Ideal weight

I took my 5.5 mo. old female sister DSH kittens to get their rabies vaccinations today. They were weighed; the more muscular one was 7.5 lbs and her less muscular sister was 6.3 lb. This number sounds on the large side to me, but...they don't really LOOK overweight. They do have a bit of a pot belly but both have waists when viewed from above and ribs are fairly easy to palpate. I have recently started to cut back on the amt of kitten food they get since they are almost 6 mo old.

I am wondering if it's best to determine if they are healthy or overweight by how much they weigh or by how large they look?

Sounds about average; a little on the larger size for 5 months. But I do agree that you should start mixing in adult food now - they don't have to be on kitten food anymore. Are they both spayed?

Yes, they were both spayed at ~8 weeks per animal shelter policy.

I would CONSULT a VET ... they are the experts on wt ... I disagree with feeding adult but I like higher protein overall and my 3.5 yr old eats a all stage and kitten mix

http://www.placervillevet.com/feline...0condition.htm

is a great tool for checking wt ....

Your vet would be able to tell you if they are overweight. Weight alone is not sufficient since cats are built differently. For example, my male who just turned 8 months is almost 12 pounds and still has a lot of growing to do. While that sounds big, it is not for his body type as he is a Maine coon. My vet marked his weight as ideal. My 6 month old female is 8.4 pounds and she is long and thin. They will continue to eat kitten and all life stages foods as they need the extra nutrients.

I understand muscle is heavier than fat- how do you tell a cat is muscular?

I totally agree with Sharky - only your Vet can tell you if your cat's weight is good or bad since he's the one examining your cat.

I have a brother and sister from the same parents, Mika is a very tiny 8+ pounds and Bijou is a large muscular boy at 17.5 lbs. so since none of us here can see your cats, these are questions you should ask your vet at your next visit.

Sharky,

All of my cats were off kitten food by 6 months of age and all were very healthy. Unless the cat has had a bad start in life and needs the extra calories or the cat is one of the larger breeds, there really is no reason to keep them on kitten food.

On a spayed/neutered kitten, they can get fat quickly - even if getting exercise.

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

Sharky,

All of my cats were off kitten food by 6 months of age and all were very healthy. Unless the cat has had a bad start in life and needs the extra calories or the cat is one of the larger breeds, there really is no reason to keep them on kitten food.

On a spayed/neutered kitten, they can get fat quickly - even if getting exercise.

Click to expand...

lol... Off topic

Mine are usually shelter or Opps cats ... Zoey had a very bad start( she was feral for 4-6 months of age) and while not a large breed for some reason at 3.5 still growing