How Much Does Your Cat Weigh?

[lalagimp]

Tommy got to 21 lbs before I had the vet tech take his measurements and tell me what his body -should- be at. We spent 3-4 years slowly getting him down to 13 lbs. Right now he's a little skinny at just under 12 1/2 and 9 years old, so he's getting a portion of Stella and Chewy each day on top of his regular raw meals.
Stewart's measurements say he's a 12 lb cat, but his father isn't having it. I got him to 12 from almost 17, and his daddy didn't like it at all, so he's allowed to get up to 13. I don't let him go any higher because it will aggravate his asthma. He had attacks all the time when he was heavier. He is 6.
Yue was 11 lbs and Amalie was 10 lbs, but I changed up their diet and now they are 10 and 9 on their own. They get to free feed high protein,low carb kibble with wet food available. Yue is 9 and Amalie is likely 12.

With the boys it was questionable when they were fat and I didn't know what I was doing, so I'm very pleased they used their measurements to give me the goal number. It's funny though because Stewart is just a hair heavier than Tom, but he feels like a sack of rocks when you pick him up.

 

[sweetblackpaws]

Greg and Arnold have me beat, my largest is 19 pounds. She is not a giant breed, she is just fat.

Scared to put her on a diet because she has experienced hepatic lipodosis before.

 

[mightyboosh]

Oliver's about 20lbs at the moment. I think he's about right. Food is always out for him but I think he's designed to be the weight he is now.

 

[Tobermory]

Sam was already overweight before he made it fully into adulthood and has now been overweight for years, at 13 pounds (down from 13.7 pounds six months ago. We're making very slow progress). Since he now has arthritis, we are taking his weight loss seriously.

I found that weight loss really helped Lily with her arthritis, that and Cosequin. She moves so much more easily and barely limps at all any more.

 

[Purr-fect]

Oliver's about 20lbs at the moment. I think he's about right. Food is always out for him but I think he's designed to be the weight he is now.

View attachment 236032

Hes a beautiful boy.

 

[ailish]

Cats seem to be kind of like people. Ailish I got when she was 1 yr and had just weaned kittens. She was 7 1/2 lbs and looked a little thin. 8 was good for her, the vet agreed, and she doesn't put on a big drama about being starving. Usually. She's small and lean and muscular. My sister had a cat that was not much bigger frame-wise. That cat, Mom, tended to be chunky at 11 - 12 lbs. My sister would have to seriously limit food to keep her from being more than chunky. Any food limitation and she was insane about food. If she had eaten until she was comfortable she would have approached blimphood. Ailish I don't think would ever eat enough to really balloon up. At least not right now as a still active 3-year-old.

 

[Lari]

Lelia weighed in at 9.59lbs at the vet today! She's long and skinny, but the vet says between 9 and 10 is a good weight for her.

(I guessed she'd be about 11 because she is so long, so I guess I'm just not that good at being a weight guesser!)

 

[Daisy6]

Ha! The boys came to us all ready named and since they were responding to their names we didn’t change them. We adopted them in March before royal George’s little brother, Louis, arrived. However the royal children are absolutely adorable so I like that the kittens kind is share their names ( Louie rather than Louis). Who knows perhaps someday we’ll adopt a girl kitty and name her Charlotte!

But if you had a girl named Charlotte everyone would ask you if she came from the city in your state . . .

 

[Daisy6]

Lelia weighed in at 9.59lbs at the vet today! She's long and skinny, but the vet says between 9 and 10 is a good weight for her.

(I guessed she'd be about 11 because she is so long, so I guess I'm just not that good at being a weight guesser!)

That looks right .I had a long skinny cat whose normal weight was 9.5 pounds.

 

[BonitaBaby]

Wow. There are some small cats! I thought my cat was small at 8 lbs. She got up to about 8.5 lbs and a new vet wanted her to lose the weight. I switched her dry kibble to Blue Buffalo Indoor Weight Management and Hairball and also started trying to give her wet food again and she dropped the extra 1/2 lb. I hope it wasn't too fast!

 

[silkenpaw]

Ford: 17 lbs

Java: 8 lbs

And several in between.

 

[Daisy6]

Wow. There are some small cats! I thought my cat was small at 8 lbs. She got up to about 8.5 lbs and a new vet wanted her to lose the weight. I switched her dry kibble to Blue Buffalo Indoor Weight Management and Hairball and also started trying to give her wet food again and she dropped the extra 1/2 lb. I hope it wasn't too fast!

How long did it take her to lose half a pound?

 

[BonitaBaby]

How long did it take her to lose half a pound?

I'm not sure. Might have been a couple of months. Hopefully, it was longer and not less.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

... My veterinarian strongly believes that a cat being overweight will stand her or him in good stead should an illness arise. A ten pound cat who loses three pounds owed to a serious illness has a rather poor prognosis overall. ...
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I totally understand the nervousness regarding a seriously ill cat losing a lot of weight, but I disagree with intentionally letting a cat get overweight just for the sake of this possible future scenario. (I'm not clear if that is what your vet is promoting?) Several health issues are more probable if a cat becomes overweight, so letting a cat get overweight to pad them with fat is almost like setting up the very scenario that could invite ill health. One cannot guarantee our cats won't have serious health issues in their life no matter what their weight, but I think my stance would be to try to keep a healthy weight throughout their lives, if possible. This, to me, helps tip many of the scales against a cat getting diseases or issues that stem from obesity. I really like the body condition chart Kieka has often posted; there are a few other charts that are similar. Looking at the side view and top view of your cat is really helpful. Like others seems to think, I believe that a cat's normal weight depends on breed, genetics, body type, and also the type and amount of food intake versus the cat's exercise and activity level.

Generally speaking, there are small, medium and large boned cats. Most might be medium-boned? You can average a good weight for "medium" cats at 9-11 pounds, I think.

Back to the OP's question, my 3-yr-old cat weighed 9.8 lbs at the vet's about a week ago. (Between 9-10 pounds is my hoped-for ballpark for her -- I like her right around 9.5 lbs, though; she is smaller and lean.)

I also think that working with a cat that isn't overweight is much easier for vets, as far as diagnosing problems and working with solutions. I know when Milly had her knee surgeries, she was about 9 pounds and the surgeon was thrilled to work with a cat that did not have a lot of fat content. It is much easier for a surgeon to do surgery when they can easily see and work with the muscle layers, ligaments, et cetera, without struggling through layers of fat during surgery. Recovery goes better, too.

I think it's good for the internal organs to also not be surrounded by a lot of fat. And the heart and lungs of the cat will work more efficiently, too!