Male Cat Fat On Raw?

MrsChameowlak

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Hi all! First post so please excuse any clumsiness on my part! So we have 3 cats, our 2 females, Lyla & Mayhem and our crazy little dude Titan. So we got Titan when he was just under 3 months old from our local Humane Society and his first birthday is next week on April 29th. He has always been very active, if not overactive so exercise is not an issue.

I've recently been worried though...he got a bit pudgy around 6/7 months old and I brushed it off as baby pudge he would grow into. But now....he is FAT. No other way to put it. My girls were in the middle of transitioning to raw diet when we were blessed with Titan so he ate kibble/canned for about a month until we went full raw with all of them. Since they've been on raw we've noticed a slight weight loss (which was needed) to Mayhem who is now perfect, less shedding for them all, healthier poops, better dental health, etc. but I'm so confused as to how he's been raw fed for 3/4 of his life and yet he's pudgy! I switched my cats to raw to avoid obesity among other things! I believe it is slowly getting worse but he eats the exact same amount of food as my girls? He's my first boy, is this normal for him to be so much larger but around his sides?

We are picking up a few small dog crates next week to make safe spaces for eating (to avoid Mr. Fat "helping" the girls with their food) so hopefully that'll help everyone get equal portions just in case but still....I'm stumped. I want him to be as healthy as possible! I am currently taking 2 frozen pouches of Naturawls Turkey & Trout raw cat diet that each weigh 113 grams and cutting it in half. They each get half (56.5 grams) and then they split the last 56.5 half pack. So I would estimate 75ish grams each feeding, twice a day. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Should I worry about his health? Any advice appreciated! Thanks!
 

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Hi all! First post so please excuse any clumsiness on my part! So we have 3 cats, our 2 females, Lyla & Mayhem and our crazy little dude Titan. So we got Titan when he was just under 3 months old from our local Humane Society and his first birthday is next week on April 29th. He has always been very active, if not overactive so exercise is not an issue.

I've recently been worried though...he got a bit pudgy around 6/7 months old and I brushed it off as baby pudge he would grow into. But now....he is FAT. No other way to put it. My girls were in the middle of transitioning to raw diet when we were blessed with Titan so he ate kibble/canned for about a month until we went full raw with all of them. Since they've been on raw we've noticed a slight weight loss (which was needed) to Mayhem who is now perfect, less shedding for them all, healthier poops, better dental health, etc. but I'm so confused as to how he's been raw fed for 3/4 of his life and yet he's pudgy! I switched my cats to raw to avoid obesity among other things! I believe it is slowly getting worse but he eats the exact same amount of food as my girls? He's my first boy, is this normal for him to be so much larger but around his sides?

We are picking up a few small dog crates next week to make safe spaces for eating (to avoid Mr. Fat "helping" the girls with their food) so hopefully that'll help everyone get equal portions just in case but still....I'm stumped. I want him to be as healthy as possible! I am currently taking 2 frozen pouches of Naturawls Turkey & Trout raw cat diet that each weigh 113 grams and cutting it in half. They each get half (56.5 grams) and then they split the last 56.5 half pack. So I would estimate 75ish grams each feeding, twice a day. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Should I worry about his health? Any advice appreciated! Thanks!
How much does he weigh? It depends on how rich the food is but 150gr a day seems a bit low for 1yo male cat. Was he eating more when he was a kitten? Is he active or rather lazy?
 

kittyluv387

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I do home made raw and it seems to be caloric. I have found out 5 oz of raw (142 grams) is a bit too much for one of my males. He's not fat but a tad bit chunky. If your cat has a smallish build and isn't as active I could see how he could get fat. I would try feeding him slightly less and weigh him after a week. Also on that note it's hard to determine how overweight your cat really is unless you weigh them regularly. I use baby scale to weigh them. To measure out their food I use a smaller scale and weigh in ounces .
 

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I agree with cheesycats cheesycats about pictures! I'll put in a handy body condition chart at the bottom so you can estimate Titan's status. (His name does fit with large size! Maybe he's working toward that?)

Some cats look bigger than they are because they're fluffy, others are just naturally leaner. Our two are littermates who look very different: one's svelte, long, and on the thin side, but the other's naturally rounder, fluffy, and with a tendency to overeat. The vet's happy with both cats' weights, though, and feeling their spines isn't so different: Edwina's does feel slightly softer (because of her thicker fat pad) and Ireland's does feel slightly sharper because she's thinner but even so they're not that dissimilar! It's the same with their ribs.

It's really hard to gauge intake by food weights/masses: it's the calories that count the most. (No pun intended there, sorry.) If Titan's just turning one and very active, he's probably doing fine, but I'd love to see photos!

 

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Feeding a raw diet in no way guarantees a cat won't get fat. Weight gain happens when more calories are consumed than burned. It doesn't matter if the calories are coming from raw or processed food. If your boy is getting fat it's because he is eating too much. It's as simple as that.

Of my two, one inhales all her food in about 90 seconds and the other can take hours to finish. And of course Speedy vacuums up whatever Pokey leaves behind for later grazing. Result was Speedy getting fat while Pokey lost weight.

I have to keep them separated until Pokey finishes all her food.
 

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mschauer is sooo right. I had a fat raw-fed nearly-year-old kitty. His more slender brother would walk away from his bowl leaving food, and the chubster would finish both meals. I eliminated their middle meal altogether and he has not acted hungry. They both kept growing, so he didn't actually lose weight but grew into his girth, lol. He looks much better now. I was truly overfeeding him.
 

