When it comes to chonky cats, there aren’t too many that can hold a candle to Bertha. She tipped the scales at a whopping 28.2 pounds during her first weigh-in! Bertha was so large that she couldn’t groom herself and spent her days lying around, unable to move much. This behemoth of a cat landed at the Saskatoon SPCA in dire need of an intervention.
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SPCA staff immediately began working toward lowering her weight and improving her health. After a three-month regimen, Bertha is now with a foster family to continue her journey. Laughingly called “Frank’s Potato Farm,” her foster home is dedicated to assisting Bertha in regaining her catly prowess.
Bertha’s foster family is truly dedicated to her health and well-being. In a helpful video, they shared tips on helping a chonky cat shed pounds with their fans. First, they recommend a vet visit to rule out underlying health issues as a cause for the excess weight. They continued, stating that they switched her to wet food only and reduced her calorie intake. They encouraged movement of any kind and even harness-trained her to take walks. Gradually, Bertha was able to take actual walks, rather than the five-steps-then-plop walks she did during the early days. To encourage even more movement, they moved her litter box into the basement, forcing her to walk up and down the steps. Acknowledging that all weight loss programs are a bit different, they concluded the video by stating that these are the tips that seem to work with Bertha.
Excess weight on a cat can be detrimental to their health and shorten their life by many years. We’re glad that both the Saskatoon SPCA and Frank’s Potato Farm intervened on Bertha’s behalf to restore her to a more normal weight. As she continues to lose weight, she will also get healthier. She is able to groom herself a bit now, which is a significant improvement.
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