than one cat due to having a busy schedule and to avoid having a sad & lonely cat waiting for you, but I see you’ve written “cats” and “them”. I only have experience with a kitten who is now 11 months, but Jackson’s Satellite toys saved my LIFE 😩 in terms of play time. These balls can be whacked and played with for HOURS, whether solo play or me tossing it and my kitten going ham chasing after it and forgetting I exist. Jackson’s wand toy is a favorite as well. All in all, trust the process and don’t stress too much. You’ll find what your cats love, and best of luck on your cat journey !
I know what you mean about a schedule for feeding your cats. They will do fine with close to every 12 hrs for wet food, and a cat puzzle feeder for high quality kibble to snack during the day (and it’ll help keep them busy). Ask people you know with cats for a ziplock snack size bag, label it, and see if your cat will eat it, or make sure your store your store will accept returns if your cat won’ eat it. I put out wet food about 7am, then again around 7pm and that works out fine. All of my 4 are now seniors (15 in May), and I have2 different senior kibbles and one hair all formula kibble. They take a few pieces here and there, but they know (and remind me by walking over me) when wet food should be served. Plus or minus a couple of hours won’t hurt, but make it part of your routine. Good luck with your cat! You’ll learn together.❤
@@freenemo5 thank you so much for the suggestions! i do intend on adopting 2 young adults preferably around 1-2 years old. i would love to get kittens but i understand they need a lot more attention and care, so i can’t get them. i’ll take your advice on leaving toys out for them, but i will make sure to do interactive play with them before i leave and when i come home ☺️
@@Biosbiz2 thank you for your help! i know that cats usually eat twice a day but i wanted to make sure that when i left for work they wouldn’t be starving by the time i got home. i’d also like to try to feed them a raw diet? i have a few local butchers in my area and i hear this is the best diet for them. maybe i can set a timed feeder for them when i know i can’t feed them at their preferred time?
If you want to do a raw diet but are concerned about scheduling, I've actually seen some brands of freeze dried raw food. Far as I know, the nutrients are still preserved.
Thanks for this!
My tabby cats (one is 18 lbs) and they have check ups this weekend. I'm going to talk about this with them as they're 11 years old and want them to have the best quality of life!
My kitten (cat) is almost 2 years old and very stable at a weight of a little less than 6 pounds for more than a year. When I adopted her (when she was 6 months old), the vet and shelter told me that she would always be a small/petite cat. I think of her as a “runt,” cause she and her brother were rescued by the shelter at only a few days old. She eats a lot, is super healthy, is very, very active. I would actually love a video on cats who are SO active and playful that they will only sleep when you are sleeping (or away). She has no trouble sleeping, cause will fall right asleep anytime I fall asleep, take a nap, or leave the house. Does anyone else have a very, very active cat?
Also, if she actually DOES fall asleep during the day while I am doing work and I accidentally rustle some paper (she loves playing with anything that sounds like paper), she will immediately wake up and run over. She actually sleeps much more like a dog than a cat. I know that she actually sleeps really WELL and for long hours during the afternoon, cause, when I am staying at home, my mom, dad, or sister will check on her, and she will always be sleeping like a baby. It’s so sweet that she loves playing with me so much and I love playing with HER so much, but, due to this, she sleeps around 12 hours a day and not more.
Omg my cat is like this too. She only wakes up at 6am to eat and watch birds outside but then she falls asleep again and waits for me to wake up. She does take a 4 hour nap after her lunch so she sleeps around 12-16 hours a day.
Shes 2. I play with her for an hour everyday so thats probably why she sleeps throughout the entire night
My cat Taffy (rest her little soul) was a whopping four pounds as a senior cat (17y). She was all fur and continued to have her little pouch. She was always a small girl with long hair. She maxed out at like 12 lbs in her youth when she was built and athletic.
Adopting a kitten in few days and I have been catifying, as well as following your advice and this video was something I really needed.
I hope you and your new kitten are very happy together ❤️
I prepped with JG too and I've been with my boy Zuki now for a year and 3 months and he is loving life with his floor to ceiling cat tree... It was only £30 on amazon!
Scratching posts! Have many all over!
Supremely grateful for this video, getting my 9 year old cat checked for hyperthyroidism, I just thought it was age and stress he became cranky and fighty towards my younger cat and lost weight despite eating everything given to both of them, drinking like there has been a 10 year drought and toileting wherever.
Thank you for sharing this information
I love watching your videos!!! Just makes me know I'm still doing everything I can right for my furbabies. I like to bring up your videos and show ppl, just to prove that I know what I'm talking about! Jackson has taught me well!! Thank You!
Love you brother. So cool how you get into cat evolution. At the risk of being creepy,I wish we were old familiar friends who could just hang out. I'm a 54 year guitarist,64 years old, and was a Nightwachman at the Cleveland Zoo for 30 years. I spent more time around animals than humans and they changed me. I fell in love with a job that just fell into my lap. We could have a helluva chat,trust me, buddy. Keep fighting the good fight,man! 🕯️🌟
I have a boy cat that was 18 lbs, now down to 15 lbs. Still working on it. My late girl kitty was 7 lbs.
