The Surprising Truth Behind Fat Cats

[@OutdoorBengal]

I hope you found the video educational and interesting. If you want to support the channel, you can do so at: www.patreon.com/outdoorbengal 😻❤

[@Vates104]

A handsome man who loves cats. Can’t get better than that.

[@OutdoorBengal]

hahaha two handsome men?

[@caiusfitzpatrick9140]

Hey Albert!! I am a 12 year old boy I. The US and I have 3 kittens. One of my kittens is slightly larger than the other ones we call him “Chuffly” a mix of chunky and fluffy. I know this is a bit weird but me and my kittens LOVE to watch you and Mia every night before bed. We also follow you on patreon!

[@louisebarnard7734]

You are absolutely correct. The cat owner is responsible for their cat’s weight; not the cat’s fault.

[@Catclakat]

My cat was starting to look a bit on the chonky end and I was a bit worried since I know this can be quite harmful in the long run. After watching this video I told my sister and dad (they take care of feeding our cat) about portioning her food and feeding her at certain meal times instead of leaving it out as we had done before. Ever since she’s lost a healthy amount of weight and seems more upbeat and playful! Thank you so much, it’s great to have her look and feel better 😺

[@valeriadivirgilio4770]

Hi! I'm Valeria from Italy! I discovered your channel only yesterday and now I'm watching all of your videos from the first one! I decided to start clicker training my 8 month old Lilith as soon as I saw one of your video (5 cat tricks in 10 minutes), it was amazing see how Mia responded to your commands and I absolutley want the same bond with Lilith that you have! Today I started not giving free food anymore and tomorrow the clicker will arrive so I can start from the basics. I hope I can succeed. Thank you for sharing your experiences it's really helpful!!!

[@OutdoorBengal]

Thank you so so much for all the love packed in your comment. Training cats is so enriching... You are going to love it. Stopping free feeding on its own will help you improve the bond. Training together... wait and see! :)

[@a_personthatlikesart3838]

It’s great how you try to like or reply most or all of the comments! Your channel is super helpful and entertaining. For when I find a cat to adopt I’m hoping to train it now. I would have never thought about cat training unless I found your channel!😸👍🐾

[@OutdoorBengal]

Thank you! I think I just really enjoy helping others do more and better with their cats. It´s so cool to see how both humans and cats lives improve when you think of your cat beyond a low maintenance animal.

[@a_personthatlikesart3838]

There it is again ! Replying and liking ! Thank you for doing that btw I really appreciate all the effort you put into KZbin and it really shows in the content (:

[@dianakiraly4862]

The food industry for cats(too) pretty bad. I am still on the hunt to find the best nutrition value food for him soon for them:)) I want him to stay with us as long as is possible...so the food and the activities crucial.🥰

[@OutdoorBengal]

Absolutely! Cat nutrition and wellbeing is in so many ways so similar to human. You need high quality food, exersice and opportunities to socialize to have a fulfilling and long life! :)

[@robinferdinandsen7122]

when i adopted my cat the shelter had written down her weight and told me she was not too heavy. she was over a year and she was 4kg so i knew she shouldn't get much heavier. I've trained her to go on the scale to check that she doesn't gain too much weight and i also feed her three times a day set meals and remove what she leaves so i know she doesn't get too much. the mealtimes also means that she doesn't cry for food every time i get near the food drawer

[@TheNutbrittle]

My cat is spayed, and she's not less active /playful! We live in a small apartment, so I make sure she runs and jumps around. I let her choose her toys. At the moment she's fascinated with shoelaces! 😂 Anyway, I feed her raw food, which I prep myself. I use an excel sheet that calculates all the required nutrients for a cat given her age, condition (spayed or intact) and amount of activity. It could be daunting in the beginning, but it's a matter of getting used to it. Annual blood work is crucial to check if she's eating right. 🙂

[@jemmasmith442]

Great video. I seem to have the opposite issue with my 3.5 year old Maine Coon, who is actually on the skinny side, and the prominence of her ribs is somewhat of a concern to me. She is 5.4 kilos, which is actually quite small for her breed, and she has a very long, lean torso. I have heard that MC's can take up to 5 years to reach their full size, so perhaps she is still growing into her body.

[@Broeckchen]

This video has good timing. And this comment is for everyone whose cats doesn't *look* obese. Yesterday my cat got an xray. She looked normal from the outside and has the average healthy weight for her age, but on the xray imaging we found fat on the inside and slightly below the ribcage that actually pressed in on and restricted some important organs, like her lungs and liver. It was pretty frightening. I was pretty shocked. So double and triple checking, perhaps at least with ultrasound, might be good for your cat longterm.

