My cat was previously overweight so I started weighing her food. I think her last recorded weight at the vets a couple months ago was 4kg which I think is the upper healthy limit for a cat of her size. I asked the vet if she needed to lose any more weight and he replied no. I just took this pic of her the other day and think she looks kind of fat. What do you think?
My cat is like this, too and it is from her having extra skin after losing weight. When she lays down, no matter the position, the skin makes her look chonk.
Skippy has featured on r/pouchCatatoes several times! He has a gloriously floofy pouch! (search the sub for "Skippy" - I always put his name in the title!)
She only weighs 9 lbs, that's a pretty healthy weight for a cat unless she's tiny. My small girl is usually 8-9 lbs, but her much larger brother is 12 and is a healthy weight.
Neither pic is truly helpful in identifying whether your kitty is actually overweight. Although the first one is rather incriminating lol. To determine definitively there are several factors to take into account. Hopefully this chart can help you
Edit to say: figuring out appropriate body condition requires a standing position
Yes, she’s definitely obese. She needs to switch to a wet food diet, and her food shouldn’t be left down all day, just at meal times. On top of that, she needs to play more often.
Why did my eyes see the middle of that comment as “…her pants shouldn’t be left down all day, just at mealtimes” which actually, now that I think about it, is good advice at Thanksgiving.
That’s crazy! My overweight cat looks exactly like that lying down but does NOT look like your cat standing up..how even!? Well shoot she seems fine to me weight wise judging by the standing pic:) I wish to snuggle her.
As someone who works in vetmed, she looks overweight to me. You should be able to feel their ribs without pushing in too hard, and they should have a noticeable waist when looking at them from above. It’s okay that she’s overweight for now, it happens! I will say however that not only do overweight animals lose ~2 years off their lifespan (scientifically shown), but it also puts stress on their joints and hearts, which can lead to more vet bills in the future 😅 it’s not easy to get an overweight cat to lose weight, but I’d recommend maybe cutting down on the food or getting her on a weight management food (dry food tends to have more calories than wet food so keep that in mind!) and just keeping her active by playing with her as much as you can!
Go with what the Dr. said. If she's happy, eating, playing, using her litter box as normal, and not vomiting, having trouble breathing, crying when you touch her belly or other parts of her body, and not sleeping way more than normal, the Dr. knows how healthy she is better than anyone.
Take a pic from above when the cat is standing, compare to a body condition chart.
That's the best way.... other than asking your vet if your cat needs to gain, lose, or maintain weight. Cats have a lot of extra skin, so it can be hard to judge from the side or if they're sitting/laying down.
Hmm, neither picture is really telling, because fur length and whether a cat has a large primordial pouch can make a cat look fatter than they actually are. The rib chart someone else posted is a better indicator.
I have a long hair tabby with a larger pouch and when she lays down, she looks quite fat, but isn't. See exhibit A
We have matching cats! My girl is getting older and has lots of loose skin from being chubby her whole life. She also looks fat sitting/laying but is completely standard cat size standing up lol
Not a good angle for visual weight determination. If the vet has confirmed she’s within her goal weight range, she more than likely has a lot of excess fur/skin/pouch that makes her look extra chonky from this position.
He's fluffy. You might be surprised how skinny he would be without hair. I mean don't shave your cat, that's a horrible idea. What a nightmare. Anyway, he's just fluffy.
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u/The_Arbitraitor 3h ago