My Kitten Has A 'fat Pouch'

sebnari96

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I currently have a three month old kitten, maybe almost four. I've noticed he is developing his little 'fat pouch'. He isn't neutered, yet. Not till he turns six months old. He is very active. Plays with my other cats and by himself. My older male cat, i don't remember when his grew. My female cat didn't start growing hers till maybe around 5-8 months. My other two cats were fixed between 8-10 weeks.

Anyway, I was wondering if it's normal for him to be developing one this early. My kitten's name is Ciel.
 

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DeannaF

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I don't see one on him in your pic. My male is 10 months old and now has a small one.
 

danteshuman

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Some cats just have loose skin that hangs from their bellies (a pouch) even if they loose weight. Provided nothing else looks wrong and his vaccinations exams go well I don't see any reason to worry :) Salem (peach) has a squishy belly/fat pouch ... Dante (grey) has beginning pizza rolls.... he just chubs out everywhere.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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He's glorious, and looks like he has a good body shape. :lovecat2:

He's not too young to be fixed now, too, if you don't want to wait another two months.
 

Oscar&Copper

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He's glorious, and looks like he has a good body shape. :lovecat2:

He's not too young to be fixed now, too, if you don't want to wait another two months.
That depends on location I think. I was surprised when I first came here and saw kittens getting fixed under 6 months of age. The vets in my area won't fix any animal until around 6 months old. I'm in Ontario, Canada.
 

PushPurrCatPaws

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Many shelters and vets in my area (in the US) consider spaying at 2 mos/2 lbs., or 3 mos/3 lbs., as their guideline.
 

Kieka

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Link and Fury were fixed at 3 pounds. I think it was just over 2 months for Link and just under 3 months for Fury. Rocket didn't get spayed until 7 months because she had been underweight and had some unexplained fevers. So my vet wanted to wait until her vaccines were done and she hadn't had any problems for at least two weeks.

Of my three, only Link has the pooch or pouch. His more than makes up for the other two having none and is kinda funny to watch him run because it swings. But he is otherwise fit and well muscled. It's not a sign of being overweight, just genetics.
 

arouetta

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That depends on location I think. I was surprised when I first came here and saw kittens getting fixed under 6 months of age. The vets in my area won't fix any animal until around 6 months old. I'm in Ontario, Canada.
Strange. I don't know about male cats but I do know that female cats absolutely need to be spayed prior to the first heat as going into heat causes a dramatic jump in the odds of getting cancer. I would think that males also have a dramatic change in future health by an early neutering, and it does significantly decrease the chances of him darting out and getting into fights as well as preventing fights in your own household. Maybe call around and explain that you want to look out for your cat's future health and see if you can get a vet to adhere to veterinary guidelines?
 

danteshuman

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Long ago when my guys were kittens I took Dante to the vet (he was 4 months old.) The vet wanted me to wait until 6 months. The vet said that neutering a kitten to young can lead to urinary track issues later. I would ask a couple of vets first and see what they say. (Super Punk got neutered at 4.5 months old because I already had a male cat and the kitten was starting to wiggle his tail like cats do when they spray. For the record 10 years later he is fine :) )
 

Gizmobius

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In regards to neutering, I read through this recently (it's a long read!) and found it really interesting: Early Spay/Neuter

Gizmo had been neutered the very day I adopted him from the shelter at 10 weeks. He's only just turned 9 months now but he pees like a champ so I haven't noticed any issues. And he has a jelly belly pouch too which first showed up when he was around 6 months.
 

arouetta

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I guess the best advice is to talk to several vets. My vet told me the late spay was a big part of why my cat got cancer.
 

foxxycat

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I remember someone posting an article about the pouch=it's to have protection incase of getting into a fight. I think it said it comes out around 5-6 months of age.
I don't know the exact date for spay/neuter=but I think it's 2lbs/2 months. The earlier the better before the males start marking.
 

lavishsqualor

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I love this site so much. I learn something new here almost every day. Atticus, my male grey tabby, has one of the pouches. He's only two but he was heavier at one point and through portion control and exercise we've gotten his weight down. I thought that he just needed a kitty tummy tuck but it's nice to know that all cats can have these pouches regardless of weight.
 

di and bob

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It is perfectly normal for cats to develop these, both male and female. I have people think my male is nursing kittens! It is usually at an older age, but there is always an exception to the rule!
 

catspaw66

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I was thinking about saying that Spice had a 'steamer trunk' instead of a pouch, but the duffle bag is funnier.

Reminds me of the times I had to hurry from one airline to another, carrying my seabag. Full dress blues, gleaming shoes and white hat, and a seabag -containing everything else I owned- that was almost the same size and weight as me.
 
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