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Is my cat "Fat"?

post #1 of 26
5/10/11 at 10:25am
Thread Starter 
My sister said "Wow, your cat is FAT!"

sure, he's 15 lbs, a few lbs over weight.. (I already cut back his meals and trying to exercise him more. I want him to drop 4 lbs).

But looking at him, I can't tell if he looks fat or not. I need an outside opinion!

Top view:


side view: (look carefully, his white tummy gets blended in the floor)


A tummy view: (might be a bad image since he's stretched out)
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post #2 of 26
5/10/11 at 10:40am
nahh your cat's not fat
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post #3 of 26
5/10/11 at 10:47am
He doesn't look fat to me at all. He must be a pretty big guy (bone structure-wise). He weighs over twice as much as my petite little girl...

He's very handsome.
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post #4 of 26
5/10/11 at 10:50am
Thread Starter 
thanks Emil

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mystik Spiral View Post
He doesn't look fat to me at all. He must be a pretty big guy (bone structure-wise). He weighs over twice as much as my petite little girl...

He's very handsome.
thanks I don't think he's a big kitty, structure wise... Then again, I really haven't been around other cats to compare sizes. Sometimes I think he's smaller than most cats, sometimes I think he's bigger! I should take out my ruler and measure him for weight comparison!

I know he has a little "beer belly" that I'd like to tone down on a bit. maybe losing a few lbs will do the trick. can't hurt him to lose some weight
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post #5 of 26
5/10/11 at 10:59am
Well he doesn't look fat to me either. He looks like a big cat. If he's healthy and the vet is happy with his weight, then he's A-OK!

I thought (still think) my Dorothy is... 'curvy' (can't call a lady fat, can we?), but last week we were at the vet, and she gained about a pound (!!!) since we adopted her 3 months ago, and I was all ready to apologise for it, but the vet said she is happy with her weight of 11+ lbs. because she's got hyperthyroidism, so even though she's on meds, if her thyroid goes out of whack and she loses weight, we have room to spare before it's a problem. So my round girl is allowed to be round.
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post #6 of 26
5/10/11 at 11:57am
I agree, he doesn't look fat to me either.

But WOW he is just GORGEOUS
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post #7 of 26
5/10/11 at 12:33pm
He is definitely not fat. Many kitties get whats called 'sway away' after they have been spayed/neutered. its just a little loose skin in the lower abdomen. Some kitties have it larger than other kitties. On some, the skin "sways" when they walk and others its just feels jelly like. When kitties develop this in certain sitting positions, they do look fat, when in fact its just the "sway away". Even lions and tigers develop them.
here is a diagram that will give you an idea of looking at your kitty from above to determine.

http://www.cathelp-online.com/health/bscore.php

Quote:
Originally Posted by Draco View Post
I know he has a little "beer belly" that I'd like to tone down on a bit. maybe losing a few lbs will do the trick. can't hurt him to lose some weight
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post #8 of 26
5/10/11 at 12:37pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Pami View Post
He is definitely not fat. Many kitties get whats called 'sway away' after they have been spayed/neutered. its just a little loose skin in the lower abdomen. Some kitties have it larger than other kitties. On some, the skin "sways" when they walk and others its just feels jelly like. When kitties develop this in certain sitting positions, they do look fat, when in fact its just the "sway away". Even lions and tigers develop them.
here is a diagram that will give you an idea of looking at your kitty from above to determine.

http://www.cathelp-online.com/health/bscore.php
according to the chart, I'd say he's in between 3 and 4, lol. the images shows a different stomach shape than Monet's, so you must be right, it's loose skin, the "sway away" bit. I like the term Beer Belleh.

Thanks everyone! I am glad to know he's not fat, just loose! Lol
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post #9 of 26
5/10/11 at 12:44pm
Or, as my BF calls Dorothy's low-hanging spay sway.... her shopping bag!
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post #10 of 26
5/10/11 at 2:01pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by DarkMavis View Post
Or, as my BF calls Dorothy's low-hanging spay sway.... her shopping bag!
Ha! Works with female cats though lol
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post #11 of 26
5/10/11 at 2:19pm
Your vet would be the best person to talk to about your cat's weight. They would be able to tell you for sure if he is overweight or not.
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post #12 of 26
5/10/11 at 3:07pm
From the top view it looks like he has no waist so not fat but maybe a tad chunky. Can you feel his ribs easily?
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post #13 of 26
5/10/11 at 3:08pm
Personally, I prefer the "squishy test".

