How to lose the flappy skin?

First of all I'm sorry as I'm sure that this question may have come up 10000 times already, however a quick search didn't find me what I was looking for.

My girl, Echo, weighed in at 5.2kg the last time I took her to the vets. Since then I've been watching what she is eating more, and I'm pretty sure that I've had some success. When I feel her stomach, it feels smaller, and she seems to have more energy about her now. However, whenever she walks, or runs, you see her belly flap from side to side. How will she lose this? Is there anything that I can do to help? She has a huge cat play area, and has always stretched lots to use the scratch pole, but this just doesn't seem to be moving.

Any tips?

Many thanks!!!

Imagine what its like for humans when we lose weight quickly.....

She just needs loads of exercise.

How old is she??

She's an 8 years old European shorthair.

The older they are, the harder it is to shift.... again like us!!

Get some toys on sticks and make her run around like crazy after them, that should give her the extra exercise!!

Both of my kitties have this. I think it's called a "spay sway". I wish they could do a little nip & tuck as it would look so much better for my girls! The vet told me it was totally normal.

Stephanie

The loose skin on the belly in some cats is actually completely natural and not a result of being spayed or overweight. It's there so that the cat can stretch out completely when they're running and jumping and also some loose skin to act as protection if they get clawed at in their belly.

I know bengals tend to have it, I think it's common in other breeds too and I've definately seen it as well in your standard domestic shorthairs.

Sit-ups! Just kidding. I wasn't aware you could trim that down. Paris is a very very active cat and she has a small sway.

Originally Posted by Siggav

The loose skin on the belly in some cats is actually completely natural and not a result of being spayed or overweight. It's there so that the cat can stretch out completely when they're running and jumping and also some loose skin to act as protection if they get clawed at in their belly.

I know bengals tend to have it, I think it's common in other breeds too and I've definately seen it as well in your standard domestic shorthairs.

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What she said. *smile* Perfectly normal and unrelated to weight.

Congrats on helping your kitty back to a healthier state!

It's perfectly normal for a cat, you can't get rid of it. They have a lot of loose skin, as Siggav said it's so that if they are grabbed in a fight they can turn around to use their back legs or teeth for defence.

Originally Posted by Epona

It's perfectly normal for a cat, you can't get rid of it. They have a lot of loose skin, as Siggav said it's so that if they are grabbed in a fight they can turn around to use their back legs or teeth for defence.

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Puff has that sway as well. He actually has two fat pockets on the inside of his back legs where the skin from his belly connects to his legs. (It's more on the belly). I was hoping the lazer pointer I got would get him going and he'd loose that. We weighed him (as best we could) the other day and it hit 20. I'm not sure it's accurate because he keeps squirming. I know that if his breeding is what I suspect it is their big cats. But I also don't want him to get too fat that he becomes lazy.

Yes, it's called spay sway and Bijou has a doozie! Mika is much smaller than Bijou and would hardly be deemed overweight but she still has the little sway.

Unfortunately, I don't think you can get rid of it either. Our vet called it a "fat pad" and also said it's totally normal. She said some cats have it and some just don't. Snickers has a huge one. We have come to love it, as it's the fuzziest part of her body. Sometimes she'll sit on a glass tabletop, and we look at her from below. It's hilarious because there's so much fuzz on the fat pad!

That's a relief! Thanks for all of your replies. My other cat Nova has no fat swaying at all, he is a couple of years younger, and very very active. Echo is a female, I'm not sure if sex is relevant or not, but I thought I'd mention it anyway, and she's a European shorthair. She is still pretty active, but definitely likes a snooze more than Nova does. She seems happy and fine, but I immediately felt that this was a bad thing, and so I'm glad I checked up!

Be well.