Wellesbourne giant cat takes swimming lessons to lose weight

Meet the Warwickshire cat who is taking swimming lessons to lose weight. Nine-year-old Moses, who weighs as much as a French bulldog – making him more than double his healthy size – has started hydrotherapy lessons to help lose weight.

His owner put Moses on numerous diets, but he only gained weight after he refused to go outside or exercise. The chubby cat is now taking swimming lessons at Avonvale Veterinary Centre, owned by Linnaeus, in Wellesbourne.

So far, his weight loss mission is going well. Veterinary hydrotherapist Olivia Stokes said: “When he first came to us, Moses weighed almost 10kg. His owner said he had been on diets and encouraged to exercise before, but still couldn’t lose the weight.

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“So we decided to try a different approach with hydrotherapy. It is a very unusual approach to cat care. I have been in the industry for five years and have been a qualified hydrotherapist for almost two years and have never experienced hydrotherapy with a cat before. , so Moses was first for me.

“That’s because cats don’t usually like water, and of course, at his first tasting session, Moses wasn’t impressed at all. He needed a lot of encouragement as he resisted the treatment and we also tried all kinds of cat food but he wasn’t interested in it for long either,” she added.

Now Moses sits in the tank and knows “exactly what to do,” Olivia added that once he’s been going for 13 minutes, she “picks him up” and raises the water level and swims him for a few minutes for a “full body workout.” .

He is now starting to get in shape as his muscles tone up and he is much more active and lively at home. Olivia said: “When Moses was at his heaviest he was 9.7kg. At his last weigh-in, he weighed 9.1 kg. That’s a nearly four percent body weight loss in about six weeks, which is perfectly fine the way we do it. I don’t want to lose weight too quickly.

“The important thing is that his body shape is clearly changing as he loses fat and builds his back muscles. He is also much more active at home and generally feels much better about himself. I am very proud of the evolution of Moses; it’s even walking on the treadmill now.”

His owner Jenna Joshi, a nurse manager, is thrilled with Moses’ progress. She said: “Moses has always been a big cat but he’s put on a lot of weight over the last three years. I kept him on a strict diet but that didn’t help at all. He just wasn’t interested in going outside, exercising, or playing with toys.

“I asked my colleagues if we could try hydrotherapy to help his mobility and hopefully help him lose weight. I could see a difference almost immediately.

“After his first hydrotherapy session, he passed the cat, which he hadn’t done in a long time. We still do regular weight checks, we still do hydrotherapy and we’re making good progress.”

“It was hard at first, but now he doesn’t complain and knows exactly what to do when he goes to sessions,” she added.

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