Is your cat overweight?
Owners of fat cats fall into three categories:
- Those that are unaware that their cat is overweight
- Those that know their cat is overweight but don’t attempt to do anything about it as they think it is harmless
- Those that know their cat is overweight and are concerned by it, but their attempts at losing weight are failing
A surprisingly large number of owners fall into the first category. It may be obvious to veterinary professionals, but it’s not always obvious to an owner when their cat is overweight. If you are seeing a very gradual increase in bodyweight, and have not taken your cat to the vet for a long time, you might not notice your cat has become obese. Unlike humans, who tend to deposit fat under the skin to form obvious rolls of fat, cats tend to deposit fat within their abdomen, where it is less obvious visually.
Though in some cats it may be obvious, there is no single method to tell if your cat is overweight. The following questions will give you a rough guide though.
1. When stroking the side of your cats chest, can you feel the ribs when applying gentle pressure with your fingertips?
2. When looking at your cat from above, does he/she have a waist? In other words, do the sides taper in before the hips?
3. When applying gentle pressure to the midline of your cats back with your fingers can you feel the bony vertebrae and gaps in between them?
4. Can you feel your cats hip bones protruding slightly when you stroke his/her back end?
5. Does your cat seem slow to get up and move about, or generally lethargic?
6. Does your cat get matted around his/her lower back?
If the answers to questions 1-4 are no, and to questions 5-6 are yes, then your cat is probably overweight. Take a look at our sliding body condition tool and see if you can recognize your cats body shape.
Author: Dr Matthew Homfray
Website: http://www.whydoesmypet.com
Description: A new pet Q&A service connecting pet owners worldwide directly with veterinarians, vet techs, vet nurses, behaviorists, trainers, breeders, groomers, homeopaths and general enthusiasts. Visit us today, you will be impressed by the quality of our experts and the speed with which they respond to your question