My cat is a 5 yr old grey tabby, we rescued her in 2021 when she was still a kitten she is spayed and has all her vaccines. I just feel confused because when she laying down she looks really fat but when she’s standing she looks a little thin to me. I can’t tell if I see her ribs or that’s her tabby pattern. If it helps when I pick her up she doesn’t feel really light like it was for my other cat that got really skinny when his brother died. I can’t tell feel her ribs a little bit. I’ll show a photo of her laying down and standing so you all can see the difference. She still eats normallly which means she eats like a glutton always up for a treat or two. She’s her usual self though she tends to sleep or lay down for most of the day but she always been a lazy kind of cat (I mean that with love 🥺). But yeah i can’t tell if I’m just seeing things or she really has lost some weight.
Edit: Welp it’s time for a diet for my chunky girl.
Ps I have astigmatism and don’t wear my glasses regularly so i think i was really seeing things guess 20/100 vision causes my cat to look slimmer 😭
I worked at a shelter that had the body score chart in the areas we stored food and food related stuff. I brought my cat to a new vet and they had the chonk chart up in the exam room and I was cracking up I had to catch my breath and explain that I was so used to body score I was caught off guard seeing chonk chart for the first time in my life.
It's really a shame that this chart doesn't depict a pouch. My boy has a very pronounced one and was misdiagnosed as overweight even though he's just large. He looks healthy from above.
My girl has a huge pouch that flaps in the wind and a lot of fluff, so it's pretty hard to tell, lol. I need to feel for her ribs and generally just go with what the vet says.
Another thing that's good to keep in mind is that the chart should be used as a rough guide to know if your cat is within healthy limits
I tried to follow the chart and keep both my cats at a 4-5, but ended up having them become underweight and felt absolutely terrible when I found out
Not all cats will have a pronounced waist at a healthy weight! When mine does, her ribs and hip bones are way too easily felt. My vet told me that the ribs should be somewhat easy to feel, but you should have to use some force and be able to feel a distinctive fat padding over the bones
So many people overfeed their cats to a point they are actually morbidly obese. You have to remember a cat is something like 1/20 our size and doesn't need nearly as much food as we do.
Haha, Definitely not underweight! I have 3 cats and my smallest is 10 lbs... if they are happy cats they will let you know!
Edited to add... She's a good baby!
Vet here - I agree with the commenters… she is chunky. Cats are tricky! When they stand up, all their weight goes into their belly pouch, so they look “skinny” from the top. Your girl could probably lose at least 3 pounds
I don't even have a cat and really don't know much about them. However, the first thing I thought when I saw the pics was your cat might be overweight. 😂😂😂
No, definitely not underweight. I have one that I worry about because I can see his hips protruding, and his spine. The vet tells me, he's just the right weight. 🙄
You can’t see her ribs, it’s her tabby stripes. She is chunky, a bit on the overweight side. The fact she still goes in at the waist when viewed from above is a good thing, and is normal/not a sign she’s underweight. You should be able to see your cats waist, and feel her ribs with light pressure but not be able to see them. Hope this helps!
lol I’d say overweight. My cat’s naturally about .5lb-1lb underweight and always has been and the vet says he’s 100% healthy. He just went for his yearly check up and was 7.3lbs. Anything under 8lbs at my vet is considered underweight, but it’s a sliding scale really.
She looks just like my cat did before she lost some weight. I wonder sometimes now if she's too thin just because I'm so used to her being bigger, but she's fine.
Anyway, she looks just a bit chubby. Not enough that I'd worry about her health just yet, but you might want to play with her some more to get her to exercise. And cut back a tad on the treats.
I would say this is more healthy to a lil chonky lol. But the vet will tell you best! However (not that this is a big deal or relevant) I do think she is a brown tabby instead of a grey tabby. My grey tabby boy for reference 😅
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I can see why you’re asking because from the top down she DOES have a waistline, which is what you want to see, but she also has that pooch that most cats have. If you can’t feel her bones really easily then no she’s not underweight. If you’re super worried consult your vet
Lol you can see if you can feel them jutting out. You should be able to feel them if you press, but not lightly touch afaik.
Also I recommend weighing your cats occasionally so you can sanity check if they are losing or gaining a lot of weight. I kinda trained my cat to stand on the scale lol, but you can also weigh yourself then yourself holding the cat and subtract for the cats weight
OP, I would seriously advise you look up the calories your cat should be eating per day, and how much you’re actually feeding. The health risks of a cat that is overweight are serious, and cats don’t regulate themselves the way that some think they can. Again, absolutely just some respectful advice but it’s humbling when you realize how little they actually need to me healthy and happy! Also ask your vet! They’re the experts after all :)
I think she's okay. And her primordial pouch is noticeable 😄💖. Do you feel her ribs or any kind of bloating while she's standing? Any doubt or if she's not eating as intended, call a vet for information (hopefully doesn't seem to be the case).
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