this post was submitted on 31 Dec 2025
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Pets don't decide to be fat.
Pet owners decide to overfeed them.
sure, but sometimes in the case of kittens "the owner" is its mother and "decide to overfeed them" is the kitten was the only one of its litter so it gets all the milk
Ok.
Doesn't change that the health of an animal kept as a pet, is the responsibility of the respective human.
Edit: are you downvoters assuming I'm suggesting you separate the kitten and mother? I'm not.
Kittens and mother cats should go essentially untouched by humans for several weeks after birth.
After that, just don't continue to allow the kitten to overeat and it'll be fine.
I dont think its ever a good idea to restrict a pet animal babys access to its mothers milk without advice from a vet
That's... Not what I'm saying. What the fuck?
The kitten doesn't need to stay fat. That's all.
If a pet is getting its food from you, it's on you to give it the right amount.
The same applies to asking a vet for advice, if you don't know.
Bottom line: The health of a pet (or any animal in human care) is the responsibility of the respective human.
My second comment initially made ABSOLUTELY NO STATEMENT beyond that fact, or what it means in practice.
yea, once the kitten is weaned, feeding becomes your responsibility and you shouldn’t overfeed it.
but when it’s the mother… honestly i don’t think it’s a health risk for the kitten for it to be a bit plump during the first few weeks of its life. i’m not a veterinarian tho, so if i’m wrong feel free to correct me
No, I'm suggesting you can't read.
A downvote doesn't suggest anything at all.
This comment does.
...what pet, exactly? The post very clearly says "at work"?
Well yeah.
The post is about kittens.
I'm talking about pets in general, and how they don't decide stuff like this.
Eh, I have a cat I can free feed and one that needs measurements (and is on a diet as is, fatty).
With dogs you're probably right but with cats, they do seem to decide (or at least not "decide" but are sorted into two camps naturally, if you reaaaaally have to be pedantic about it.)
That's rare.
Being predators cats have a hunger drive that kicks in early to make them look for food before they're too weak to hunt. In nature, cats are usually always a little hungry. Hence, if the food is palatable, most cats will eat constantly and end up eating more than they need by at least some margin.
It's not an active decision by the animal, but rather the hunger drive, which can vary quite a lot between individuals.
This is complicated by the fact that cats are picky, to the point they can outright refuse to eat something they aren't used to, or just eat less of it.
My cat would never stop eating his favorite treat (freeze dried meats), the same cat eats a little too much kibble if I let him, and no wet food at all no matter how hungry he is. This kind of thing, you might argue is a decision.
I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s as much a decision as it is for many humans. There is some evidence that, for some actions, what we think of as choices may just be retroactive mental explanations for bodily urges which we are in the process of initiating before we get the conscious “idea” to do so.
But individual tendencies and habits formed earlier in life are definitely contributors as well. Both my cats free feed and are lean, but both were raised on scheduled individual feedings for years before I adopted them.