Mine boy was also 18 pounds, he also 15. Mine is a big grey tabby tomcat. How about yours?
I'm a really new cat owner in my 40s. Have always been a dog person. But I found an adult cat that was abandoned after Florence and was left in a kitten collar that cut into his neck skin. I saved him and he weaseled his way into my home and became an indoor cat. Then just before Christmas, we found a super tiny kitten in our backyard that my lab had cornered into one of the cinder blocks that we use for stepping up into our chicken coop. We thought it was one of our Buff Orpington chickens stuck in the cinder block. LOL! I have stopped free feeding my first rescue adult cat and in less than a week, he already looks more like the shape he should instead of an eggplant. I feed both of mine dry food but I'd rather do a completely raw diet though. (We do wet food 2 or 3 times a week but that doesn't seem to be enough).
TL:DR - I tried to do a carnivore type diet for one of my previous doggies and when it was time to say goodbye and send him over the rainbow bridge, the vet asked if I had given him supplements. I didn't, because I stupidly trusted TH-cam. Is there a way I can feed my two orange/ginger boys raw natural without sacrificing their health? I feel like because domestic cats are...errr..domestic, surely there is more they need since they aren't in the wild like their fellow feline friends like lions and tigers. I just want to be the best cat mom (NOT crazy cat lady...LOL!).
My kitty's nickname is 'big mama'- she's HUGE! (16lbs) but she's more muscular than flabby, she loves to play and climb up across furniture. I'm pretty sure she's mixed with siamese or birman. She was fat at 21lbs, when we got her, because she was free-eating from her previous owner. Now she's on a weight-control wet food but a fully stable weight :) it was wonderful watching her go from being too fat to jump up on the couch, to being a nuisance climbing across our bathroom counters lol.
Terrific video, as always. I have two cats, one a 14 year old Tortie. She is round. She is short of squat, short legs, short tail, short ears so while she looks chubby I think a lot of it is based on her body style. If her legs, tails and frame were longer, like my other cat, she would seem less chubby. I’m just happy she’s 14 and relatively active and loves to eat. No bones as a lot of senior cats get. Appreciate all you do, sir. I have been a fan since your Cats 101 days on Animal Planet.
I will have to do some conversions into kg 😂 my vet said that he should have a little pouch but its more obvious coz he was shaved for an op but I often worry he might just be fat, he's very slender though so by this video I think he's a healthy weight. He was 3kg last month an just turned 7 months old at the time (so 8mnths now) for a British Shorthair the vet said he's quite big! This video definitely helped put my mind at rest and yes...he's raw fed and is absolutely thriving on it! (also cheaper too!)
It’s easy, 1 pounds is about 0,5 kg
@@IgorEngelen1974 You say it's easy but I never work in lb so never knew that lol
Believe me, I asked my vet and she told me my cat was slightly overweight but just change diet to food for sterilised cats. I've researched and my baby has lost quite some weight now. I'll happily listen to what you have to say
Jackson thank you for what you do and for some many things you’ve taught me about my kitty-kids. I have 5 cats and they have all benefited from your advice and all of us appreciate you more than you could imagine. Thank you again and keep making videos cause all 6 of us look forward to your latest ones. Meow meow
Mr. Galaxy I know alot about domestic and wild cats, but I always learn something from you everytime I watch you thank you for your channel. 🥰
I have two cats under 3 years old, same mother different father. One is big and chunky, (15 pounds) the other is a 'forever kitten' as we call her, tiny and slim (7 pounds). They are both perfectly healthy, nor too fat or too thin (after the visit to the vet) So it is what it is, genetics🤩
My sweet calico , Daisy Is over weight . She is a rescue cat that ate non stop when I brought her home at 12 weeks . I was home during the look down so I was there to feed her often . Now I see she wasn’t hungry back then but just was eating for fear it might be her last meal . She is a short and round kitty . I desperately try to cut back on her food intake but I have another cat who is a much larger and rather thin . They actually weigh very close to the same . SoI can’t give them diet prescription . . ❤
Hi Jackson. You've convinced me to switch to meal times and raw food. I'll go check those videos you've recommended but two questions are about transitions. How do I transition them to meal times and raw food and still get some sleep at night? Should I both switch their food and transition to meal times instead of free feeding at the same time or do one first and then the other?
I converted my cats from free feeding to meal times and unfortunately it made one of them very food anxious. She now has a major habit of eating too much too fast, like she's binge eating. It causes her to throw up if she gets too carried away, which is most often when she's offered some dry food. Both my girls really love dry food, and I only let them have a little bit at a certain time. (It's also a brand that doesn't put bunch of crap in them, supposedly. They really missed the dry food when I took it away, so that's why I still let them have some, but as a snack rather than freefeeding.) She will also beg for food outside of mealtimes, and try to steal food from the other cat. I feel awful sometimes about having messed up the transition, and doing that change while she was still a kitten. The way I slow her down from eating the dry stuff roo fsst is with a feeding toy.