[@OutdoorBengal]

Absolutely. What we feel looks normal for a cat is usually overweight. We are not used to seeing cats in the wild and most cats are overfeed so we identify a slight overweight as a ¨healthy cat¨ but that could not be less true. Thanks for your comment and for helping to rise awareness about this issue.

[@Broeckchen]

@@OutdoorBengal In this particular case, several vets could not even spot the issue from looking at her or feeling her belly, because the most dangerous part of the fat is shielded by the ribcage. However, it showed up easily on ultrasound and xray, and I feel like the feline BMI tool you gave may help a lot with adjusting her weight back to a healthy place. It was just a horrible shock. Fortunately, I have already heeded lots of your advice for leash and harness training. Now that it gets warmer again in our hemisphere, nothing should be in the way of walks. And the water in the food trick should also help!

[@alisonvanbockel8146]

You can "treat" your cat with love & attention, scratches and pats, or just treat with some playtime.. don't always have to give edible treats 👌😻❤

[@OutdoorBengal]

Absolutely! That's such a smart comment. I wish I could add it to the video! :)

[@AndreaAnderco]

Exactly! 👏👏👏

[@AndreaAnderco]

When I adopted my cats, my female baby girl had diarrhea with blood. The journey to her healing was bumpy, I had moments when I thought I have to prepare to lose her. Long story short, the vet prescribed medication that worked temporarily and they were sending me emails to continue to feed her the “special” dry food they had prescribed. They do what they are taught. My baby girl’s diarrhea started again a little after we finished the meds. After a lot of research, I went with my instincts and the fact that cats are obligated carnivores, period. So in January this year, I have completely eliminated any meds, any prescription food and commercial wet food and switched to completely raw ground turkey, beef, bison and sometimes semi or fully cooked chicken. On top of that, I add water always and quail eggs or chicken eggs when I run out of quail eggs, around twice a week. The only treats they get are minnows, sardines, freeze dry chicken and salmon. At the beginning I used broth, but I realized that if I really want to feed them broth, I’ll make it myself with meat, bones in water, homemade. And yeah, my dear baby girl Bella hasn’t had diarrhea since, she also lost the extra weight, she is happy, active and affectionate.

[@Marie.Manifesting]

The pause to hit the like made me giggle and hit the like button 😂

[@sharondaly6776]

Lots of good advice, Albert. But not all vets favour a raw food diet. When asked for her opinion, my locum vet expressed these concerns 1) many brands have not been able to prove all nutrients are provided and some have harmful ingredients 2) home "mixtures" are tricky to prepare/get correct balance 3) risk of pathogens including to staff if cat needs surgery. In some countries availability and freezing/refrigeration might be a problem. Having said that, my kitty loves ostrich meat ( I live in Africa so available at the pet shop) and I give him a few teaspoonfuls daily along with high-quality kibble.

[@OutdoorBengal]

Many veterinarians don´t recommend raw meat diet. I am not a veterinarian so I can´t give my professional advice in the matter, but I´ve surrounded myself from veterinarians that believe this is the way to go and help me do it safely. A veterinarian that recommends kibble is generally a veterinarian that´s avoiding risks, which is also legit.

[@AntifekaPR]

Awesome video Albert & Mia

[@OutdoorBengal]

Thank you so much! I´m glad you found it useful... I rewatched it 2,000 times and I have the feeling that it´s a little too long. Maybe I should´ve done 2 videos instead of a long one... What do you think?

[@AntifekaPR]

@@OutdoorBengal Lol hmmmm I think you may be asking the wrong one because I love watching videos that do go into detail and it wasn’t boring! you definitely kept my attention the whole way through and I’m adhd so that’s a huge accomplishment lmao plus I liked that little like joke haha

[@OutdoorBengal]

@@AntifekaPR hahahah Thank you so much! My humor is not always appreciated haha!! Thank you for taking the time to share some feedback, I really appreciate it!

[@jesslikescoffee24]

My cat is a very healthy 9lbs. She’s super active and eats a homemade diet. I think her diet is really what keeps her healthy, since she’s eating the food her body is evolved to eat, and not carb heavy kibble.

[@OutdoorBengal]

Absolutely. I switched to Raw and Mia did a 360 change in her digestion and energy levels!

[@Nurse_Shelly44]

TO ANYONE THAT DOESN'T TAKE THEIR CATS WEIGHT SERIOUSLY: I adopted a 6yo morbidly obese cat almost 3 years ago. The rescue said that she was surrendered overweight; ideal wt is 13lbs, and she hovered between 21- 22lbs. The vet thinks that she may have been a stress eater. Prior to adoption she was being treated for joint pain, and this limited her mobility, making exercise difficult. She's on a special diet with no change in her weight. She has chronic skin issues because she's unable to groom herself appropriately. Sadly, she's developed health complications and just drastically declined overnight- unable walk etc. Her quality of life now makes saying goodbye the best way to maintain her dignity. She will be humanely euthanized within the next few days. Please prevent your cat from becoming overweight if you can.

