Is My Cat Overweight?

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cat-physical-symptoms

Cats can increase and lose weight just as humans do. For cats this can occur in cycles that last for several months and it is wise to keep an eye on the condition of your cat to make sure that it is not getting overweight, which could result in diabetes or losing too much weight due to some unpredicted illness.

It is wise to weigh your cat on a regular basis and keep a report of its weight to ensure that there haven’t been any big changes.

If its belly begins to hang down when it walks, and in some cases swing from side to side, then it is clearly becoming overweight. You should also be able to feel its rib cage by running your hands along the sides of its body.

If your cat appears to be gaining weight with no obvious change in its diet then it is time to see the vet to determine if there is any illness that is causing this weight gain.

overweight-catdiagram

You should also look for other signs of ill health such as listlessness or the fact that it is putting on weight without eating additional food. If the weight increase is just from the consumption of more food then put a little less down each time to control its intake until the cats weight comes back to a normal level.

While a cat might continue to ask for more food, you need to think of its best interests and that is to stop it from over eating and maintain good health.

You might even want to change the food that you are feeding your cat with one that has smaller amount calories. Geriatric cats that don’t get as much exercise won’t need as much food otherwise they will tend to put on weight. There are specific foods that are available for geriatric cats and these are specially formulated to ensure they stay in good health in their old age.

So, weight calculation is a MUST thing to do if you want your cat to be healthy.




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3 Comments on “Is My Cat Overweight?”

  • 2 March, 2009, 3:33

    How do you get a cat to exercise? I can understand not feeding him as much, but short of chasing him around the house, I’m not sure if I could get him to lose weight by exercise. Mine is doing good so far, so I hope I don’t have this problem.

    Reply

    TheCatZine Reply:

    play with him, or buy lots of toys so he can do some exercise while playing, rather than sleeping and lazy around :)

    Reply

  • Mike
    22 March, 2011, 5:13

    Is the cat pictured above overweight (at the very top)? My cat looks similar, but her belly seems to be mostly fluff hanging down.

    Reply

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