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Could u post some picks of him from above and from the side?
I had a 15 lbs mainecoon mix whom was twice the size of my other cats but he wasn’t fat. Just big and muscular. Perhaps that’s what you’re seeing?
Hey u said u got a cat 15lbs.Can post a picture??My cat is 15.4._15.6 lbs
 

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CatLover49 CatLover49
upload_2019-4-24_15-28-46.jpeg

He is half mainecoon. A big kitty. He might look a bit chub here but I just chose this photo cus it shows his length better than other photos. But he was 14-15 lbs here. The vet says he’s perfect at that weight. He has huge paws and is an easy two feet long when stretched out lol.
upload_2019-4-24_15-32-5.jpeg

upload_2019-4-24_15-32-22.jpeg
upload_2019-4-24_15-33-20.jpeg
 
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MrsChameowlak

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Thanks for all advice so far guys! I am buying a little kitchen scale this weekend so I can actually weigh out their meals instead of just eye-balling it. Also going to calculate the calories off their website and go that route as well! Sir Fright is definitely an active guy, always running around chasing his sisters, jumping around our cat trees, attempting to kill the evil red lazer dot and he plays with his own toys for hours.
I will attach some pics, sorry they're blur city, he has the attention span of a goldfish lol. He looks fine from above, he just has this gut that makes me worry. My parents and aunt both had morbidly obese cats that died so young so I'm freaked out of any of my cats getting too big but then I worry I'm not feeding them enough. I weighed him about a month ago and he was 13.5lbs I believe. How many calories would be a ballpark for a 1 year old active little dude per day?
 

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MrsChameowlak

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lalagimp

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Some find the Chonk Chart to be helpful.

Now that I've got that one out of the way ...

My boys are on raw, but Stewart eats 4.5 ice cubes per day while Tommy eats 7.5 ice cubes per day. They are the same weight.

It looks like you might have a He Chomnk, but we want to be sure he's done growing. He may be storing up.

Stewart was nearly a Heckin Chonker when he had to go on a diet, and unfortunately (my bad), Tommy was a HeftyChonk - about to tip MegaChonker, before he went on his diet.
 
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MrsChameowlak

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Some find the Chonk Chart to be helpful.

Now that I've got that one out of the way ...

My boys are on raw, but Stewart eats 4.5 ice cubes per day while Tommy eats 7.5 ice cubes per day. They are the same weight.

It looks like you might have a He Chomnk, but we want to be sure he's done growing. He may be storing up.

Stewart was nearly a Heckin Chonker when he had to go on a diet, and unfortunately (my bad), Tommy was a HeftyChonk - about to tip MegaChonker, before he went on his diet.
Omg thats too funny. Yeah I'd say he's usually a 30, on his worst days when he breaks into the treat cupboard or we arent watching and he steals some mush from the girls, he can look like a 40
 

lalagimp

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And please don't judge your cat by their swinging pouch. It's not indicative of a weight problem. Some cats get them early, some late, and some not at all. Even when Tommy was 21 lbs, he didn't have it. He didn't get it until he turned 8, and that was over a year after he'd finished his diet.
 

lalagimp

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on his worst days when he breaks into the treat cupboard
We found out the pantry wasn't clicking shut when I saw my boys dragging the zippered tote full of treats across the house, and chewing the bags up through the tote.
 
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MrsChameowlak

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And please don't judge your cat by their swinging pouch. It's not indicative of a weight problem. Some cats get them early, some late, and some not at all. Even when Tommy was 21 lbs, he didn't have it. He didn't get it until he turned 8, and that was over a year after he'd finished his diet.
Thats true. It's more that he just feels super solid. My other cats are 11lb &12lb and he is 13.5lb and he feels so more more solid than my girls. We also had to get child proof locks for ours because he is a determined little sneak
 

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We get that issue with Stewart and that he feels like a chunk, and I really can't see anything on him with his black coat, so his father chirps at me to weigh him from time to time. He's about 12 1/2 lbs, but hefty and solid.
Tommy is about 12 1/2 lbs, but he's really long and lanky and goes a bit floppy when you're babying him.
Yue is around 10 lbs and super floppy, so I have to weight her and make sure she's not losing weight on me. And then there is my tortie, who is the same weight as Yue, and yet feels about 2 lbs heavier than Yue.
:frustrated:
 

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lisahe

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Omg thats too funny. Yeah I'd say he's usually a 30, on his worst days when he breaks into the treat cupboard or we arent watching and he steals some mush from the girls, he can look like a 40
Yes, Edwina's weight fluctuates a bit, too, something the vet says is completely normal.

Titan reminds me of her: maybe looking a bit on the plump side of normal but not exactly/quite overweight. Like lalagimp said, the pouch can be deceptive. (Titan doesn't look fluffy, though.) And if Titan feels solid and muscular rather than soft and squishy, that's good. (Edwina gets squishy if she starts to gain.)

I'll leave the calorie counts to someone else but calculating up what he's currently eating and making sure he's in a good range going forward would be a good start. Then making sure he can't scavenge his housemates' food plus keeping track of his weight (or body condition/profile/feel, which is what I watch for our cats) to help him stay at a good weight. If he was a rescue/stray who was insecure about food, he might still feel insecure about food (this was and continues to be a problem for Edwina, even five years after we adopted her) it may help to feed him more than two meals a day so he doesn't feel deprived.

Good luck!
 
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