Is my cat fat?

[fishee]

Hi,
I have an 8 month old gray tabby named Rupert. He is approx. 10 lbs and I cannot feel his ribs when he's standing unless I push really hard. He eats slightly less than half a cup of blue buffalo dry food and 1.5 oz of canned Trader Joes...so he doesn't eat too much but his belly looks pretty round...Any ideas? I don't want to be feeding him less since he's still a kitten. Thanks!

[Carmel]

I don't know, 10 pounds sounds a little high to me.

[Sinatra-Butters]

It is hard to tell whether a cat is "fat" or not, because it really depends on his build. I think there is a chart floating around showing appropriate sizing for cats. Hopefully someone comes around to help you soon.

[swimkris]

Here's one I pulled off of Google:



Remember to use your hands if your cat is a longhair.

[fishee]

Thanks for the chart, well it seems to me that he is "ideal," I guess he just weighs a lot...

[Wallaby]

Haha, if it makes you feel any better, my cat is 6.5 months and fully 10 and a half pounds. O.o However, in my opinion, bigger cats make for more optimal snuggling!

[beamjoy]

Ansen was obese at one point, then overweight after a while. He didn't eat that much. He was just a big buddy. Like people I guess, some people are a little on the heavy side no matter how hard they try.

Once I took him to a new vet. She mentioned that he needed to lose some weight. I tried to convince her that he wasn't fat, just well-loved. She was not amused and absolutely tore into me. Oh well. He was happy, that's all that matters.

[saitenyo]

Yeah it's hard to judge by weight alone. Apollo is 10.3 lbs and only 8 months old. Last time I had him to the vet she said he was bordering on the edge of chubby, but not at the point where she was concerned yet, as long as he didn't gain any more weight. He's since lost a little with a more regulated diet and less free-feeding. But the indication of his slight chubbiness was his waist, rather than his weight. He's a very muscular cat, and was heavy to lift and very large even before he started getting chubby. He's the size of a full-grown cat and I'm not even sure he's done growing yet (his paws are massive).

So charts like the one above are the best judge, as ideal weight will differ drastically between breeds and even individual cats within a breed.

[dweamgoil]

My experience has been that the chart is very good, but accompanied by the palpation test. If you cannot feel his ribs without pressing slightly, he is overweight. Sometimes as pet owners, we are a little bit more forgiving about our pet's weight than a Vet would be. Well meaning owners tend to make excuses as to why the pet is fat...they hardly eat a thing is the most common.

Dry food usually puts on weight so maybe putting your cat on canned will regulate his weight a bit more, and of course, activity level. Some cats need to eat more and some don't need too much food at all depending on how much they actually move during the day. Sometimes, it's genetic. Some put on weight faster and easier than other cats, if this is the case, you will need to watch your pet's diet more closely for the rest of its life.

My Azalia is like this. She eats 3 oz of canned and 3-4 oz of raw a day and she is well over 10 lbs. She is a big girl. She is now maintaining this weight from being almost 13 lbs a few months ago.

[fishee]

Hmm, I guess I'll restrict his diet more. Thanks!