You can feel around the body for softness and tell how fat or not a cat is.

From the picture, your cat is not fat, but 'fluffeh'. If he lost a few pounds, it wouldn't hurt him at all, but he doesn't need it either IMO. His body fat appears similar to Buttercup, but I don't worry about it as its still in a healthy range and I feed the two together so a cut for her generally means a cut for him and he's bigger and needs more nomnoms.
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post #14 of 26
5/10/11 at 5:06pm
you say in your original post you'd like your cat to lose 4 lbs...your cat doesn't need to lose 4lbs. looks great the way he is.
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post #15 of 26
5/11/11 at 12:35am
His waist could probably tuck in a bit tighter as it's not really visible, but I know how it is with black cats, you can't tell very well from pictures.
I like to err on the cautious side, because for every 1 pound overweight a cat is, it equals 14lbs on a human. (If you use 140 as a healthy human female weight.) So even 'a couple pounds' can cause stress on the body.
Also, usually when people point out that your pet is fat, it's because they can see what you can't because you see your pet every day.
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post #16 of 26
5/11/11 at 2:27am
He looks fine to me, but as Karen pointed out your vet will tell you for certain or not, so ask at his next checkup

All cats are different because my girls weigh around 14-15lb and Jack isn't far behind them, but he's taller so carries it better
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post #17 of 26
5/11/11 at 8:08am
He is very beautiful! He does not look fat to me but he looks like he would be a cushy pillow I say that because he looks like a big cat from here. It probably wouldn't hurt him to lose a little but from this angle he looks just right.
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post #18 of 26
5/11/11 at 8:59am
Thread Starter 
thanks everyone for the confirmation! he is indeed my squishy boy. I can feel his ribs when I rub him, but its not a lot.

like someone posted, "Also, usually when people point out that your pet is fat, it's because they can see what you can't because you see your pet every day."

It's good to know I still want him to drop a few lbs though.
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post #19 of 26
5/11/11 at 9:00am
I love that last picture of him!! He looks happy and healthy, but of course your vet would know better. There's just more of him to love. He looks very squeezable.
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post #20 of 26
5/16/11 at 1:14am
Your cat looks skinny to me))))
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post #21 of 26
5/18/11 at 11:18pm
That last picture is just stunning!! What a gorgeous cat!
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post #22 of 26
5/18/11 at 11:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Draco View Post
thanks everyone for the confirmation! he is indeed my squishy boy. I can feel his ribs when I rub him, but its not a lot.

like someone posted, "Also, usually when people point out that your pet is fat, it's because they can see what you can't because you see your pet every day."

It's good to know I still want him to drop a few lbs though.
My vet said the easiest way to check is from the above profile. A defined waist should be visible, and you should feel along the spine and ribs and the bones should be defined, but with a bit of squishy fat covering them while standing.

As was mentioned, from the side doesn't always work, since many just have loose skin.
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post #23 of 26
5/23/11 at 6:39am
Aw! He's not fat. just big bonded. I think Misa is fa. She's abot 13 Ibs and the vet says that she's fat. Out of the three cats I hang out with, she's the heaviest one.. >< The bad thing is.. she's so lazy..
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post #24 of 26
5/25/11 at 6:13am
He looks very healthy! Beautiful cat btw
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post #25 of 26
5/25/11 at 7:56am
Not fat!!! Our oldest cat, Phoenix, is bigger. He was at about 20lbs. We've put him on Blue Buffalo, all of them actually. They are eating less and Phoenix is 17.8 last time we weighed him. So we're happy he's dropping. He's a senior so we need to take caution.
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post #26 of 26
5/25/11 at 7:56am
Thread Starter 
thanks everyone for the compliments and inputs!

I'll have to weigh him today. I think he lost those few lbs since he hasn't been eating his wet food, lol.

I feel much better knowing my kitty isn't overweight, just flabby belly, lol
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