Is My Cat Overweight?

[Babushcat]

My kitten that I recently adopted seems to be a little too round and puffy for a 6 month old. She weights 3.5 kilos but what I'm mostly worried about is that the belly looks too big for her body, while the rest is tiny.

To my knowledge, she has bever been dewormed before, so is that it? Or should we be taking her to vet? She acts normal otherwise and I try to feed her less and play with her more.

I'll be deworming her tomorrow with the pill we've been using on all our cats, but will post photos anyway so you can take a look. She does not look THAT big in the photos but in the movement it becomes obvious that her belly is too big and 3.5 seems heavy to me

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. It's hard for me to tell from the pic...but, yes it could be worms that might be causing it. You could just go ahead and deworm her, but why take the chance that is the cause without verifying it with a vet visit? Has she seen a vet and has she gotten any vaccinations? If not, all the more reason to make a vet appointment.

Your cats must be indoor/outdoor - hence the reason you are deworming them?

 

[Babushcat]

Hi. It's hard for me to tell from the pic...but, yes it could be worms that might be causing it. You could just go ahead and deworm her, but why take the chance that is the cause without verifying it with a vet visit? Has she seen a vet and has she gotten any vaccinations? If not, all the more reason to make a vet appointment.

Your cats must be indoor/outdoor - hence the reason you are deworming them?

Ty for your answer. So, I was told that she was vaccinated but not dewormed, which seems weird to me. I do know that she has worms because I saw them in the stool, was just wondering if worms could cause such a big belly but it seems so

Another thing is that she's been given away three times. As far as I know... her first owners gave her away to the girl that kept her for a few days then decided to give her away because she couldn't care for her anymore (busy). I've talked to her but not directly to the previous owners, so I have no idea how they cared for her.

Anyway, is 3.5 too bad for a 6 month old?

 

[FeebysOwner]

Roundworms, specifically, will cause belly swelling. 3.5 kg equals about 7.7 lbs, I think. So, yes, that is actually pretty good sized for a 6 month old kitten. But, keep in mind, cats vary so much in size that there is no real way to use that as an indicator.

It is just very curious that she has been given away 3 times. Wish someone would tell you the real reason(s) why.

If I were you, I would get her a vet visit and have her looked over thoroughly. If you can't get proof of what vaccinations/treatments she has had, I would tell that to the vet. She needs a good check up.

P.S. I would be keeping her separated from your other cats until she is seen by a vet. Just being safe

 

[war&wisdom]

She's a normal weight for her age. The worms could absolutely cause a big belly like hers. Let us know if it improves after the deworming! Also, if I were you, I would bring her to my own vet for a check-up.

 

[Babushcat]

Good to hear it is a normal weight. Yes it is very fishy indeed, but she is an extremely sweet and cuddly cat and is not changing any more owners ^_^ I don't have any more cats btw, I meant the ones we had in the past.
Tyvm for your answers, we'll see what we can do.

 

[Babushcat]

This is a late update, too late I know. Sorry for bumping an old thread, but I went through so much recently, I couldn't even remember about catsite and this thread I opened.
I'm updating this just in case someone will have a similar issue and blame it on worms.
The kitty is truly vaccinated now, dewormed and it turned out she wasn't fat, she was pregnant.. I'm not sure if the previous owners caught her in the act or guessed she was pregnant and got rid of her. Either way I don't care anymore. She gave birth to 6 kittens. It wasn't easy but I don't regret it. Would adopt her even if I knew about it. She is an extremelly lovely cat and is back to shape and well now.

 

[jen]

Good thing you got her figured out! Hopefully she is spayed now too. Did you keep any of the kittens? We love pictures!

 

[Babushcat]

Good thing you got her figured out! Hopefully she is spayed now too. Did you keep any of the kittens? We love pictures!

Yes she is spayed now. It wasn't an easy pregnancy. She almost died giving birth. We had to rush her to the vet and thankfully she survived. Her kittens didn't tho.. I apologize if I made it sounds cute, it wasn't, hence why I went through so much. Didn't want to say it and ruin moods but better put it out I guess.
Noone of them died at birth and we were all happy and celebrating but very unfortunately, 2 weeks after they all stopped eating and also refused the kitten milk powder we tried to bottle feed them with. The cat was a great mother so it wasn't her being inexperienced. The vet said there wasn't anything more he could do..
3 of the cuties already had their future owners, 1 was staying with us. Rest would find their places too.
Be careful when adopting cats from strangers online. Anyway I don't want to think what would happen to her if she wasn't given away and stayed with people who clearly didn't care for her properly.
I deleted the pictures from my phone because they made me feel bad.

 

[Willowy]

Aww, poor girl (and poor you!). I didn't see the date on the original post so I was going to reply that she could be pregnant at that age. I guess she was. Sorry it turned out so bad.

Glad to hear that mama cat got a good home after going through so many others. I wish you two many good years together .

 

[silkenpaw]

I am so sorry about the kittens. I know how sad you must be. I’m glad the momma survived and that she has a good home with you. Sending you comforting hugs.

 

[Maria Bayote]

You are her hero. Thank you for adopting her, and for doing everything you can for her and for her babies.

I am so sorry for the kittens. I guess they are meant to be beautiful angels from the beginning.

 

[ailish]

Sorry you went through this with the kittens, I can imagine it was quite upsetting. However, thanks for giving this little girl a home. My own cat was given to a kill shelter because she was pregnant, and at about the age yours was. The rescue from which I got her saved her and her kittens. I adopted her and I hope her kittens all found good homes, I know she did. She is a wonderful pet. Even though there is sadness in your situation, you can know that you saved this little cat. May she live a long and happy life.