Is my cat fat?

pinkdagger said:

It doesn't look like it to me. Can you get a picture of him standing while you're looking straight down at his back? It's hard to judge from the side or 3/4 views, and most cats have pretty substantial primordial pouches too, and that's just skin, but it can look like a droopy belly. The topline is a good gauge for body condition. They have these posters at vet's offices a lot, but they're readily available online too:
View media item 226119

Click to expand...

pinkdagger said:

As per the descriptions on the chart, you can "feel" it too - how palpable their ribs and hips are, whether or not you can see a waistline. My family thinks our older cat, Mo, is a huge and fat cat, but in reality it's just a bigger cat than they're used to seeing (he's around 10lbs) and he's underweight! He just has a big pouch and a broad-shouldered build!

Click to expand...

pinkdagger said:

Looks like he's got a bit of a waist. I'm not a vet - I don't even play one on the internet, but visually speaking from that picture, he may be slightly on the heavier side of healthy. Not a bad thing! If you or your family are concerned, you can ask your vet about it at Mitu's next visit. You should be able to feel some slight dips (the gaps between ribs) when feeling for his ribs, but there will be a layer of skin and some fat between your fingers and his actual ribs. You shouldn't have to press too hard to feel them.

Click to expand...

catwoman707 said:

I certainly wouldn't consider your cat overweight, he is a good weight, but overweight? Naw, I would say not.

Generally speaking, an average cat will eat a 5.5 oz can of high quality canned food, or about 3/4 cup of good dry food a day.

Click to expand...

pinkdagger said:

This would be something I would sooner ask a vet. We don't know his current weight or ideal weight, and cats can vary greatly in size, build, and energy level so it's no surprise everyone has their own opinion. Every cat will need a different amount of food, and likewise, every food has its own set of nutritional information and caloric content. A high calorie food like a kitten food would be higher in calories for the same sized serving as an indoor formula food. Some people here with adult cats will feed them half a can in the morning, half a can at night (the 5.5 or 6oz cans), without any extra dry food. Other than getting a vet's opinion on what would be best for Mitu specifically, you can look into the calorie counts (you can use a tool like this and it'll math out the caloric values of any food, in case the labels don't specify) of food and use a digital scale for more preciseness in measuring ounces.

Here are some other threads concerning how people have addressed feeding amounts for their own cats (and some guidelines on how to calculate calorie intake for your cat's weight):

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/276403/how-much-wet-food-to-feed
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/231093/how-much-to-feed-cats-on-a-wet-food-diet
http://www.thecatsite.com/t/246636/...much-to-feed-the-cat-now-that-hes-on-wet-food

Click to expand...