Sweet chic Moses!
A privileged, lazy cat who weighs as much as a French bulldog has been given a completely unusual exercise routine – one that appears to be working, his caretakers say.
Moses, 9, a fiery bundle of love more than twice the healthy size for his age, is learning to swim, something cats don’t like.
His owner is taking an unusual step after countless failed diets and efforts to get the family-sized feline out and moving.
The chubby kitten has now been signed up for hydrotherapy at a veterinary clinic near his home in Wellesbourne, England.
Things are going great, according to veterinary hydrotherapist Olivia Stokes, who is treating the cute boy.
“When he came to us, Moses weighed almost 20 pounds,” she said.
“His owner said he was already on a diet and encouraged to exercise before, but he still couldn’t lose weight. So we decided to try a different approach with hydrotherapy. It’s a very unusual approach to cat care,” Stokes explained.
“I’ve been in the industry for five years and I’ve been a qualified hydrotherapist for almost two years and I’ve never tried hydro with a cat before, so Moses was a first for me,” she confessed.
“That’s because cats generally don’t like water, and sure enough, on his first taste, Moses wasn’t impressed at all. He needed a lot of encouragement as he resisted treatment,” she said.
“At first I tried to gradually increase the water level for him, as we would do for a dog, but it was not well tolerated. I also tried all kinds of cat treats, but he wasn’t interested in them for a long time either. So I left the treadmill dry, without water, just to get him used to walking,” Stokes recalls.
“I then added water and found that lowering it onto the treadmill worked best. Fast forward down the line, Moses now sits in the tank while I raise the water level and knows exactly what to do,” she said.
“After he walks for 13 minutes, I lift him up, raise the water level even higher and swim for a few minutes to give him a full-body workout.”
Moses has become an old pro – now he’s not only losing pounds, but also toning and getting in good shape, which has him moving a lot more at home.
Stokes said she lost almost four percent of her body weight in about six weeks, which she considers about the right speed.
“The important thing is that your body shape is clearly changing as you lose fat and build muscle in your back. I am very proud of Moses’ progression; he’s even walking with the incline of the treadmill now,” she said.
“Moses has always been a big cat, but he has gained a lot of weight over the last three years,” said his owner, Jenna Joshi, clinical nursing manager at the veterinary clinic.
“I kept him on a strict diet, but that didn’t help at all. He just wasn’t interested in leaving the house, exercising, or playing with toys. I asked my colleagues if we could try hydrotherapy to help with his mobility and hopefully help him lose some weight,” she said.
“I could see the difference almost immediately. At first it was difficult, but now he doesn’t complain and knows exactly what he needs to do when he goes to the sessions.”
