I have no idea, but I'd like to know too. My cat looks very... wide? high? tall? when he stands up because his stomach and the hair on it seem to droop down forever! There's really nothing to it, and I can just kind of wiggle it back and forth... so its not fat, just skin. I was thinking that its slightly possible that he was at one point really fat and lost weight but his skin didn't shrink back? But I doubt that's it. Hope someone has some insight

 

Firebert has never been fat, I've just recently got him to the point where he doesn't look like he's malnourished! His feral mother gave him so many parasites and the staff at the shelter just let him languish in his illness, then they wanted me to neuter him before I could take him home to a vet! :evil:

 

All cats have a "fat pad" at the south end of the tummy. It is present even in thin cats. It is their "emergency reserves" in case they are actually starving (as opposed to trying to make you *think* they are starving by staring at their empty bowl and meowing pitifully!).

Cheers,
Dr. Jean

 

Can cats always have this hanging even if they aren't fat? As if the skin is stretched out? Julia isn't hugely fat and hers hangs a lot.

 

I know cats get develop it a few months after they are fixed, and also if they have had kittens before. Old cats get it as well. My vet calls it a "tiger's belly" :?

Abhay

 

My cat also has that hanging fat from her belly. She is a little flubby also. She eats and eats and eats. We only give her food twice a day, but she's a hefty 14 pounds.

Anyone who sees her comments on how fat she is because that fat is always hanging on her belly.

I guess it's good to know that it's fairly normal.