17 lb cat that doesnt seem to be very fat.

[Starceptor]

Hello, i've taken my cat to the vet twice this year (vaccines and antibiotics) , and have overall had him for 3 years after adopting him from the shelter. He's not all of a sudden huge, he was an big adult when we adopted him, taking up a two space cage at the shelter while the other cats had one space cages.

Both times at the vet he's hovered around this weight mark, getting maybe a lb heavier over the winter like he always does before going back to normal in the summer. The vets never mentioned his weight, only saying that he's a big cat whenever they first see him.

I'm sure he could lose a few lbs, but i'm not sure where is a good place to get him to considering he's already a big cat and most charts I see are for average sized cats like my other cat. I can feel his ribs when i press slightly on his sides, and he runs around a lot chasing my other cat when they play.

Here are some pictures of him, the top one having him next to my 1 year old cat on the desk.


Here are

 

[minish]

minish is overweight. i'm sure, even though she is about 10 lbs and vets say she's fine. numbers dont mean much, it's the fat you feel when you touch his body. I can feel minish's ribs and spine but she has a fattened primordial pouch, her head (cheeks, below chin..) is larger than supposed to be, and more important, she has lower activity level. from your cat's front picture, he looks perfect. from the side picture, he looks like minish. Mild overweight is not life threatening. He may well remain in his big beautiful self.
I want to lower minish's weight because she overeats and demands food a lot. I think this situation is not healthy and I'm afraid she will gain more. then it will be more problematic

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

I would say ask your Vet if they think he is overweight. They should tell you, and since they didn't, I'm thinking he isn't, but it's so difficult with pictures because of the silly positions they get into. From above, looking straight down when he is walking, does he have an indentation (or waistline) just in front of his hips or does he look more like a football? Being able to feel his ribs is a good thing.

I have two male cats, one weighs 14 ish lbs and the other weighs 9. They are both about their perfect weight according to our Vet, which goes to show that one size does not fit all. You might check your records from your last Vet visit. Usually they have a section on weight and will notice where they are on a scale from 1 - 5, 1 being too thin and 5 being too heavy. 'Course, every Vet may be different.

So, back to your question of how much he should weigh. Ask your Vet since, again, one size does not fit all. Then if he does need to lose, we can help with that