11 lbs is overweight?

pinkdaisy226 · Nov 19, 2005

I took Baylee in for her rabies vaccination, etc. today and was very disappointed with the vet we took her to. She barely examinned her and I had to be the one asking the questions... not expecting this, I wasn't prepared. However one question I always have is "is my cat healthy, is she a good weight?"

Baylee is about a year and a half now and weighs 11 pounds. Every other doctor and even the nurse that saw her today says she's "solid", as in not overweight, just about right. However the vet, when I asked, said that she could probably lose some weight.

Is this right?

squirtle · Nov 19, 2005

Dori's vet told me that she need to lose weight at only 10 pounds. He said she had a small frame and that 8 pounds would be an ideal weight for her.... I guess it would be hard to answer without actually seeing Bailey. I was suprised at hearing the news as well because I hear of so many other cats that weigh more than her and are just fine, and she definately didn't look overweight to me.
I did go ahead and switch her to Innova light dry and make sure to play with her using toys that get her to run around so she gets exercise. I don't think she has lost any weight, but she hasn't gained any either.

yosemite · Nov 19, 2005

Bijou is 16 lbs. and the vet said he was a bit overweight, but he is so solid I don't worry about it much. Mika eats a lot more than he does and she's only 8 lbs. but of course much smaller.

touro1979 · Nov 19, 2005

Shamus weighs at least 15-16 pounds. He is a little over a year old. Somthing tells me that the vet is going to tell me he is fat, LOL. The hard part is I cant really put him on a diet becasue Max, his brother is on the skinny side and I have to make sure he eats enough so I self feed dry food. Shamus is a real glutton but there's not much I can do.

lionessrampant · Nov 19, 2005

Can you feel her ribs? Is there a lot of fat cover over her ribs and lumbar vertabrae? If there is, then she needs to lose weight. If not, your vet is...not that great.

jcat · Nov 19, 2005

"Solid" is often a euphemism for "a bit overweight". Cats vary so much in size and bone structure that 11 lbs. might be very overweight for one cat, and underweight for another. As Allie mentioned, the general rule is that you should be able to feel your cat's ribs (but not see them).

captiva · Nov 19, 2005

Ari,

Just like people it depends on the frame they are in

George lost 3 lbs.

The vet said he would be most happy when he got to 17 lbs (he is a big cat) . After years of trying he actually said we should have a party

But I think as the Mom you can tell, i.e how hard it is to feel their ribs, etc. Megan has always been lanky but she is so inactive since growing out of kittenhood, that I notice she feels solid, too. She is not overweight but the point has arrived that I need to watch her because she easily could be.

wellingtoncats · Nov 19, 2005

Maybe we should see some Baylee photos and that might help eh??

pinkdaisy226 · Nov 19, 2005

Originally Posted by WellingtonCats

Maybe we should see some Baylee photos and that might help eh??

Sneaky! Lol! And thanks Chris and everyone else, that helps. I guess I need to start watching Baylee although, to be honest, it's hard... Jordan is still a growing boy and needs his food so we leave it down. I guess I could try scheduled feedings but they eat out of each other's bowls... I don't really get how to manage how much they're eating!

tom w · Nov 19, 2005

Our "big guy" is 18 lbs, but he is a big cat so he don't look fat, but Angel at 10 lbs looks over weight but she is a real small cat.

dustypixie · Nov 19, 2005

When we took Albert to the vet last, I made sure to ask about his weight because my husband always calls him "chubby". The vet told us that he's actually at the perfect weight: 10lbs is ideal, and at 11lbs if Albert ever got sick, he wouldn't be in such a bad way if he lost weight during the illness.

sharky · Nov 19, 2005

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

I find this a great tool

Just a note cats are not dogs , wt should be controlled not by an off illness

duncan · Nov 19, 2005

Originally Posted by touro1979

Shamus weighs at least 15-16 pounds. He is a little over a year old. Somthing tells me that the vet is going to tell me he is fat, LOL. The hard part is I cant really put him on a diet becasue Max, his brother is on the skinny side and I have to make sure he eats enough so I self feed dry food. Shamus is a real glutton but there's not much I can do.

I have one that is 17 lbs and 11 ozs and my other is 11 lbs. I can't put the food away as the other one is not heavy. I have started mixing their food with a higher fiber content food. Its hard to know how best to deal with it.
My 17 pounder is a taller and bigger bone cat than the other, yet, it still is overweigh and I know it. If I can keep him at that weigh then I won't worry.

Duncan

zak&rocky · Nov 19, 2005

I have a 9.5 lb 2 1/2 male, and a 13 pound 1 1/2 yr old grown male. The 13 pounder is kind of fat, the last visit vet they said he was okay, but I think he may have gained some from eating (sneaking) kitten food. He is the one that tends to get sick- so maybe this isn't bad? When they were younger, the smaller one was 6 pounds at 6 months and the heavier 8 pounds at the same age.

