Ohiofarmgirl's Adventures in The Good Land is largely a fish out of water tale about how I eventually found my footing on a small farm in an Amish town. We are a mostly organic, somewhat self sufficient, sustainable farm in Ohio. There's action and adventure and I'll always tell you the truth about farming.


Friday, December 5, 2014

Nicholas's Hard Day #10

This picture defines my life with Nicholas lately. It is a story of woe and hardship. And him trying to steal the food right off my plate.

Soon. 

Nicholas had a very, very hard day recently. It included a trip to the emergency vet and a follow up to our Good Vet. He suffered humiliations galore. Unfortunately,  the vet staff at the ER also suffered. I told them he was a fighter and a biter but they didn't believe me. When I heard their screams I yelled to them to "get the gloves." I wasn't kidding.

We went home with a sack full of medication and a warning to "bring a muzzle for that puma" the next time we came in. Fortunately our Good Vet knows how to handle our Nicholas so the follow up visit went much better.

 Nicholas lives large. Real large.

"Go and get that scale and prepare to be amazed!" I declared to the vet tech. I was close to victory. The months of hard work were about to pay off. I was smug in the face of my success.

I hauled Nicholas's huge carcass out of our biggest carrier and plomped him down on the scale.

"Yeah. Twenty pounds and..." Said the vet tech.

"WHAT!?!?! No! No, that can't be right!" I was confused.

"The ER vet said he was 19 pounds. That is his goal weight We needed to get him down to 19 pounds!"

"DOWN to 19 pounds?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes, yes, yes... see here?" I snatched the chart out of her hands. "Remember when he was 23 pounds and Dr. M said that we needed to get him down to 19 pounds? We did it! We did it!"

She just shook her head. "Maybe next time."

He wears the weight well. I mean... look how fluffy he is.

I was defeated. Surely there was some mistake. For months Nicholas has suffered near starvation every single day. I know because of the constant complaining. Every morning he comes in to get me out of bed by throwing his huge self on top of me. It's like having a bear lay across your chest.

"Get off me, Fatty Pancake!" I try and shove him off but inevitably he resorts to cannibalism and starts gnawing on my fingers. It has been grueling.

Such as been my life with Nicholas. We cut his food ration, we portion it out, we make him share, we scatter dry food on the floor so it takes him longer to eat, we take up any left over dog food..and heaven knows he can't get up on the counters.

"Well," She said hopefully, "All scales are a little different so maybe....."

And then I didn't hear her anymore. We would just have to keep working to get our biggest cat down to a more reasonable size. More food portioning, more running laps up and down the hall, more of me carrying him down the stairs to he has to run back up.... but we can do it.

Nicholas will just need to have more hard days. This has been the 10th. We can do this.

Nicholas's Hard Day #1
Nicholas's Hard Day #2
Nicholas's Hard Day #3
Nicholas's Hard Day #4
Nicholas's Hard Day #5
Nicholas's Hard Day #6 
Nicholas's Hard Day #7
Nicholas's Hard Day#8
Nicholas's Hard Day #9

Happy Friday everyone! Do you have a jumbo sized cat? Are you trying to get him down to 19 pounds?




6 comments:

Amanda said...

This is the cutest and funniest story about a fat cat ever! Poor kitty. I believe in him.

Have you considered playing the Eye of the Tiger for him?

Unknown said...

I have been told that switching to wet cat food will slim down a cat, because of the extra moisture it fills them up faster.

Carolyn said...

When Outside Kitty was a slim & trim truly OUTSIDE cat, he weighed seventeen pounds. When we finally got him used to us and I was able to shove his butt in the cat carrier, we got him fixed. He now weighs a whopping twenty three pounds....even after the traumatic recent events at the vet ER. I now call him Manboob Kitty.
And yes, like yours, my regular vet knows to "get the gloves"(the ER visit didn't require gloves because he was in such bad shape).
Our large and lovely manboob kitties sure have it tough, don't they?

Ohiofarmgirl said...

I'm totally gonna start playing, Eye of the Tiger for him, Amanda! ha!

Thanks, Susie - and thanks for stopping by! We feed mostly wet food - especially for our male cats. Nicholas is just an emotional eater. ;-)

Carolyn. you are one of my favorite people. Totally! We need to start a "23 Pounder" club or something. yay! and yes I love my big chub cat! :-D

Unknown said...

Poor guy I hope he's ok? That was a good laugh to start my day! Our cat Anya is miss pudgy too...

Unknown said...

I have to say, after your spiel on FB about not being able to see a doctor, seems easier for animals to get healthcare than people.... Poor Nicholas! He looks so hungry....

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