[@alisonvanbockel8146]

Agree with everything you said 👍💯😁

[@OutdoorBengal]

Thank you so much! I hope I could add some value to what you already knew! :)

[@annettefordham]

My cat will eat cardboard toilet paper rollers. All the fuzzy mice are tail- less. She’s a “boredom eater” I guess. My vet showed me standard poster- I was embarrassed.

[@gennieg1]

I got the green Petsafe harness and when my cat ran off it pulled on the leash and tightened around the neck. Am I putting it on wrong? I thought the straps were for the shoulders.

[@kellywhyte5669]

Bravo!❤️👏👏 and yes, I stopped the video and quickly checked Mowgli’s and Salems weight.😆👍🏻

[@OutdoorBengal]

hahahaha HAD TO HAPPEN! :) I am sure they are on the healthy side!!! :)

[@kellywhyte5669]

@@OutdoorBengal yes, Mowgli just the right size but Salem we call her the hamburglar because she runs around eating out of all the bowls!

[@alisonvanbockel8146]

I think another contributing factor is, not just the diet but, now days, cats are required to be indoors - they don't get enough exercise or endorphins from running outside in the grass chasing butterfly and exploring..climbing, hunting, socializing. Some cats suffer greatly from separation anxiety, when your not home! Cats can get depressed & sad!

[@OutdoorBengal]

Yes. The whole problem starts when cats can't meet their dietary and exercise needs from the outside world.

[@mizzle8]

Is free feeding always bad? My cat is underweight and I let her eat whenever she wants because she doesn’t get enough calories to begin with. Separate question, any tips for walking your cat when you live in an apt complex in a busy area?

[@OutdoorBengal]

Hello! I don't recommend free feeding never, mostly for the bond that feeding our cats on a schedule brings. Also, dry food is not ideal. Try to find a food that your cat likes and feed it on a schedule. Regarding the busy area walking... my only piece of advice is keep it fun for them, and you'll be alright. If they don't have fun, don't do it. My cat Mia loves the hallway when we are on the city and we almost never walk outdoors.

[@Redcaroon]

Hello, i have question for you I adopted a bengal male cat and i really dont want to do Castration for him,how you castrated you Mia? Thank you !:)

[@xo5832]

Never thought how hard it is to control you cats weight 😓 (got her overweight three months ago and she's loosing very slowly)

[@OutdoorBengal]

It does take time! But it's our responsibility as soon as we decide to remove them from their natural environment, right? Cats should lose weight slowly to avoid hepatic lipidosis. Movement in the right direction is the only thing that matters.

[@azraelhorsefeather]

Bahh my mom’s cat is so fat, but she insists she likes her that way, despite having to put her previous cat down due to complications of being overweight 😑

[@womblemaggot198]

My cat is happy getting into the cat carrier but not happy being transported and not happy being picked up either. We go to the vet as he's FIV+ but it's not enjoyable for either of us. He refuses treats while he's in the carrier when he's usually all about those treats. What do you recommend to get him to feel more comfortable while in the carrier?

[@OutdoorBengal]

Add movement to the carrier little by little, play opening and closing the door. You need to create habituation by adding more to the carrier than just leaving it out. Hope this helps.

[@womblemaggot198]

@@OutdoorBengal Thanks, I'll try that!

[@jennie9]

@@womblemaggot198 Another thing I heard is to put something under the carrier to make it level if you put it on a car seat because the angle makes them feel unbalanced and vulnerable.

[@pawsandclaws12]

I don't have a cat but I'm watching this anyway lol

[@OutdoorBengal]

Love this! What about it makes you watch it?

[@pawsandclaws12]

I'm subscribed to you because I saw your youtube shorts about training and travelling with Mia so I like to watch your videos!

[@navaneeta_achari]

You look so happy with Mia

[@OutdoorBengal]

She does make me happy :)

[@navaneeta_achari]

@@OutdoorBengal ❤ Pure Love. I have a cat ,his name is Shammi and whenever I see your videos I just cant stop smiling and feel happy too.

[@EutropeWickedThunder]

ppl think fat cats are cute, and that disappoints me a lot

[@Mysasser1]

My cat is my overlord and will kill me for jack in the box tacos. I will let him live lol. But for real I take good care and it gets a half taco once a week.

[@OutdoorBengal]

haha it's cute but I really hope they are small tacos :)

[@carpediemsrce]

Looking at Americans, it isn't hard to understand why cats there would also be obese 😶

[@howardX81]

If your Cat is fat, you shouldn't have a cat!

[@crazymood4587]

You are cat this male are female