Belly Swag

rock&fluff'smom

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any other cats have this? In one of my previous posts, I talked about how much Rocky weighed, and he isn't fat at all...but he has this little swag thing that hangs..his belly...is this normal? The vet said he wasn't fat..just big...but what is this stuff hanging??
 

mom of 10 cats

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All of mine except Romeo and Sasha have it. We crack up when Blondie runs, cause his sways from side to side.
He of course doesn't find this amusing.

Someone mentioned in another post on TCS that the extra bit is so the cats can s-t-r-e-t-c-h when they are jumping. Don't know if this is accurate, but it's the only explanation I've ever heard.
 

crazy-cat-lover

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Peppurr has that! He is close to 20 pounds now! We got him neutered last October, he weighed 9 pounds. In January he weighed 12 pounds and now he's gotta be close to 20! Now I believe it when people say neutered cats get fat!
 

xastion

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Even non-spayed cats get that little swag about them. Before I had Niko spayed she had an extra little flab that we all wondered about. When we took her to the vet when she was peeing in inappropriate places we asked the vet about it. The vet told us that this is perfectly normal.
 

cind11

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When the movie "Dances with Wolves" came out , we gave all our cats Indian names. Our spayed female calico was dubbed "Belly sways in the wind". She had quite a "swag".
 

jenng

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The only information I've seen on the "pouch" is from Animal Planet. (I think it was AP.) Anyway, what was said was that cats, big and small, have a pouch. It's not because they're fat, it's just extra skin that's there for when the cat eats, it can expand over its full belly. (Like when a lion takes out an antelope or whatever.) Anyway, I don't know if it's true or not, but that's what they said.


And not all neutered cats get fat. Spike was neutered at almost 7 months of age, and is 3 years old now. He's still maintaining his 9 pound weight.
 

lorie d.

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Originally posted by jgaruba
And not all neutered cats get fat.
I agree, we had Snowball neutered 11 years ago when he was about 6 months old. He is very slightly overweight, and as you can see from his picture in my signature, he's not obese. Since his ribs can be easily felt, my vet and I are not concerned about his weight. I have heard that those swags get more pronounced as cats age, but I don't know if this is true.
 

luv those paws

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I hope they don't get more pronounced with age! My Marbles is just barely missing the ground as she walks now!
And she isn't fat at all, and she is spayed
. Trouble's pouch is slightly smaller, but both of them are around the same weight. In the 10.5lb range
.
 

nora

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Max has the belly swag and I asked the vet about it. He said it was normal and nothing to worry about. Max is 3 years old and is 12 lbs. He only gained 1/2 pound in one year and the vet said he was his perfect weight.
 

meezersrule

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Catloaf has quite an amazing swag, when he runs it sways back and forth, we crack up laughing everytime we see it. We call it his "cat fat," I know, real original. His vet said that it is a body type that some cats have, whether they are obese or not, and that it is nothing to worry about. He had it before he was neutered (at 6 mos.) and before he got a little on the plump side.
 

binkyhoo

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Hoots has got a huge swag. she used to be overweight, now that she is not so fat her swag is deflated. she is in need of a tummy tuck.
 

adymarie

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Most of mine have it - I think it may have something to do with getting fixed. We call it the Dingle Ball.
 

foofy cat lady

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Hobbie's always fluctuated in weight since I've had her.. When I first got her, she was malnourished, so she just about doubled in size within the first week.

Since she had her babies, the bottom of her stomach hangs.. It looks like she's wearing someone else's tummy. Sometimes, after she eats, she looks like she's grown into it - Sometimes it hangs a little more. She weighed ten pounds when I got her - I can only imagine how much she weighs now.
 
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