Floppy belly pouch, is this normal?

Marcel is our 9 month old male who was neutered at 6 months. At that time the vet said he was a little bit overweight. Because he is still an indoor cat I switched to indoor food and have been really careful that he doesn't eat to much. I'm pretty sure he's lost a little weight and grown a bit longer so that's ok!

The thing is, in between his back legs he has a floppy little round mound, almost like a half empty water balloon. It definetly isn't a lump and it's not painful but i've never had a cat before who's had this sort of body! I have seen old cats who sort of have a pouch hanging down but with Marcel you can't see anything you can just feel when he's standing.

Did anybody else have a cat with a little beer belly like this?

It's commonly known as "spay sway". Yes, I know that your cat is male, but this is the term that's typically used.

I think the more technical term is "primordial pouch."

No matter what it's called, it's perfectly normal.

Originally Posted by clairebear3

Marcel is our 9 month old male who was neutered at 6 months. At that time the vet said he was a little bit overweight. Because he is still an indoor cat I switched to indoor food and have been really careful that he doesn't eat to much. I'm pretty sure he's lost a little weight and grown a bit longer so that's ok!

The thing is, in between his back legs he has a floppy little round mound, almost like a half empty water balloon. It definetly isn't a lump and it's not painful but i've never had a cat before who's had this sort of body! I have seen old cats who sort of have a pouch hanging down but with Marcel you can't see anything you can just feel when he's standing.

Did anybody else have a cat with a little beer belly like this?

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All my cats have what I affectionately call fat pockets! When my female had her first litter, the studs owner came to see them and laughed because they "had their father fat pockets" The mother has a little one, but my spayed female all but has one dragging on the ground.
But yes, after being altered it is normal for them to have that "spay sway" as another poster has put it

SPAY SWAY haaaaa thats so funny!

I can't believe i've never had a boy with this before though. I actually love his little jelly belly!

Thanks for your answers, i'm now going to search out ...primordial pouch!

Both Tailer and Forest have a beer belly, too, even though their weight is pretty much normal.

Both of mine are not quite a year old yet and they have "Spay Sway" My boy got his first, then my girl about a month later.

I think what is intresting about my cats is that all 3 of my boys have it (although Jordan's is getting smaller since he's lost weight), but my girl, who is spayed, does not have spay sway. Go figure.

BooBoo has it too! His is a couple inches from the ground, but at 13 lbs, you got to expect something like that! LOL I think when they lose weight it gets even worse because then its just skin hanging there with no fat!

It actually has nothing to do with being neutered or spayed. It's an extra flap of loose skin that makes it easier for the cat to stretch out completely when running and jumping and it's also extra protection if they're wrestling other cats (or prey) and get kicked or clawed in the belly. The loose skin can roll with it so there's less danger of a wound.

Nikita has had one for a long time now and she's never been overweight.

Mitten has one too. Has had it from the beginning. My Maine Coon in the States had one after she had been spayed. Glad to know it's normal, because Mitten isn't really fat. We call it his "woobilies".

My Cosmo has had one his entire life. He is a muscular 2 year old male and is not fat. If you look at large cats in the wild -like a cougar or a lion- they can have them as well.

I have always just called it his jungle pouch.

aw... and to think! I've been calling Bea "chubs" for years

Reviving an old thread just because I noticed Oliver's belly getting floppier, so I did a forum search. Google suggested it's common in Bengals and maybe not so much in other breeds. But it seems to be fairly common for all cats based on the above. Anyway, I love rubbing on it. It's so soft! 

I love all the nicknames for the floppy belly!

My Wee One has it too. Hers came from losing weight. When she was a kitten, I had an older cat that was sick. The vet said to leave food out for her all the time, making sure she would eat.

While the sick kitty ate some, Wee thought Christmas arrived early and chowed down!

She gained 6 POUNDS in a little over a month (no, I'm not kidding!)

The vet laughed and told me to try to keep Wee from free feeding so much. I did and as she grew, she became healthy and slim (we now call her "built for speed Wee."

But that extra skin had to go somewhere, so she has a floppy belly. when she sits down, it kinda looks like a pair of boobs right above her back feet. I love playing with it, making it swing back and forth and saying "blub, blub, blub!" while she purrs and flops over.

Haha! That's great.

Oliver has never been overweight. He just has this adorable, fluffy little floppy belly that seems to grow with him. As in he gets bigger and it drops lower. I told my BF that at this rate, it's going to be dragging the ground when he's fully grown!

Surely not, though. It's just so cute. But it does look like he just gave birth or lost a lot of weight.

Lol!! My cat has a jelly belly too. When he walks, he *almost* looks slim. But when he lays down, his body kinda...overflows. I hate to see it. When he first got the jelly roll, it bothered him, he'd lick at his tummy. Maybe they're like us and stretch marks itch? But now he's happily used to it. My sister says he looks like a fat little boy who plays x box too much lol. But it's normal.
I wuv that jelly belly!

What a pretty kitty! By chance, are his eyes blue?

My vet calls it a jungle pouch. :-)

4 of my 5 kitties have floppy bellies. 

All hail the Floppy Belly!!