Sweet fancy Moses!
A privileged layabout of a cat who weighs as much as a French bulldog has been prescribed a thoroughly unusual exercise routine — one that seems to be working, his caregivers say.
Moses, 9, a chonk of burning love at more than double the healthy size for his age, is learning how to swim, something cats are not known to enjoy.
His owner is taking the unusual step after countless failed diets and efforts to get the family-size feline to go outside and move around.
The pudgy puss has now been signed up for hydrotherapy at a veterinarian clinic near his home in Wellesbourne, England.
Things are going swimmingly, according to veterinary hydrotherapist Olivia Stokes, who is treating the fluffy boy.
“When he first came to us, Moses was nearly 22 pounds,” she said.
“His owner said he had been on diets and been encouraged to exercise before but had still not able to lose weight. So, we decided to try a different approach with hydrotherapy. It’s a very unusual approach in caring for cats,” Stokes explained.
“I have been in the industry for five years and a qualified hydrotherapist for almost two years and I have never experienced hydro with a cat before, so Moses was a first for me,” she confessed.
“That is because cats don’t usually like water and, sure enough, on his first taster session Moses was not impressed at all. He needed a lot of encouragement as he resisted the treatment,” she said.
“At the start, I tried gradually increasing the water level for him, like we would for a dog, but this wasn’t well tolerated. I also tried all sorts of cat treats but he wasn’t interested in them for long either. So, then I ran the treadmill dry with no water to just get him used to walking,” Stokes recalled.
“I then added water and found lowering him into the treadmill worked best. Fast forward down the line and Moses now sits in the tank as I increase the water level, then knows exactly what to do,” she said.
“Once he has been walking for 13 minutes, I then lift him up, raise the water level further, and swim him for a couple of minutes to give him a full body workout.”
Moses has become an old pro — now, he’s not only losing the pounds, he’s toning up and getting into good shape, which has him moving around a lot more at home.
Stokes said that he’s lost nearly four percent of his body weight in about six weeks, which she considers about the right speed.
“The important thing is that his body shape is clearly changing as he loses the fat and builds back muscle. I am very proud of Moses’ progression; he’s even walking with the incline on the treadmill now,” she said.
“Moses has always been a big cat but had gained a lot of weight over the last three years,” said his owner, Jenna Joshi, a clinical nursing manager at the vet’s clinic.
“I’d been keeping him on a strict diet but this didn’t help at all. He just was not interested in going outside, exercising or playing with toys. I asked my colleagues whether we could try hydrotherapy to help with his mobility and, hopefully, help him lose some weight,” she said.
“I could see a difference almost straightaway. It was difficult at first but now he doesn’t complain and knows exactly what he needs to do when he goes for his sessions.”
