Premordial Pouch/udder Bag

[Daisy6]

I am beginning to think Daisy has one. Despite all of the tummy rubs she has received, I never really noticed a hanging layer of fat in that area. Now I am seeing what looks like a premordial pouch, but does not sway much. Could I have missed something when she was kitten?

 

[Kieka]

There is no predicting it or preventing it if your cat is destined for a pouch. Link had the most tucked tummy until he was almost two and then *bam* pouch. His hangs dramatically too and swings when he runs. I sometimes song "does your belly hang low, does it wobble to and fro, can you tie it in a knot, can you tie it in a bow..."

One year old,

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• Kieka
• Oct 25, 2016

Three years old,

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• Kieka
• Dec 2, 2016

 

[Daisy6]

Those two pictures don't look like the same cat.

 

[Kieka]

The joys of a owning a pointed cat, color changing. Same cat though, notice the square patch on the left hand leg white area?

He's just darkened, added muscle and a pouch. Here he was as a baby,

Baby Link.png

• Kieka
• Dec 2, 2016

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• Kieka
• Dec 5, 2016

Some more teen photos,

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• Kieka
• Dec 2, 2016

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• Kieka
• Sep 12, 2016

It's why I always tell pointed cat owners to take a ton of photos. They change so much, they can lighten and darken. Right now he has some odd coloring on his face from getting shaved on the chin. Link will likely be solid black with white patches in another ten years. Here is him from this week, his pouch spreads when he lays down.

 

[StefanZ]

The pouch is a natural defence to not get belly riped open in fights.

 

[Daisy6]

I never thought of that Stefan.

 

[Tashanasha]

Do they get bigger when the cat gets older or do they just stay the same once the cat has one?

Marx already has one and he's 6 months old and I'm pretty sure it's not just him being fat since he still has a nice waist.

 

[Kieka]

They tend to hit a point and stay there, at least in my experience and if your cat doesn't get fat. Link has times where I can see the underlaying shape and other times when I can't. But it's probably general weight fluctuation. The actual pouch stays the same just how full it is, forlack of a better term, can change a little.

 

[Daisy6]

Do they get bigger when the cat gets older or do they just stay the same once the cat has one?

Marx already has one and he's 6 months old and I'm pretty sure it's not just him being fat since he still has a nice waist.

That is why I don't think cats with udder bags are fat. When I had a fat cat, there was no pendulum swing when he ran.

 

[tinydestroyer]

The pouch is a natural defence to not get belly riped open in fights.

My vet told me this specifically when I asked about my cat, Mog. We were concerned that I was overfeeding him, and he was getting a pooch on his tummy. The vet said that he was fine. Some cats have this "fat pad" as a defense, and keep it as long as they're getting fed decently.
My vet mentioned that I shouldn't be concerned so long as the tummy does not start protruding much further than parallel with the ground, or if there is not a defined "waist" near the hips when the cat is viewed from above (like in the typical cat weight range chart.)

 

[Daisy6]

So what was more likely: I did not notice an udder bag unrtil now or she recently grew an udder bag?

 

[tinydestroyer]

Hard to say. As others have noted, some cats develop it as they grow out of kittenhood. Cats' bodies are capable of morphing into lots of shapes, though. Sometimes, Mog looks like he has a tucked in tummy because his pooch is small, and he's a young cat. But when his belly is up, or he runs low to the ground, I can tell he has one. It wobbles! (I'll have to start singing the song when it does Kieka .)

So, maybe you didn't notice the fat layer on your kitty because it is hard to see in some positions, or because it isn't very thick on her. And now that you recognize it, and have been thinking about it, it is more noticeable to you. When I learned about Mog's fat pad, I came home and noticed that my other cat has a small one, too. It is much less noticeable and mobile as Mog's, but it's there. I might not have ever noticed it if I hadn't been looking, though.

 

[silkenpaw]

Kieka So do the point colors change with the seasons or only with age?

I love the song and will have to start singing it to Bassie, who has the most pronounced pouch around here.

 

[Kieka]

Kieka So do the point colors change with the seasons or only with age?

I love the song and will have to start singing it to Bassie, who has the most pronounced pouch around here.

It's a little of both and some cats the change is slower. The more cold he is exposed to the darker he gets. We are in Southern California so the cold isn't really that cold but he is used to the warmth and he goes outside. He gets progressively darker each winter and holds his color through the summer, mostly. When he has a spot shaved (and he is my accident prone child so it happens) the area around will get lighter hairs scattered, which are the ones that grow in while shaved, but he'll even out a few months later when those hair shed. Other indoor only points might change slower or only with age, body heat regulation changes with age, because they have steady temperatures. