food issues

We think that Our Ginger's diet is starting to work, a bit.  From some angles he looks slightly less like a rugby ball covered in acrylic orange fur with a leg at each corner.  From some angles.  When he goes into Clive Anderson mode and shrinks his neck down into his shoulders he still looks pretty chunky.  The Systems Administrator says there is a little less podge around the tummy, and I think that's probably right.  Our Ginger has been quite good about being dieted, finishing his breakfast and then spending the rest of the morning asleep rather than agitating for more food, though that could partly be down to the mild weather.  Cats need to eat significantly less when it's warm, a reminder that they have a higher surface area to volume ratio than us, and that in cold weather they need to stack away a lot of calories just to maintain their body heat.

We are trying to get him to lose weight for his own good, after staring one time too many at the poster in the vet's consulting room illustrating the health dangers of obesity.  Unfortunately, by the law of unintended consequences, the fat tabby has taken the non-constant availability of food as a personal threat, and started hoovering down any she can see, so as Our Ginger gets slimmer (possibly) she gets fatter.  The big tabby's nerves are still jangled, so that he is sometimes reluctant to eat at all, and sits staring at his food with a vague expression.  Standing with him talking to him nicely sometimes helps encourage him to eat, but we have had to resort to taking him into the kitchen with us while we eat lunch, and giving him extra rations behind closed doors.  He seems to like eating with us (his dish is on the floor) so the exclusive company and occasional sachet of Sheba generally persuade him he feels hungry.

The black cat knows what he's doing, eats what he wants, and remains at a healthy weight.  But in response to the Telegraph vet who says it is a tired old excuse among pet owners that they can't control the weight of their animals because they have to feed more than one, I say, try it.  If you happen to have four like the black cat then good luck to you, and no wonder you think it's easy.  For those of us who have one with gluttonous and one with paranoid tendencies, plus another with a borderline eating disorder, it's a challenge.

They are moulting as well, a sign of spring.  The Systems Administrator looked last night at the strands of fur that were rising one by one under the heat of an anglepoise lamp from a mat on the table in front of the TV and said 'Do you think you could move that thing?' and that it was no wonder we both had permanent runny noses and sore throats.  I sometimes think we are slightly allergic to them, but it's too late to worry about that now.

Addendum  The replacement gear part for the lawn tractor arrived in a little cardboard sleeve, and was the right, genuine Briggs and Stratton component.  Taking half the afternoon, and sustaining only minor flesh wounds, the SA managed to rebuild the starter motor.  The tractor now works perfectly, and it will be handy knowing how to disassemble the starter motor for the next time something breaks.