Is My Kitten Fat Or A Big Boned Girl?

[fidola]

hi all! My 11 month old kitten is huuuge! I weighed her at home on a digital scale and she comes in at abt 10lbs !

Up until abt a month and a half ago she looked "normal" kitten size. She went from the lean long kitten then filled out to this size! The avi pic is her around 7-8 months old.

How can I tell if she's suppose to be this size since she's so furry?

I don't think I was over feeding her. She ate abt 1 cup dry kitten Blue Holistic Kitten throughout the day. Then 3-4 x a day I would give her 1/4 can (3oz ) wet food Pro Plan Focus Kitten.

Several weeks ago I cut that down to half a cup of kibble and wet food 2-3 x a day.

I'm in the process of switching her kitten to adult cat food at the moment.

The attached photo is her this week.
Any suggestions?

 

[maggiedemi]

Pretty girl! A cup of dry food is a lot. I like the way you are doing it now better- half a cup of dry food and more wet food. That's much healthier. 10 pounds isn't too bad. My male cat is 13 pounds and my female cat is around 9 Pounds. They are 3 years old.

 

[abyeb]

The best way to evaluate a cat's body condition is the rib-feel test (you should be able to feel the cat's ribs through a layer of muscle and fat but not see them). This will also take bone structure into account, as naturally cobby cats (like a Persian) will have a broader chest, and therefore rib cage, than a naturally svelte cat (like a Siamese).

 

[lalagimp]

The vet tech at the office took all my boys' measurements down and told me what they needed to weigh. A half cup of dry food on it's own may be enough calories for the entire day, as different brands and even different lines within a brand can vary to over 100 calories per cup. An average cat seems to need about 230 calories, but can vary depending on their body type and their metabolism. My boys are in the 12s. Tom is actually supposed to be 13 but I'm having trouble adjusting his calories on the raw that I make. My girls are 9 1/2 and about 11. Yue has a coat similar to your girl and she's the 10-11 lb gal.
NUTRITIONAL CALCULATOR FOR CATS

 

[abyeb]

The vet tech at the office took all my boys' measurements down and told me what they needed to weigh. A half cup of dry food on it's own may be enough calories for the entire day, as different brands and even different lines within a brand can vary to over 100 calories per cup. An average cat seems to need about 230 calories, but can vary depending on their body type and their metabolism. My boys are in the 12s. Tom is actually supposed to be 13 but I'm having trouble adjusting his calories on the raw that I make. My girls are 9 1/2 and about 11. Yue has a coat similar to your girl and she's the 10-11 lb gal.
NUTRITIONAL CALCULATOR FOR CATS

I agree with this. Charlie gets 1/2 cup of food per day (as advised by his vet). It doesn't sound like a lot, but that's what he eats to maintain his weight. Every cat and cat food is different!

 

[fidola]

Here's a photo of her belly!!

View attachment 181781 hi all! My 11 month old kitten is huuuge! I weighed her at home on a digital scale and she comes in at abt 10lbs !

Up until abt a month and a half ago she looked "normal" kitten size. She went from the lean long kitten then filled out to this size! The avi pic is her around 7-8 months old.

How can I tell if she's suppose to be this size since she's so furry?

I don't think I was over feeding her. She ate abt 1 cup dry kitten Blue Holistic Kitten throughout the day. Then 3-4 x a day I would give her 1/4 can (3oz ) wet food Pro Plan Focus Kitten.

Several weeks ago I cut that down to half a cup of kibble and wet food 2-3 x a day.

I'm in the process of switching her kitten to adult cat food at the moment.

The attached photo is her this week.
Any suggestions?

Thanks for the feedback. I will continue to reduce the amount of kibble she's eating. She's still eating kitten kibble but will be transitioning to adult kibble soon.

 

[fidola]

I agree with this. Charlie gets 1/2 cup of food per day (as advised by his vet). It doesn't sound like a lot, but that's what he eats to maintain his weight. Every cat and cat food is different!

Thank you. I will continue to reduce the amount of dry food she's eating.

 

[fidola]

The vet tech at the office took all my boys' measurements down and told me what they needed to weigh. A half cup of dry food on it's own may be enough calories for the entire day, as different brands and even different lines within a brand can vary to over 100 calories per cup. An average cat seems to need about 230 calories, but can vary depending on their body type and their metabolism. My boys are in the 12s. Tom is actually supposed to be 13 but I'm having trouble adjusting his calories on the raw that I make. My girls are 9 1/2 and about 11. Yue has a coat similar to your girl and she's the 10-11 lb gal.
NUTRITIONAL CALCULATOR FOR CATS

Thanks for the feedback. It's amazing how much the product manufacturer recommends to feed & what they really need.

 

[LTS3]

Some cats are just big boned. My rescue cat only weighs 8 lbs but looks much heavier because of her big bones and long fur. Her bones are noticably thicker than my naturally skinny 10 lb Aby. Both of my cats eat the same raw food.

 

[abyeb]

Thanks for the feedback. It's amazing how much the product manufacturer recommends to feed & what they really need.

Yes, unfortunately pet food manufacturers do often reccommend higher food intake than vets do. Maybe they are doing this to increase their sales.