Loose Skin?

Well, I have (some of you may recall) had quite a time with my Poppy. She was rescued very sick, but recovered (pneumonia).

Well, I've noticed she has really loose folds of skin around her abdomen/back legs. It seems to be just skin, but hangs down not like the whole area, just a small area. She's not a heavy cat at all - 8.5 pounds but it's difficult to get a good look as she is not very good about being inspected. Could this possibly be normal? I'm just very nervous.

I am going to make an appointment with a vet, but the problem is, I'm in the middle of changing vets! I have no idea what to do. I'm just worried something is really wrong with her, although she acts normal and eats fine.

Alicat - I'd get her checked out, just for your own peace of mind.

My Fifi, also has quite a bit of loose skin. She also has little fatty lumps (I've had these biopsied - they're just fatty lumps) around the underside of her back legs.

I spoke to the vet about it, and he said it really is nothing to worry about and that all cats are different and the loose skin is just something that happens to cats just like it happens to humans (tell me about it )

Hi alicat613,
I'm not sure where I got this from... it may have been Animal Planet or online somewhere, but it said that it's normal for cats have loose skin (kind of like a little pouch) on their tummies.

The reasoning behind it was that cats, like tigers, are originally hunters, and they would have to go out and hunt once every day or two... and that whatever they caught to eat, they would eat it all, so they wouldn't be hungry for awhile, thus having extra skin for the times their bellies were very full.

My little Spike has a bit of a pouch on his tummy.. it's not huge or anything, but it's supposedly normal. Now, of course, if it just happened overnight, or Poppy seems to be in any discomfort because of it, I'd head right into the vet... if nothing else, it could put your worries to rest.

Thank you.

I don't believe it's happened overnight, but it troubles me that I can't really look at it. I do want to go to the vet, but I am still slecting a new veterinarian. Our last vet, well we basically chose in a rush and stayed for convenience.

Alicia, I agree with the others here, I don't know how old Poppy is, but I think it's normal for cats to develop noticeable folds of loose skin on their back legs and abdomen as they get older. It wouldn't hurt to have a vet check it out just to be safe. BTW, it's good to see you posting again.

One of my cats has those loose flaps of skin under her belly. She is not fat either. They seemed to develop when she was an older kitten. I call them bellyflaps. It is normal for some cats, unrelated to being over weight in these certain cats. In fact, there is a kind of cat, the American Keuda, that naturally has skin flaps on the belly, which the folling listed site calls "an apron" as well as belly flaps: http://www.petprospects.com/Care/Cats/004/19pA.htm

However, a vet check up is a good idea to be sure it is just the normal bellyflaps.

I have a female cat with the same thing. We got her from a shelter, and she has been to the vet plenty of times, and they have never acted like it was unusual, but it does feel wierd. How old is your cat? I have no idea what the age of mine is. I wondered if it has anything to do with age.

Thanks all! Well, she's probably about 4 or 5 I'd guess. It's hard to say, she was adopted as well and we know little about her background, other than it was not good. I honestly can't say if these are recent or not as it is difficult to examine her. I'll be taking her in soon. I've finally found a vet I like so now it's time to try him out.

Alicat

I don't know if this is the same thing, but I've noticed some cats simply gain weight just in that baggy area underneath their ribs and the lower belly in front of their back legs. Then other cats have their fat distributed all around their bodies. Still others gain it ONLY widthwise in stomach area and look like they swallowed a beach ball.

I love kitties that are padded all around so they look sleek like seals. .. my kitties unfortunately get the saggy bag look.