Kafka's Diet Challenge - The Results

Ok, I didn't think this was actually possible.  There, I said it.  There was no way that my tubby tabby was going to lose significant weight in a month.

Kafka, my short-haired orange tabby pal, agreed to try Hill’s Science Diet Adult Cat Light food for a month.  The box arrived with the goodies, and Kafka was thrilled.  Almost ANYTHING can be considered food by Kafka, he is truly a cat of little finicky-ness.  And thusly, his girth increased proportionally to his love of food (and stealing his housemates' food) to about 17 pounds.

We were also going to try helping Willie, our long-haired orange tabby, lose a little.  He came to us about 3 years ago when a very good friend of ours passed away, leaving him in our care.  Willie is AWESOME but he looks huge.  Upon closer inspection (in order to get a true feeling for exactly how much he should probably lose) there wasn't nearly as much cat under all of that long hair as we'd thought.  And he only weighed about 15 pounds with a big frame and giant paws, so we were definitely going to concentrate on Kafka.

Ta-da!

Today Kafka weighs 15 pounds - he lost 2 pounds in a little over a month!  I know he looks a little, um, "intense" in this photo, but for once it's not for want of more food.  He was really satisfied with the Hill's Science Diet food and maybe even puked a little less than usual (so hard to tell - with 5 cats, it's not always easy to figure out just who puked, where, and when).

Never one to miss a meal, Kafka enjoyed the little beige pellets.  I didn't change his other, regular food during the test (he gets a spoonful of wet food each day along with all of the other kitties, along with being allowed to free-feed at the crunch trough).  The only thing that changed was the crunchy food, and damn did it make a difference!

Kafka does kitty aerobics on his back.  Arms swatting in the air is his main form of exercise.  In fact he is named Kafka because of the story The Metamorphosis, where Gregor Samsa turns into a cockroach and cannot right himself.  Just let that mental image sink in for a few minutes.  There.  Now you can picture Kafka my kitty on his back meowing for more chow.  And yeah, he's still not a big exercise buff.

Again, he may not look it in this photo (it's hard to catch the wide array of emotions that Kafka is capable of on film), but he's a happy boy.  Still has some belly, still a mighty mouser, but carrying a bit less stash in the belly bag.

Thanks Hill's for allowing us to participate!  Kafka sends along his love...

Love,

Lulu and Bogart