Fatties

We have two indoor cats. The Italian calls our Siamese cat "Fatty" because, well, she's what we'll call husky. She's a beautiful animal though, and very fiesty. Our other cat, "Cute but Stupid," is a mess, with inexplicable spots in shades of gray, brown, black and striped tabby splashed over her white body with no rhyme or reason. It sounds pretty, but in reality the effect is rather... well, we'll just stick with "unusual" for now. I'll put it this way, it's a good thing she's sweet, because she isn't winning any beauty pageants.

The last time I took Fatty to the vet, I asked the good doctor if she was overweight. The vet took a good look at her and proclaimed, "Well, I'll put it this way. I wouldn't want to see her gain any MORE weight" (with the definite emphasis on "more"). Her status as Fatty was medically confirmed as far at The Italian was concerned. I wasn't so sure, proclaiming, "she's just a solid cat." Turns out we were both right. She's solidly fat.

Anyway, I was reading an article yesterday about obesity and pets. Apparently, there's a two part test to determine if your pet is a good weight: (1) get a bird's eye view on your cat or dog and see if their waistline goes in right before the back hips; (2) feel the rib area, if you can feel them, but not see them, your pet is fine.

My cats failed both tests this morning. Fatties indeed. Looks like three out of four members of my household will be on a diet starting today. The poor Italian, he's going to be living with some cranky females.