Fat Cat

[Spookyandsammy]

Spooky is getting a belly and what am I doing wrong she only eats twice when we eat breakfast together and supper together no treats am I over feeding her she gets one scoop of meow mix

 

[Kieka]

Spooky is getting a belly and what am I doing wrong she only eats twice when we eat breakfast together and supper together no treats am I over feeding her she gets one scoop of meow mix

If she's just getting a belly that looks more like deflated extra skin, it's called a primordial pouch. Which is a fancy way of saying extra skin for reasons not completely understood. Many cats have them and it doesn't mean anything in terms of their health or weight. Spooky is right around the age to start developing one if she's going to have one.

Rocket has a tiny one here,

But she is actually on the smaller side of ideal (she can't lose any weight but she could gain a little).

Link has a more noticable one,

But it's hanging pretty loose and from this angle you can see he still has a good shape,

Although honestly, Link is on the heavier side of ideal and I am limiting his treats.

Normally, I'd ask to see photos of your cat before jumping to primordial pouch. But Spooky is under a year and it is very unusual for a cat under a year to get pudgy. If her belly is like the examples (and she's not had any access to unneutered males, she is old enough to be pregnant if she's been around an unneutered male) I wouldn't worry about it.

My biggest test for cats health is how do they look from straight above honestly. If they have a slight pinch behind the ribs they are good, if they look like a ball they are overweight.

 

[Spookyandsammy]

Trying to take a pic of her is a chore

 

[Kflowers]

unless you set it up so that she can climb, and climb a lot, she will have the belly, so will the other one. Climbing is the only exercise that will flatten those muscles. IF you try to diet it off, you'll move to a very skinny cat with a belly. This is what the vet told me.

Only one of our many cats was interested in climbing. We had a rug that was 8 feet long 3 feet wide that was attached to a shelf which hung on the door. The cat could climb the carpet and sit on the shelf. he did this a lot and didn't have the belly. You will need to brace the door so it doesn't close while the cat is climbing which is a lot more
forceful than you might think.

 

[Spookyandsammy]

Shes always parkouring off of stuff and climbs everything she climbs my dresser and I try to get her to chase the toy I play with her when I get home and in the morning too so she gets a workout

 

[Kflowers]

a dresser is little more than a jump. Unless your dresser is 8+ feet and she climbs the dresser cloth to the top. Think about the muscles used in jumping and those used in climbing. Think about the ones you use for both activities. They are used differently.

At any rate as Kieka said the belly is not an indication of fat. You aren't raising a show cat or a racing cat are you?

 

[Kieka]

unless you set it up so that she can climb, and climb a lot, she will have the belly, so will the other one. Climbing is the only exercise that will flatten those muscles. IF you try to diet it off, you'll move to a very skinny cat with a belly. This is what the vet told me.

Only one of our many cats was interested in climbing. We had a rug that was 8 feet long 3 feet wide that was attached to a shelf which hung on the door. The cat could climb the carpet and sit on the shelf. he did this a lot and didn't have the belly. You will need to brace the door so it doesn't close while the cat is climbing which is a lot more
forceful than you might think.

My guys go outside and climb trees regularly. It's not uncommon to find a cat on the roof of the house or garage. All of their favorite trees have scratch marks in the bark from them going up and down. At Links last vet exam the vet commented on how he has so much muscle on his abdomen that she can't get a good feel for the organs under the muscle like she can on my girl (in reference to her pointing out I'd need to do x-rays if I ever think he's constipated or has digestive issues because she just can't feel it). Despite all this, Link has a pouch so big it hits his sides when he runs despite the muscle. So I don't know if I agree that climbing and muscles will get rid of the pouch.

@Spookyandsammy it's really hard with black cat photos to make out shape. But Spooky doesn't look round in the photos. If you look down from above can you see a pinch at her waist?

I don't have any good top down photos but you can kind of see in this photo how Nightfury (black one) pinches in just after his rib cage a little bit. Sorry it's hard to tell, but with Rocket (small blue eyed one) you can also see that her sides are fairly flat after her rib cage.

All what you want to see. No roundness after the rib cage on the sides and a slight pinch at the "waist".

Thinking about it..... It could be the Meow Mix food itself though. Meow Mix is high in carbs and carbs can lead to weight retention around the midsection. If Spooky was genetically predisposed it could be possible she's retaining weight there from the food. The only way to test that theory is switch to a lower carb food for an extended period of time and see what happens.

 

[Spookyandsammy]

I got this

 

[Spookyandsammy]

Their very mad I'm not feeding them and their looking for the food and I got these too to try her nails were in my finger

 

[Spookyandsammy]

Also this is what my room looks like so how do I make it so its good for her shes loves to climb in and out of the dresser drawer too

 

[Spookyandsammy]

I switched to a different brand

 

[Furballsmom]

switched to a different

I was just going to mention, and good for you! Can you give them more frequent small meals so they aren't so hungry in between and end up gobbling?

