overweight cat/obese or not?

well, i have a male bi colored cat, and he is 18 pounds, and i dont know if he is overweight or obese. there is a difference. obese is dangerously large. is he dangerously large?

You'd probably need a vet to tell you, cats come in many sizes. One of mine is 16lbs but not fat, he's just a large cat.
A vet will also advise you on how to slim him down if he is obese.

Yeah because all cats have a different build too..the vet would be able to say for sure.

Can you post some pictures? That might help.

The ideal way to find out if he is overweight is to have your vet or a tech evaluate his body condition. There is a scale that we use that ranges from 1 (very thin) through 5 (obese) with 3 being the idea body weight. Basically, feel his ribs, there should only be a slight fat covering over them, you should be able to feel the spine easily and also the pelvic bones; they should also have a nice abdominal tuck from the side and an obvious waist from the top.

Here's a page that will help you understand what I am explaining:
http://www.cathelp-online.com/health/bscore.php

As I said before, a vet or tech is definitely more accurate because they can actually see and feel him.

Hope this helps!!!