quote unqutoe average wt is 8-10lbs for a female cat ... having said that I have never owned one that was at proper wt in the ave range... Kandie is a 12-14lb normal wt ... Zoey should be about 10-11 but she is 9 a bit lean..
well, mine are all different, too! Pixel, at 11 pounds, is just a bit pudgy, but she's also now a senior cat [8 years] so that's understandable. Java at 10 pounds & Cable at 8 pounds are just right - Cable's just a daintier cat than Java!
Bone structure makes a big difference - just like with people. PJ is kind of short and stumpy (not really, but her frame is smaller) - she's 11-12 years old and is 10-11 pounds. Teddy is going to be 9, and he is a big cat in terms of his bones - he has long, lanky limbs. He's 13 pounds, but doesn't look it.
My Mama cat is over a year old and is a comfortable 7-7.5 pounds. She was the runt of the litter so I guess she'll always be small. Otis and Baby Girl are 7 months old and Otis is 6.5 pounds and Baby Girl hasn't been weighed in a while but she's heavy so she's probably about 7.5-8 pounds.
I go more by the body type and boning and what they really look like. An oriental type with finer bones would average 6/7 lbs of solid muscle. An American SH type would average 10-12 lbs. A larger boned cat like Maine Coon type would go 13-16 lbs.
My cornish rex was a solid 7 lbs of muscle - he would be very fat at 10-12 lbs if he was going by "average" weight.
Each cat is different. My female, who happens to have a shorter body, is perfect at about 7-8 pounds. My male, who has a longer body, would be perfect at 10-12 pounds if he would ever eat enought (he's below 9 pounds right now). My boyfriend's family has 5 cats, three of which are hugely overweight and are between 16 and 20 pounds. One is underweight at about 5 pounds (she should be 6 pounds, but she's very petite), and the other has lost weight due to illness.
Harley is 7 months and he's at a healthy 9lbs - he's not fat or overweight at all - he's just built as a big kitty! The vet said he's perfectly healthy and at a good weight for his build
My 4 year old tuxedo cat Prince is 15 pounds!! I thought he was big, but the vet said for his bone size,he is about normal.He doesn't have a huge belly,just a little pudge. he pretty solid all over. Smokey Joe,is a 2year old Maine Coon,and he is 11 pounds.I think he someday will get bigger than Prince! Have read that Maine Coons can get pretty big.
Misty sue,the 3 year old "woman" of the house is a dainty 9 pounds.
My cat I do not believe is a domestic short hair. but is possibly part Main Coon and he weighs 15 pounds and in estimated at 2 years of age. Rex is a straycat and picked me to be owned by him,. He lives partly indoors but is actually an outdoor cat and unfortunately is a fighter. Prior to my having him he lost one of his eyes in a fight with either another cat or racoon.
The reason I think he is a Maine Coon is there was a pedigreed Main Coon at this apartment complex and considering Rex's size and the fact that his coat is way longer than a domestic shorthair I've concluded that he is not an ordinary cat.
Rex is independent but is also the most loving cat I've ever encountered. What upsets me is the fact that obviously Rex was a "throw away" since otherwise he would have been feral!
Anyway for his size and possible Main Coon connections I think his weight is "normal" and is likely to increase with age!
When i got my cat she was a bit over 3 years old and 18 pounds. I have had her nine months, adjusted her diet to all wet and she is now 14 lbs 8 oz ( j ust went to vet yesterday! My goal is 12 pounds for her .But she is so much more active now She will be 4 Sept 12.
Do you know what his ideal weight is? The rule of thumb is to not go under 15 calories per pound of his ideal weight to avoid a serious liver issue. Generally wet food, especially the pates are better in terms of calories and carbs then dry food.
If your kitty is a kibble addict here is an article on converting him to wet food. http://www.thecatsite.com/a/transit...-to-a-new-type-of-food-canned-raw-or-homemade It can be a long process and you may not be able to get him 100 percent on wet food. Wet foods often don't have the calorie counts on the can but you can usually find it on the company's website.
I would start with a vet visit if he hasn't been recently just to get a physical and make sure he is okay.
You definitely can't go overboard and limit that poor cat into starvation. You are going to have to find something low cal that your cat can eat a lot of, like shaved turkey breast or boiled chicken and still get full. Then gradually reduce the amount. I would ask your vet for a diet to follow, There are a lot of 'reduced' calorie dry and wet foods out there, you'll have to switch to that. All the luck!
My cats are so varied, it's unreal. None fall into the normal range really.
I have a 4 pound 2 year old female who has an oriental-type build, very, very slender and her paws are the size of my thumb. She's actually up from 3 pounds a month ago, when I brought her inside to live and had her spayed.
Moving on to the big boys---
A 13 year old who is at his lifetime lowest of 13 pounds. He is 1/2 maine coon and at his heyday weighed in at about 18. He is built solid, has large bone structure, and this 13 pounds on him makes him look like a very old man. But the vet says he is healthy as a horse, just beginning to lose muscle mass.
A 3 year old who is at 19 pounds, down from a grand, unhealthy 22. He is your regular domestic shorthair tabby. In his defense, he is big boned, and a very large cat even without the fat. But the problem is, he absolutely will eat anything/everything in sight. He is (and has been for a while) on a restricted portion diet as per the vet, but steals food from anywhere/everywhere he can, so it's a daily struggle with my hungry hungry hippo. Nothing is safe unless in an upper cabinet. I have to keep dry available for my 13 year old who has severe reflux to snack on throughout the day while we are gone, and didn't have enough sense to realize he was gobbling all of it down at first leaving poor Wurp to hurl up bile. Now I have it up on our dresser in the bedroom, and chubby doesn't jump up on anything (either too lazy or just can't), so he can't get to it anymore.
I look at it this way, if he gets slim and in good enough shape to get up there, he can share it. But otherwise, nope!
Realize this thread is 10 years old but thought I'd add my two cents.
There is no real average weight for cats. They have different body types and frames. Some are tall and sleek Some are short and cobby. I had a cat who only weighed 8lbs max she was a very tiny girl though with a neck thinner than my wrist.
On the other end of the scale I have my bicolour orientalx his body is long and tall and reminds me of a basketball player. He is around 11lbs.
Cats can have body sizes as unique as people's.
EDIT: I have always been careful how much I feed my cats since my mom's died of a heart attack when I was very young. So never had a problem with overweight cats. I have had underweight cats though.