How heavy is too heavy?

silverkitty

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My mother's cat is a good 25lbs if not more. His tummy hangs down quite a bit and I am pretty sure he must be overweight or obese. I was just curious how much he should actually weigh?
He's two I believe and started out being just a little stray kitten outside that we brought in. He's also been neutered and I have heard that is why he gained so much weight...but boy is he big...
 

devlyn

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Yup, he's too heavy. A lot of times strays who have gone without food for a while become crazy eaters. Your mom might want to talk to a vet about putting him on a diet. My friend has an enormous cat also and used the Purina Indoor cat food to bring him down to a tubby 18 lbs instead of his almost 30.
It takes a long time though, cuz you can serious mess them up if they lose weight too fast, or gain it too fast.
All neutered cats don't gain so much weight. The ones that do, aren't getting enough exercise and/or are eating too much. Getting a friend for him to play with, or playing with him every day yourself would probably help too.

Devlyn
 

momofmany

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25 pounds sounds very heavy to me, but some breeds are simply large cats. Here's a chart that explains how you can judge how overweight this cat might be.

http://www.placervillevet.com/feline...0condition.htm

If he needs to lose weight, talk to a vet before you put him on a diet. I know people that have put their pets on diets without consulting with their vet and caused more harm than good. You can also exercise him by playing with him (laser pointers or wands usually work).
 
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silverkitty

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Originally Posted by Momofmany

25 pounds sounds very heavy to me, but some breeds are simply large cats. Here's a chart that explains how you can judge how overweight this cat might be.

http://www.placervillevet.com/feline...0condition.htm
.
Oh, dear, he's quite large...with that scale he is obese and almost grossly obese...wow...
I will set up a vet appointment for her within the next week most likely.



And, about us playing with him, he refuses to. He refuses to chase anything...he refuses to do anything. My mother accidently stepping on him when she was walking in the door before...he didn't even move...he meowed and just laid there. We thought she hurt him and checked him but he seemed perfectly fine. That was about a week ago...and we're sure he's okay from it...but just...wow...it amazed us all that he didn't even bother to move.
I have bought him so many cat toys just to realize he has no interest in them. We've slid them across the room thinking he will chase it but nothing. We've tossed balls of paper in front of him and slid strings around...he is just so ... lazy? He has no interest in moving.
 

stormy

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Have you tried one of those laser pointers? Even my cats that won't play with anything will go nuts over that!
 

darkeyedgirl

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Wowwie, a cat who doesn't play? Most cats do sleep 20 out of 24 hours a day (or so I have heard and witnessed of my own), but during that other 4 hours, they are raving maniacs who will jump at any newspaper, box, or beam of laser light sent their way. If kitty doesn't play then something must be wrong.

I hope ya find out what's wrong!

My mom has an ultra-fat cat (upwards of 25 lbs). She used to be a stray, too, scrawny lil thing. Sabrina is a tub of lard who waddles when she walks. She does play; but I think she is fed so many table scraps and fattening things, she can't lose the weight mom puts on her!!!
 
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silverkitty

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Well, he is never ever fed anything but his cat food. When we got him he wasn't skinny or anything...he seemed normal size for a kitten. Mom suggests we should switch to a diet kitty food and see what happens...but we haven't ever had experience with an obese kitty and dieting.
I am going to head to wal-mart tomorrow and see about a laser pointer.
He just refuses to be a kitty I guess. He used to hate sitting on people but as he is aging he is LOVING it so hopefully he has room for kitty diet change too


We were also thinking of introducing a new kitten into the house with him this spring in hopes it would have him play a bit more...what do you all think? Do you think it would change his attitude from non-playful to at least semi-playful?

Anyway, thanks for everyone and the help anyone has given...it's really appreciated...we worry about the guy...
 
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