The S&A Health Report: Are You a Fat Cat Just Waiting to Get Out?

I was truly amazed when last month I visited Chapel Hill and saw my old cat, Miss Bella. I know what some of you are thinking and saying, “What? This guy’s a cat guy… he likes cats?! Come on… not Eifrig?”

Well, if truth be known, I am plain old simply an animal lover. I truly love (“prefer” is perhaps a better word) dogs, but I have certainly been around some great cats over the years. My favorite cat of all time, by the way, was Pooh. Pooh belonged to my dad and stepmother and was white. I mean Pooh was snow white except for her pink nose, her tongue, and the undersides of her paws.

I digress… back to Miss Bella.

As it turns out, Miss Bella was a Manx cat, which is a tailless type of cat. When we first saw her at the pound, we fell in love with her. We also fell in love with two other cats and spent the better part of the afternoon convincing the manager of the pound that we in fact could handle three cats (we were suckers for pound animals and, were it not for some of the rules they had at the pound, we would have taken a few dogs home with us that day as well. And, yes, we already had a dog at the time).

Well, as Miss Bella grew up, she quickly became a favorite of mine. When she jumped in to my lap, she had a funny way of getting up that was quick and short – not like the long graceful moves of the other cats. Plus she rubbed her nose and cuddled with an incredibly powerful upper body… it turns out that the breed naturally has a very strong front body.  And of course the humor… we can’t forget that a cat without a tail looks pretty darn hilarious. But the best part about her was that she was fat and she knew it and was embarrassed by it. I mean this girl was big… so big that I would teasingly call her Miss Belly though it would cause her to waddle off and leave me feeling bad (but still laughing).

Miss Bella also longed to be an outdoor cat. Though we didn’t allow her out, she would pine at the window watching the birds and animals. However, the indoor restrictions ended when I decided to give the cats to my dad and stepmother in North Carolina. They have raised many, many cats over the years and had just lost several of their old favorites (Dusty, Fred, Henry, Rhea, and Spot) and were down to one lonely cat named Sherman. We were thinking about getting more dogs, and the timing was perfect for everyone. The best part about it for the cats was that they received collars and full outdoor privileges. Within a few weeks they had even figured out how to use the three cat doors.

The shock came about a month or two later when I was visiting their home in Chapel Hill and, of course, I dropped to my knee and called the cats by name… as usual they came running like the dogs we had trained them to be. But Miss Bella came in and was the best looking cat of the group. And she was proud of it, too. No longer with a belly, this girl was in mean, lean, fighting shape. She had easily lost 30% of her body weight and looked sleek and strong at the same time. I couldn’t believe it, but she was as healthy as could be and clearly as happy as she had ever been. When I rubbed her, the fur felt better and her body fat was almost nothing. Wow! The lesson was learned…

Don’t be a fat cat… get outside, run around and play – you will be happy and you will lose weight and lose it quickly. The chord struck deep within me and reminded me of my youth when I was outdoors so much more and would hop, skip, run, throw things, chase things, test things… all outdoors. And how much lighter I was.

My thoughts began to form while watching her that weekend – noticing how she romped around outside in fast, quick, intense bursts and chased with the other cats and animals. And there were moments when she appeared to be a hunter stalking, and then would suddenly burst down the path or up a tree… chasing a bird or a squirrel. It looked fun being outside, but I also watched her rest quietly in a corner or on a couch… taking those classic catnaps.

Now she laughs at me.

When it comes to fat cats… what do I do?

1) I am trying to exercise more intensively, often for less time. Science tells us we get more of a fat-burning benefit that way.

2) I am trying to take a catnap once or twice a day.  In the past, this has been in the form of a quiet meditation, but I am starting to think that perhaps a true nap would work just fine, especially with another animal nearby.

3) But, I am still eating human food. Maybe there is something in the Purina?

Here’s to our health,

David Eifrig Jr., M.D., M.B.A.