DH thinks Tiger's fat

Even my neighbor thinks he's fat but he's just big! He's a Maine Coon mix so of course he's going to be big boned but I don't think he's fat, he's only 10 months old! I can feel his ribs and hips when he's not curled up in a ball on my lap. He doesn't have that pooch hanging from his belly like my old cat, Penny, had and she was definetely overweight, lol! I think it's just the illusion of fatness with all that long hair on him and the fact that he's still a kitten.

So, how can I be really sure he's not getting overweight besides going to the vet? Our kitties have always been free fed and they're still on their kitten chow. He also gets regular exercise by us and chasing Angel, he's a fast cat!

If he's a structurally large cat, people call them fat anyway. My Stimpy is a little overweight, but his ideal weight is 15 lbs (he's a BIG cat). I think actually Stimpy has lost a bit since we moved--we have stairs now and they LOVE running up and down them.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v25/littleraven7726/11-7-07001Small.jpg
In the photo, Nabu the grey cat, is 9 lbs and not a smidge overweight. Stimpy is 17 lbs.

Iams has a little chart that tells how to tell if kitty is overweight.
http://us.iams.com/iams/en_US/jsp/IA...jsp?pageID=NFC

Also, at 10 months old a Maine Coon is still growing.

people say the same thing about my feral Gus, he is about 4 months old, my other cat Lucky is 8 months, he is much bigger than her. he also has long hair. I don't think he's fat either . I think he is just a bigger breed of cat. My neighbour calls him Fat Boy