Is my cat to fat?

pro youre mutton sounds like me :eek:

i read no cat should weigh under 6lbs and not over 1 stone.
the lightest of mine is 7.4lbs and he's the size of a kitten even though fully grown (bad start in life) but he's wiry and muscily, and the heaviest i had was 1st 2lbs, the vet told me off, i was most upset! But his weight kept him going in later life as he lost quite a bit.

Around 10lbs is a good solid weight.

 

Chubby Kitty! gotta love em'

I once had a ginger cat named Jerrile, when i was around 6, she died due to a tumor.
But she was just generally "fat", we only fed her small amounts each time and she just gained weight.

when she was around 12 she got a tumor.

She was playful! but also lazy!

 

just to make your cat feel better
:eek: :eek:

 

Can this be real?

 

surely not..

 

my gizmo is 7.6 and the vet always tells me off, but he has very little food here and hunts mice and birds in the field behind us. I have a bell on his collar to make it harder for him but..... what can I do?

 

Hi Roders!

It is always difficult to judge if an animal is overweight from a photo - sometimes they adopt the strangest slob-out poses and look chubbier than they actually are!

If I had to make a call on her, I would say that she may need to lose just a little weight to be in the 'ideal' weight range - but as with humans, cat weights can vary with frame size.

The definitive way to assess her is to weigh her of course.

I don't know what policy your vet would adopt, but I used to get clients who were trying to lose weight from their pet, to come in once a month for a free weigh in with a nurse. All practices vary though and of course, if you had a dietary consultation with a vet, that would be chargeable.
I always find that vet nurses are far better at giving weight-watcher advice for pets! Some practices run weightloss clinics regularly.

I have 2 cats and one of mine is certainly overweight. It is always more difficult to control what a greedier cat eats when you have a multi-cat household. Feeding separately can be a nightmare. I agree with Gogs - mine always gets plumper in the winter too - too reluctant to go out in the cold to work off those calories!

We have invested in a feather on elastic on a stick type cat-toy for those winter months. The cats go mad for chasing it and it is a fun way for them to lose weight without noticing it.

Another good tip is to weigh out the food allowance for the day - guesswork by eye always leads us to give more grub than the cat needs.

As MGN rightly points out there are conditions which are exacerbated by being overweight. Male neutered cats can certainly get blocked waterworks and all cats have more strain on their joints and their hearts.

I have noticed that some cats, especially neutered females, can get what I term as 'saggy belly' syndrome. They appear to get a laxity of the lower abdomen which causes a significant flap of skin and/or fat to hang down. This is very common and does not always mean the cat is overweight. That is why I would stress to judge by bodyweight as measured on a scale - leaves nothing to chance then.

Not much you can do if your cat has many feeding stations around the neighbourhood, except feed her less at your house and if you know of anyone feeding her, gently ask them to refrain from doing so - they think they are being kind but in the long term they are doing your cat no favours.

Here is a really good link to some sound advice.

http://www.thepetcenter.com/imtop/catweight.html

Prescription weight loss diets can be very helpful, albeit quite expensive. The same results can be achieved, perhaps just over a longer period of time, by feeding less amounts of their normal diet.

NEVER PUT A CAT ON A STARVATION OR CRASH DIET! It can be incredibly dangerous and can cause a life threatening condition of their liver.

Hope this helps

Kath



[ 28. March 2008, 01:22 AM: Message edited by: Cookie Monster ]

 

Here is an EVEN BETTER LINK to really good advice!

http://www.messybeast.com/overweight.htm

Let us know how things are going roders!

 

Hi Kath
Some interesting stuff there and yes it is winter and the coat is much thicker at the moment and they have less exercise as she loves to play in the garden and craves me to go out with her.
So all in all after reasessing the situation she is a bit over weight but will play some of it off in the spring and summer......I hope.
Thanks for your super input.