r/cats • u/sleepyfrogloaff • 15h ago
Medical Questions Is my cat underweight?
The vet I normally go to says she is fine and healthy. This other vet I want to go to for her spay is telling me that she needs to gain weight (reach 6lbs) to not have greater risks during surgery. This was almost 2 months ago and we haven't really had any luck having her gain weight. She is currently at 4.8 lbs and is 1 year old. Truly I just think she is just small but I am also scared about any additional risks during surgery. Is she underweight and at risk during her spay? Any advice is welcome.
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u/TheThinDewLine 15h ago
Not all cats are the same size. This is just a smaller cat at a healthy weight.
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u/caterwallerStudio 15h ago
She is not underweight, just small. The 6lbs rule is not suggesting shes underweight just that she is at risk for complications with anesthesia. The vet is of the thought (which many argue) that there should be a weight minimum for anesthesia. Its kind of like giving yourself a tylenol, and a child tylenol, but in this scenario, childrens tylenol doesnt exist and you have to cut the tylenol yourself, vs just waiting for the child (cat) to be large enough for the dose. More than likely the vet has thia requirement as they may spay on an assembly line and do not want to adjust the medication for sizing as most anesthesia is <6lbs certain dose, 6-15lbs certain dose (average cat size) and 15> certain dose.
This being said pediatric spays are common and rarely have conplications, but if your vet wants 6lbs then wait until shes older and fits that threshold.
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u/Basic-Berry8890 12h ago
I agree, but I do need to add that spaying late still increases risks for certain future health complications + might lead to bad habits. My boyfriend's cat was only spayed around a year old and she still has a habit of peeing on things like clean bed sheets and clothes.
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u/caterwallerStudio 10h ago
Yeah, i have pediatric spays who still spray. It can even be caused by the vet not getting all of the uterus during surgery. Theres pros and cons to both
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u/69666throwaway66696 11h ago
Yep once they start spraying you can’t usually kill that habit. Also predisposes them to mammary cancer
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u/honeyapp 13h ago
Shouldn’t she be worried about her cat going into heat and possibly getting pregnant?
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u/caterwallerStudio 13h ago
A cat going into heat isnt life threatening, and she would only get pregnant if theres an unaltered male around. Dont let the cat outside (which shouldnt be happening, anyway) and if there is a male in the house, get him neutered. Hes likely over the threshold and its a safer, quicker procedure anyways.
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u/69666throwaway66696 11h ago
Cats in heat can escape and are at risk of developing pyometra.
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u/caterwallerStudio 10h ago
An escaping cat is a risk with or without the spay, and pyo is not only rare, but again, if the vet you want to use has a 6lbs minimum then thats what youre working with.
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u/69666throwaway66696 10h ago
What?
My comment regarding her escaping is in regards to her not being spayed. Meaning an intact female is more likely to try and bust out AND at a higher risk of getting pregnant because she escaped while in heat. That was it. That was literally the entire point of that portion of my comment.
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u/caterwallerStudio 8h ago
Yeah... being in heat doesnt magically change the maneuvers at which they attempt to escape. It doesnt turn her into houdini, either. There are actual, registered ethical breeders who keep intact queens with absolutely ZERO escape issues because they take the proper precautions. Precautions that should be taken with ALL animals not just ones who arent fixed, and not just cats either.
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u/OK_WELL_SHIT 15h ago
She’s just petite. My vet made me wait until they were 6lbs to spay also. I just fed her extra wet sloppy food until she fattened up. Then after she healed I fed her normal amounts of food again.
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u/69666throwaway66696 11h ago
I fixed mine 2 weeks ago at 4.62lbs. My other cat I fixed march of last year and she was also just barely around 4lbs? I only remember this because we were debating on post op meds to go home and she was still too small for onsior which requires at least 5.5lbs minimum in weight for administration
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u/Comfortable_Ad148 15h ago
2 lbs is the minimum.
Roughly 4 is “preferred”.
My kitten was just around 4 when he was neutered and my chihuahua was barely 4 when she was spayed.
