Concern about my cats weight

I have a very large cat. He is about 22 pounds (and still gaining). I am very worried that this might be bad for his health. I have taken him to the vet, but he doesn't like the vet at all so it is had for them to examine him. One vet that I was at told me that for some cats it is normal. I leave food for him out all the time, he goes threw about 1.5 cups a day. I was just wondering if you guys thought it was normal and if maybe I should cut down on his food? Thanks for the help.

Keturah

There are some breeds of cats that are built large, but 22 pounds is still on the heavy side (my boyfriend's mom took her 19 pound cat to the vet and was told he weighs as much as 2 and a half cats!). You could try slowly reducing the amount you feed him (i.e. leave out 1.25 cups instead of 1.5) to see if he will *slowly* lose weight. Too much fat on a cat can leave them prone to all kinds of other health problems. How old is he?

You mention weight, but not if your cat actually is roly poly or not. There is a wonderful chart here that allows you to visually assess if your cat is too thin, just right, too fat.

What food are you currently feeding, and how old is your cat?

What Pat asked plus did the vet say he could loose a few pbs or was borderline chubby??

what food do you feed - depending on the cals in a cup, 1.5cups may not be that much more than he needs.
Definitely go by the chart, and a vet should be able to tell by looking (not examining) the cat if he is overweight.
Also is it a recent weight gain? how old is he?

He is 5. I feed him meow mix, and sometimes wet food but not that often. He gets 2 moist treats before I go to bed everynight (if I am home). He has always been fat. I got him when he was about 6 weeks old. He just never stopped gaining weight. He seems to be very active (for his weight). He hardly ever vomits. The vet said (he was 18 pounds at the time) he was okay, but like I said he does not like the vet at all.

There's a big difference between 18 and 22 lbs., so he may very well be overweight now. Suppose you fed him regular meals, instead of free-feeding him (leaving food out all the time)? You could also try giving him canned, rather than dry, food; dry food can lead to obesity. Or you could switch him to a light food recommended by your vet. If he is to lose weight, it should be done very slowly, to avoid liver problems, and under a vet's supervision.

Like Jcat cat said you can give a wt control the vet recommends .. I suggest you find out if in fact the cat is overwt from the vet

Our Max is also 22 lbs. He's big boned and really muscular; looks more like a wild cat than domestic. When we rescued him as a stray five years ago he was already large in size and upon neutering, got even bigger. He loves his food, and I swear, you'd think he was dying of starvation when mealtime comes along. He doesn't look overweight because he's just do darned big in general. He's a big old loving pussycat!!If your kitty is of average size, I'd say 22 lbs is overweight.