Big kitty can't reach herself to clean?

You have done really well with getting your cat to lose that weight. Orijen is an excellent food.

As she just eats catnip, you might like to try a herb called Valerian, cats love it and although it gives a mellower hit than catnip, it still gets them up an frisky. It's available from health food shops in dried form. It stinks, so keep it double bagged (actually it mimics the scent of cat anal gland secretions, that's why cats go for it!) It's good stuff for cats that don't get off on nip.

Have you considered that she may have developed a bit of arthritis, she's a bit young yet for it (usual age of onset is about 8) but as she's been innactive and heavy, she may well have a touch of it in her hips and lower spine (similarly if she's declawed she may well have arthritis) Arthritis can make it painful for cats to move about quickly - ask your vet, there are good supplements available and anti-inflammatory drugs to help the pain - these can make a huge difference to activity levels.

She also may just not be used to being active - and find playing, psychologically a bit much for her. Cats can become introverted too. You mention that she won't play infront of the other cats, so consider that she may be a bit intimidated by them. Have a think about her life from her point of view. It really can help you work out new ways to help her.

As she responds to the click of the laser pointer, have you thought about some clicker training for her. It's easy to do, and you could use pieces of her dry food out of her allowance to use as rewards. There are some very good clicker training dvds and books about. She may really take to it, you would need to teach her about the clicker away from the other cats too, so she has a chance to gain confidence (cats can really lose confidence and become rather depressed if they have been inactive for a while - this may be why she doesn't play when the other cats are about) Clicker training may give her a new lease of life. I've seen it cheer up many cats and get them moving around, the instant reward aspect of it, gets them very interested!

Now, that flap! You are right to want to help her clean herself - no cat likes being messy and this might be contributing to her low level of activity. Creases in flesh can easily get sore and infected. I would use a non scented baby wipe once a day and give her a throrough but gentle clean down there (including her bum) - dry the skin, and if the skin flap feels damp or cold to the touch, a very light sprinkling of corn starch will help the area dry out and she will feel more comfortable. Obviously, if she gets messy, you will need to clean more than once a day.

If she can become more active, she will definately put on some muscle and combined with some limited skin shrinkage (depending on how long she has been overweight) the spare skin might reduce a bit as her shape changes.

If, despite your efforts she does end up having serious skin issues with that flap (urine burns, persisten skin ulcers, constant irritation) then it might be worth speaking to the vets at a big vet school (Tufts especially) I have heard of flap reduction surgery, but it would only be considered if her well being and mobility were severely impaired by the flap. It's a big operation and healing would be tricky too.

Best of luck! :)

You need to clean her bottom as often as it is needed. Not to sound mundane, but it depends on how often she uses the bathroom. A good idea is to take her to a groomer (or some vet clinics will do it) and have her bottom shaved or trimmed so so much is not caught in the hair. For urine, at least once a day, wipe her with a warm damp cloth. For fecal matter,just don't let it get so bad that it has to be soaked or causes burns on the skin. A fine tooth comb will get out solid material, then again wipe with a warm, dampo cloth. As often as needed. As for the skin flap, really exercise won't help, because even if her tummy tightens, the problem is skin not fat. (It is the same as you might have seen on TV where people undergo gastric bypass or any radical weight loss, and then have to have plastic surgery for all the hanging, mis-stretched skin. Hopefully, if she is kept on the right weight loss path, it may shrink some, but she will always have some of it. It is just a part of her.

Also, just as a side-note (and you may already know and be on this), but have her tested for diabetes. It is very common in cats, and if so, she needs a special diabetic diet to loose weight and possibly insulin shots. Just keep an eye on it, for her health. Good luck!

My cat has a weight issue to we cut down her bowls we feed her now and every once in a while feed her an egg or something lean. It's the best way to go health scale wise. My cat is unimaginative as well some times a laser will thrill her. Try a simple thing my cat use to get a kick out of a crumpled up ball of paper she would play fetch sometimes. Try not to let her sleep much i had to keep an eye on my cat since she sleeps most the time poke her get her up. Try you best to keep her awake and active.

My cat still has that "flap" ( we call it the Moonkin flabb if you play WoW you know what I am talking about lol.) you are taking about it's shrinking very slowly but surely. It might be diabetes...but you sound like a health nut like meh.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=10BSO688PaE

You will see the flabb when it dances...<@.@>...right between the legs...just wrong...lol

But, anyways hope I made ya giggle a bit and Helped.;D

My 14 yr old cat who died in June of an underlying heart condition due to her obesity sounds a lot like your situation. When I got the cat she was pushing 20 lbs. I cleaned her butt and brushed her every day. She started to lose weight (most likely as a result of the undetected heart condition which was masked by her weight). I myself had gastric bypass in 2002 so I can agree the skin flap will never go away without plastic surgery & who gets their cats plastic surgery?! Prior to my GB surgery, I discovered I had hyperthyroid, I did radioactive iodine, and I am almost positive the radio-whatevers I expended (since I was instructed not to have human contact for a certain period of time) were put on my cat, which destroyed her thyroid, causing the health problems she endured, which lead to her death. Diabetes & thyroid are very similar - if she was big and is now losing weight, chances are she has over active thyroid. The downside to the treatment of that is a human/cat will end up with under-active thyroid, bringing back the weight gain - I experienced the weight gain even with gastric bypass. So my advice is to find out if it diabetes or thyroid and to treat accordingly. A fat healthy cat is better than a sick skinny cat who can't stop losing weight. Best of luck to you!

Try giving her some catnip maybe it'll make her more active. My cat likes to eat it then run around. He's large though as well and gets a little rough with the other two cats when on the nip. I tend to give him to many treats though.

Try a harness and put her out if she's an inside cat and your worried about her outside. Maybe she'll chase leaves or bugs and stay little more active who knows though. I think she'll be just fine.

I would clean her as often as she looks dirty. So it might be often. They like to be clean she knows your helping. Just a wet rag or so. Not like a full bath . I get sick thinking about it. I make my girlfriend do the dirty work.

Many plastic toy items are dishwasher safe. Use common sense when looking at the item(s). Stuffed animals may have to be brushed with soap/water & blow dried while brushing so the fur doesn't mat. Use a non-rinsable soap, such as Woolite.

1)if i was in your situation i would wash her once a week just to make sure i get all her bottom clean.

2) try to buy her some towels or spray used for showering cats with out water, trust me is less painful tahn fangs and claws.

3) in order to help her with her flap when trying to make her play have you tried a flashlight on the ground? they usually love following a flashlight light reflected either on wall or floor.

hope it helps

Sounds like she needs cosmetic surgery to remove the extra flap of skin.

I had to clean my kittys bottom with baby wipes for awhile it works good. So that might help. I did the baby wipes when ever he needed or was dirty down there