 

[Kieka]

Switching off Meow Mix is hard. Meow Mix had adders to make cats like it more and is harder for them to stop eating (think artificial sugars in cerals for kids as an example). If you aren't already, mixing in a decreasing amount of meow mix with the new food could help ease the adjustment.

 

[Kflowers]

you have a nice cat room. If you wanted to make it more exciting for cats you might make a cat space on each of the open shelves. I also have a small bookcase that is made like stair steps with the largest shelf at the bottom and the smallest at the top. If you found something similar you could put it near the open shelves to make leaping to higher ones possible. Or

you could buy one of the cat tunnels. Other members have them and are better able to suggest which are the sturdiest for two cats. I see a lot of cat games with a tunnel. Check Chewy.com and amazon to see different ones.

 

[Kflowers]

Kieka I salute you that's a magnificent boy there. I've had a couple the vet thought were fat until they touched them and discovered little 'fireplug' shaped cat was mostly muscle.

I don't know what the pouch is good for, but give this a thought, when two cats are seriously fighting they 'rabbit kick' each other's stomachs. Could the belly fat be to protect the internal organs during fights?

I did see a lady cat, who belonged to us, refuse a boy's attentions by slicing the length of his stomach. He didn't understand the delicate courtship dance since he was bottle raised and thought her invitation was general. Yes, he'd been fixed several months before. The thing is lady cats play for keeps.

 

[Spookyandsammy]

you have a nice cat room. If you wanted to make it more exciting for cats you might make a cat space on each of the open shelves. I also have a small bookcase that is made like stair steps with the largest shelf at the bottom and the smallest at the top. If you found something similar you could put it near the open shelves to make leaping to higher ones possible. Or

you could buy one of the cat tunnels. Other members have them and are better able to suggest which are the sturdiest for two cats. I see a lot of cat games with a tunnel. Check Chewy.com and amazon to see different ones.

I got her a tunnel well I have to get the rest of it but Sandwich loves it I throw it she dive bombs into it and spooky loves it I'm trying to get someone to make holes into the shelves so they play in them

 

[Spookyandsammy]

you have a nice cat room. If you wanted to make it more exciting for cats you might make a cat space on each of the open shelves. I also have a small bookcase that is made like stair steps with the largest shelf at the bottom and the smallest at the top. If you found something similar you could put it near the open shelves to make leaping to higher ones possible. Or

you could buy one of the cat tunnels. Other members have them and are better able to suggest which are the sturdiest for two cats. I see a lot of cat games with a tunnel. Check Chewy.com and amazon to see different ones.

They love being on that bookcase they play on it all the time what should I put on the bookcase for them to play with ? Any ideas are so helpful

 

[Kflowers]

Just don't put anything breakable on it. Or really heavy in case one knocks something off on the other one.

Not seeing what you mean about putting holes in the shelves.

Just occurred to me you can put small light balls (ping pong balls are good, if you step on them they collapse and don't send you flying) on the shelves for them to knock off.

 

[Spookyandsammy]

Oh i mean like so they can go in and out of them
I have everything up out of reach I'm cleaning it and getting rid of stuff so she can climb on it I will try the ping pong balls I wanted to get her a ball pit to play in I'm diy everything I can

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I think it is great you are watching her diet and activity level, good for you! As someone else has mentioned, it could be the dry food that could lead to being overweight. Do you give her a cup a day (is that the "scoop" you mention?), or is it one scoop per each meal? You really have to dose out dry food per a certain calorie count, as it is very easy for cats to eat dry food and they always seem to want more! They gobble it up.

I think your cat is young still and does need a lot to eat as she grows up, but a lot of cats can have issues with eating too much dry food. My last cat ate a lot of dry food when she was younger; it was before I knew better. She really put on weight after her first birthday and managing this weight was a constant struggle and unhealthy for her. Unfortunately, I did not learn about a lot of the potential negatives & health issues that can crop up for a cat eating too much dry food all their lives (and with little exercise) until my cat was 10 yrs old and had developed diabetes. (It could be that some cats do okay on dry food, or in moderation... but I don't like feeding a cat dry food anymore at all after what I went through with my last cat.)

My current cat eats canned food & some freeze-dried raw and she is doing well and is not overweight. (Her shape very much resembles the black cat shown in Kieka's photos.)

I love it that your cat is so active! Regarding the climbing and increasing regular activity for your indoor cat, remember that the climbing doesn't always have to be a 'vertical thing'. For my last cat, we developed a sort of ramp system leading up to one of her favorite "Sunshine and Observation Posts", on top of a 6-7 foot shelf unit. (cannot help but show photos below! ) We put the ramp at about a 45 degree angle, leaning on a nightstand at one end and anchored with screws and a few brackets at the top, for support. Every day she went up and down that ramp to get to her favorite spot. It provided a regular source of muscle strengthening and exercise for her.

The first photo is a perfect stink-eye photo, as she contemplated a climb up the ramp, lol.