fat agoraphobic manx

Question
My cat, Rascal is about 5 years old. My sister and I found him under a bush one halloween crying for his mother who, after some inquiry to the surrounding residences revealed to us, had been killed by a passing car earlier that week. We took him home, and that was that. He is a manx, was fixed soon after we got him, and is quite overwieght, seeing as he tips the scales at around 25 pounds. Last year, he got stuck in a tree and we couldn't get him down for about 15 hours. Since then, he has become VERY reclusive and hesitant even to come downstairs. I have a very sure feeling this contributes to his obesity, coupled with my sister's insistence on filling up his food bowl whenever it falls below half full. I was wondering if there is anything I could do for him to help him overcome his fear of the outdoors. I have taken him out on the front porch and held him, given him treats, etc, but all he does is scratch and bite and yowl and I have to take him back inside again, where he promptly scurries upstairs to take shelter in the bathtub. Any ideas? Thanks.

Answer
Rachel,

The problem is that cats have long memories about bad things that have happened.  So, until it is Rascal's idea to go back outside, he is not going to do it and there is no way to force the issue. Forcing the issue with him will have the exact opposite effect and he will become even more reclusive.  So, to get him to even come downstairs, you need to feed him down there and ignore him otherwise.  Let him decide to come out on his own time.  The odds are going outside is a lost cause for quite a while.  If he decides one day to go back outside, so be it, otherwise you should just leave it alone.

As to feeding, you need to tell you sister she is killing him by overfeeding him.  You should feed him a set amount twice a day.  When that is gone, no more until the next feeding. At first his metabolism will slow down to compensate, but in time he will begin to lose weight if you are consistent about not overfeeding him.

Best regards... Norm.