Cats live to be more than
two decades old some times, and most of mine's have still been climbing, jumping and
playing until they were nearly that age or older. My mother's cat Misty
was active, lean and agile until her death at the age of 22. So if your
adult cat of any age spends most of her time sleeping, eating and then
sleeping some more, something's wrong — and statistics suggest what's
wrong might be that your cat is overweight.
House cats, like their wild cousins both large and small, are meant
to be lean, sleek predators rippling with muscle. Unfortunately, far
too many of them — nearly half, according to one study (pdf) — are more l"furry sofa pillows".
Why are so many cats fat?
There are a number of factors
contributing to a rise in feline obesity. One is that more and more
cats are being kept indoors for their own safety or that of wildlife,
and they aren't getting as much exercise as outdoor cats. They're also
bored, and the widespread practice of leaving food out at all times
means they end up eating from boredom as well as hunger.