The kittens are still quite young, but the girl was initially 2.5 pounds at 13 weeks (approx) and gained about a pound in just over a month. The vet guessed she'd probably end up around 7 pounds.The boy is bigger- he was 3 pounds and is now almost 5 pounds! We think he is going to be a very big boy! I swear he grows in front of my eyes!

rubsluts'mommy · Nov 19, 2005

Originally Posted by touro1979

Shamus weighs at least 15-16 pounds. He is a little over a year old. Somthing tells me that the vet is going to tell me he is fat, LOL. The hard part is I cant really put him on a diet becasue Max, his brother is on the skinny side and I have to make sure he eats enough so I self feed dry food. Shamus is a real glutton but there's not much I can do.

Sometimes it depends on what food you give them. The new formula by Iams for Multiple Cats is supposed to help in households where you have a skinny cat and a fat cat (my two are that dynamic to a 'T' ... JJ's a chubby girl at 14.5 lbs, and Jack is little mister skinny at just over 8 lbs)... Anyway, I use a combination of Iams and Nutro. One thing I've learned on these forums is the better quality food you buy, the less they have to eat... they get more nutrients with less food, if you give them good quality food. i've tried educating my dad, who gives the family cats Whiskas... and now that i've learned that Whiskas is essentially junk food for cats, I'm trying to edumacate everyone I know.

i mix the two dry foods and yes, I free-feed my two. Yesterday I washed the dry food bowls and both of them gave me these filthy looks because I didn't dry the bowls off immediately and refill them. JJ can do without her dry food for a couple hours... my little chunky-monkey. Though she acts like I've wronged her horribly. Silly girl.

Anyway... my reply for the whole thread... if you can see ribs on said feline, she is too skinny... my Jack is too skinny... but he's had numerous health issues... poor baby. JJ, on the other hand...

Off to bed... really wanna hit five thousand words tomorrow on the novel... cannot succumb to laziness. I'm >this< close to catching up.

Amanda

touro1979 · Nov 19, 2005

Originally Posted by RubSluts'Mommy

Sometimes it depends on what food you give them. The new formula by Iams for Multiple Cats is supposed to help in households where you have a skinny cat and a fat cat (my two are that dynamic to a 'T' ... JJ's a chubby girl at 14.5 lbs, and Jack is little mister skinny at just over 8 lbs)... Anyway, I use a combination of Iams and Nutro. One thing I've learned on these forums is the better quality food you buy, the less they have to eat... they get more nutrients with less food, if you give them good quality food. i've tried educating my dad, who gives the family cats Whiskas... and now that i've learned that Whiskas is essentially junk food for cats, I'm trying to edumacate everyone I know.

i mix the two dry foods and yes, I free-feed my two. Yesterday I washed the dry food bowls and both of them gave me these filthy looks because I didn't dry the bowls off immediately and refill them. JJ can do without her dry food for a couple hours... my little chunky-monkey. Though she acts like I've wronged her horribly. Silly girl.

Anyway... my reply for the whole thread... if you can see ribs on said feline, she is too skinny... my Jack is too skinny... but he's had numerous health issues... poor baby. JJ, on the other hand...

Off to bed... really wanna hit five thousand words tomorrow on the novel... cannot succumb to laziness. I'm >this< close to catching up.

Amanda

I self feed science diet natures best and they get canned food twice a day/I have switced over to Blue spa and they still eat some fancy feast so they are getting a good quality food most of the time. I am thinking of mixing a light dry food with the natures best but I am still nervous that max wont get enough calories. I would rather have an oveweight cat then one who isnt getting enough calories.

sharky · Nov 19, 2005

Originally Posted by touro1979

I self feed science diet natures best and they get canned food twice a day/I have switced over to Blue spa and they still eat some fancy feast so they are getting a good quality food most of the time. I am thinking of mixing a light dry food with the natures best but I am still nervous that max wont get enough calories. I would rather have an oveweight cat then one who isnt getting enough calories.

Have you looked at indoor foods??? often lighter on fat but keeping protein...
I would also look at qa fooed with less grain, if memory serves me SD natures best is rice then wheat then meat???

buzbyjlc10 · Nov 20, 2005

It all depends on the cat... Oliver is a big framed cat (coming up on 5 years old) and 14 pounds - I just had him to the vet on October 8th and she said he's perfect (he's seen two different vets, one at school and one at home, who is also a close friend, both are happy with his weight)... When I first got him off the streets he was only about 10 pounds and looked horribly skinny... I would maybe search around for a new vet - doesn't seem like yours is too personable....

menagerie mama · Nov 20, 2005

Just like people, like some are large boned and some are small boned, some are tall and some are short, our weight ratio depends on those factors. It really depends on the frame of your cat. If my little Emily, who weighs about 6 pounds at her full grown weight, were to weigh 11 pounds, she would be obese. She has such a little frame, it would be too much weight. If my big Bob weighed 11 pounds, he would be anorexic.

pat · Nov 20, 2005

I would use the link Sharky gave you for visually assessing Bayley. Our Misty is 10+ lbs. but has been stable at this weight, and has paws the size of dinner plates - she's a chip off her papa (Chris), and is simply a big sturdy warrior princess of a girl.

Weight means nothing, it's a matter of bone frame, and the proportion of muscle versus fat atop that frame.

Imho

11 lbs is overweight?

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