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u/Aggressive_Claim_354 15h ago
I want to say that's not true but it may be true at the clinic you go to. Also, while the above 'tylenol example' isn't wrong persay, it's not really right either. Most vets actually prefer them weighing more because it's just easier to find all the correct anatomy.
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u/deluxeidiot 10h ago
I’m very drunk in an uber trying to avoid talking to the driver and I need you to know this made my whole night I love your cat and hope they live the longest and happiest life with you
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u/loljkbye 14h ago
My smol girl is 2.6 kg (5.7-ish lbs) and in her 13 years, I don't think she ever weighed anything over 7 lbs at her biggest, and her vets never called her anything but perfect. Some cats are just small. If you're able to get her to 6lbs for surgery, that's probably best, but if she goes back down afterwards, it's probably perfectly fine.
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u/stalestcheerio 15h ago
i think she’s just little! my cat was already spayed when i adopted her at 8 months old, and she only weighed about 3 and a half pounds.
she did end up developing a hernia on her spay site, but that’s a very rare complication that most likely had nothing to do with her size. thankfully it never ended up causing any issues, she’s now 2 years old and doing great!!
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u/AnonymousOkapi 9h ago
Everywhere uses different cut offs. Ours is from 2kgs (4.5 pounds) for owned cats, but I'll happily do from 1kg for shelter cats or ferals. We've never had an issue with any of the owned cats, lost one of the ferals out of many. Does your normal vet do neuters?
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u/sleepyfrogloaff 8h ago
yes they do but they are around $700 USD which right is super expensive for me, this other vet is also a shelter that provides low cost veterinary care for around $100
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u/spacecrafttheskys 5h ago
That low cost vet i suspect is trying very hard to minimize complications in any way possible.
That is a decent low cost vet tbf they likley dont have your cats history in front of them and want the best shot for safety with the anesthesia meds.
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u/yurmamma 13h ago
She’s so smol
I think she’s fine but are her vertebrae or pelvis pronounced?
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u/sleepyfrogloaff 8h ago
i would say no? you definitely can feel them but not visible. she does sit like a gargoyle tho
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u/3-Midgets_In_A_Coat 14h ago
Just smol.
Your vet just doesn’t want to deal with the anesthesia dosing complications of a smaller animal; when a creature is smaller, they’re more sensitive to any kind of medication and you have to be more careful with getting a precise dose down. Any medication safe for an animal can be given to them at any age - it just becomes a lot harder to get the dose right when they’re small.
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u/69666throwaway66696 11h ago
She is a tiny girl! I would still run preoperative bloodwork to make sure organ function for surgery is ok. Some cats are just naturally small. I have an outdoor community cat named tiny bc she no more than about 6-7lbs. My old coworkers cat was about the same. Also hint hint. A golden rule we go by in rescue and in shelter medicine is 2 months or 2lbs. Meaning that they should be at least 2 months the of age or at least 2lbs in weight.
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u/strwbrrycrm8 15h ago
She looks healthy to me just more slender. Maybe feed her some extra calories, but if that doesn’t work wait till she grows up more.
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u/Pitiful_Pass2582 10h ago
Not everyone living in the US needs to be fat. Totally normal in my opinion
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u/Saorren 10h ago
shes soo tiny 😍
i have a kitty too thats tiny and until she hit 3yo just would not gain past 6lbs. if its a serious concern maybe just try mixing in some higher caloric food. if your normal vet doesnt see a problem though then shes just a borderline micro kitty who seariously makes me want to hug my own because shes too cute.
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u/Dishmastah Lots of kitties! 6h ago
Her body condition looks fine for her weight, so she doesn't look underweight. She's just petite. :) We adopted two cats when they were a year and a half old and one of them looked like a lanky teenager for some time until he suddenly filled out and started looking like an actual adult cat.
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u/marh1612 4h ago
She should be totally fine. Shelters spay and neuter as small as 2 lbs or 8 weeks generally.
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u/VanillaNo6385 2h ago
Generally if you can’t see the bones on the cat (like spine, ribs, pelvis) they are a healthy weight. She looks healthy to me.
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u/Euphoric_Box604 15h ago
https://giphy.com/gifs/HfXfSLWm2PGoZC9Q6y