So yes, better be really careful!!
Thank you for this informative video. A 2022 survey by APOP, shows 61% of cats are overweight or obese. This is because 81% of cat owners state they feed dry kibble all or most of the time. My two 15 month old females are normal weight, maybe slightly thin. They eat chicken thigh meat or raw ground beef every day. Every other day or so, a grain free wet cat food. Once a week, a tin of sardines. Sometimes I hide freeze dried chicken treats for them to hunt and find.
You're definitely an orange cat Jackson haha. Never lived with an orange but I love them!
Ty! Ty! Ty! I was horrified when I got out my magnifying glass and finslly read the label on the wet food my vet had recommended; it contained Wheat! Having bad eyesight, I had trusted the Vet to know; wrong! I took him off of that and stopped all dry food, and now he's a normal size with more energy. He was starting to look like a fat bowling pen. Thank goodness I took action before he got seriously ill from those processed, crappy food like substances. LOVE YOUR ADVICE! ❤️
I've learned so much and we even took in a 2nd ferral, because YES, as you advise, Two IS better! They have so much fun chasing each other, grooming each other, pestering each other and sleeping together...life is twice as nice!
I would like to know your opinions/thoughts/tips about how you would pick out the best wet food/raw for a cat. Also would like to know how to read cat food labels and what to avoid and what is actually good ingredients.
Hey Jackson! I hope you are well! I've done a few things that you said, taking the bell off their collars, and using saucers instead of dishes and my cats are so much happier! I have three cats...two brothers, Tuna and Moona are black and white, the other, Radish, is a rare male calico! You are an amazing cat daddy! Thank you so much for your videos, we love them! Sending you much love and peace from the UK! 🥰
I’ve heard the primordial pouch is a balance weight that helps the cat balance when turning sharp on the run chasing prey (or away from predators).
I doubt that. They have a tail
I have read that the pouch is loose skin to allow looseness for stretching & movement.
I call the pouch on my boy cat the "swinging cat flap" XD
Thanks as always Jackson! You're my favorite cat source. I know you truly care about them like we do 😊 I have 2 cats, one who is a grazer and will only have a few bites at a time and the other will gobble down all kitty food in sight including her sisters. As you can imagine one is getting chunky and the other always (not always but it's often enough to be noticeable) seems hungry and wanting a little food. Right now I feed them a tablespoon six times a day, that's just about the amount my grazer will eat in a sitting. But it's so time consuming and unsustainable! Help! Love you! Thanks for all the amazing content over the years ❤️
Ugh I'm guilty of so much including leaving food out for him to graze and just rewarding with treats because his trills are too cute ❤
Thank you for taking about super senior cats. We have a little girl who is 18! We do a lot of vet visits and weight checks to do our best to help her weight up, but we also know the reality that she will never look the same as our 4 year old cat. The vet is always amazed at how healthy she is and how she shows to signs of cancer or major arthritis (wow, can she jump!! and she has no issues going up and down 3 flights of stairs for food or litter boxes. Water is on every floor). Just like humans, her body is wearing out the older the age gets. Not as much energy, doesn't see or hear quite as well... unless she sees or hears "treats". When it comes to that, she is a super cat since they don't happen very often unless one of the cats gets claws trimmed or medication given etc, haha!
All this to say, thank you for taking about the weight issues that come into play with kitties hitting milestones like mine. 😻
Hello Jackson, I am almost a cat expert compared to other people thanks to you, may I make a question and video suggestion? what is the most domesticated/domestic breed of cat humans have "created" and the suggestion of video, a video where you talk about if someone is ready to adopt a cat or two and maybe a playlist where you talk the basics to know before having a cat, of already made videos, thhanks for the videos
Great video! I love how you said that each cat is a different individual, because mine, for instance (a mutt who jumped into my arms from the street, literally), had his metabolism messed up when he was less than 2 yrs old - he had to undergo a life-saving treatment based on steroids. It resulted in him being taller and overall bigger. He also got a bit on the chubby side. Not very fond of wet food (he has his moments), but what I've found is that when his bowl is full of dry food (grain free, high protein, no crap fillers) he eats less than when I serve portions. He actually got leaner and more active since I chose free feeding. Of course, I measure the amount I leave out for him. It just works for us, and the vet says "Let him do him, his tests are great, he's almost 11 yrs old, let the man live his best life" 🤷🏽♀️ PS I subscribed, your channel is too good not to.
I have been feeding raw since 1996. Never had any chronic health issues in any of my cats or dogs and they all lived long lives🙏🏼💕
Hi Jackson it's nice to hear that you do read all our comments not to many you tubers do.