Does My Kitty Need A Diet?

[Ghoulofnagoya]

I asked this 5 months ago but feel need to check again. Levi is almost 1 year old. He loves to eat and may have PICA. ( he ate hairbands last month)
I know he is over 10 pounds but don’t know exactly how much. From pictures does he look unhealthy? My vet here in Japan called him fatty. So now I am worried.

 

[Furballsmom]

I'm not a vet but your baby looks perfect to me.
As long as you can feel a thin layer of fat over the ribs he is fine.
Are you getting him lots of play and exercise?

 

[Kieka]

He looks really good to me. I wouldn't want to see him gain weight but I don't think he needs to loose weight.

fat-cat-scale.png

• Kieka
• Feb 1, 2017
• 3

 

[orange&white]

I think he looks fine and healthy. I'd just get a scale and weigh him once a month, so you can see if he's maintaining a good weight. When we see them every single day, they look "the same". I let one of mine become very heavy over about 3 years, by not paying enough attention. The little day-to-day changes added up slowly.

 

[Azazel]

He’s not fat at all. He’s got a long body and is tall so he’s probably going to weigh a lot more than 10 pounds when he’s fully grown.

Cats don’t have to have pica to eat hairbands. It’s very important to keep anything like that including strings locked away. Cats tongues are such that when something goes in their mouth it slides to the back and the cat has no choice but to swallow it.

 

[Ghoulofnagoya]

I'm not a vet but your baby looks perfect to me.
As long as you can feel a thin layer of fat over the ribs he is fine.
Are you getting him lots of play and exercise?

not home from 6 am- 6 pm but before work play with him for an hour and after work 2 hours. he is like me... lazy. Even playtime he wants toys to come to him lol

 

[Ghoulofnagoya]

He’s not fat at all. He’s got a long body and is tall so he’s probably going to weigh a lot more than 10 pounds when he’s fully grown.
Cats don’t have to have pica to eat hairbands. It’s very important to keep anything like that including strings locked away. Cats tongues are such that when something goes in their mouth it slides to the back and the cat has no choice but to swallow it.

after he threw up hairbands I had to fibd all of them and put in a box. So scared that I cut off eyes and tails of toys gor extra safety.

 

[duckpond]

I agree the cat is not a fatty. He looks to be a good size to me, and at his age he is still growing. Many male cats weigh in at over 10 lbs and are not at all overweight.

I have a male that my vet swears is the biggest cat he has seen in his time as a vet..lol. We just had a yearly health check and he weight in at 19 lbs. He is quite tall, very long and muscular. My vet just kept shaking his head and saying " i have never seen a 19 lb cat that i didn't think was fat, but your guy is not.. he is Just BIG". Lol the girls in the office are afraid to hold him when the vet checks him, because he is so big. But he is a pure love bug, gentle as a lamb.

Cats come in all sizes, we dont want over weight cats, but they dont need to be skinny either. Feed him high protein, moderate fat, and low carb food. and make sure he gets lots of exercise.

Your guy looks good, wouldn't want him to put on any fat, but he looks healthy.

 

[Ghoulofnagoya]

I agree the cat is not a fatty. He looks to be a good size to me, and at his age he is still growing. Many male cats weigh in at over 10 lbs and are not at all overweight.

I have a male that my vet swears is the biggest cat he has seen in his time as a vet..lol. We just had a yearly health check and he weight in at 19 lbs. He is quite tall, very long and muscular. My vet just kept shaking his head and saying " i have never seen a 19 lb cat that i didn't think was fat, but your guy is not.. he is Just BIG". Lol the girls in the office are afraid to hold him when the vet checks him, because he is so big. But he is a pure love bug, gentle as a lamb.

Cats come in all sizes, we dont want over weight cats, but they dont need to be skinny either. Feed him high protein, moderate fat, and low carb food. and make sure he gets lots of exercise.

Your guy looks good, wouldn't want him to put on any fat, but he looks healthy.

I live in Japan. I feed him kal khan wet food once a day (In usa kal khan is called Whiskas brand) then I give him as much dry food as he desires. I mix blue buffalo ( tummy trouble type) and his favorite Mon Petite ( mon petites healthy blend). I think blue buffalo is nutritious but not sure about mon petite. He gobbles up mon petite so fast!!!!

anyone know if that brand is good for cats? I attached picture. cant read all the kanji but lists fish, white fish, ??? grass, and grains

 

[Norachan]

He doesn't look at all fat to me.

If you want to control his weight it's generally better to cut down on the dry, which contains loads of carbs, and add more wet. Wet food is higher in protein so will make him feel fuller for longer.

My cats love the Kal Kan too. Try giving him an extra pouch of that a day, make sure you feed him the chicken mixes as well as the fish flavours. Too much fish isn't good for cats.

Have you tried the Felix pouches? They're generally about 10 to 20 yen cheaper than Kal kan and they come in beef and chicken flavours as well as fish.

 

[lisahe]

after he threw up hairbands I had to fibd all of them and put in a box. So scared that I cut off eyes and tails of toys gor extra safety.

We have to do this, too! We've also banned all rubber bands (they're very bad) and have to store any shoes with laces so Ireland can't get at them. She likes chewing wood, too... if you can get cat chew toys, that might help.

And no, Levi doesn't look fat to me, either! Keep feeding him lots of good protein since, as A Azazel said, he's not done growing yet. Every cat is different but many keep growing and eating a lot well into their second and even third years.

 

[orange&white]

He looks great right now.

I'm not familiar with the cat foods sold in Japan, but will just offer the same advice as Norachan did. Now that he's a year old, I would watch the dry food. Those carbs will put on weight as the cat matures. More wet food is better for building and maintaining muscle without unhealthy fat gain.

 

[Monk'sMom]

In the USA a vet would not call him "fatty," and not because of fear of hurting his feelings...
He's so cute, and so far he's solid without being too fat.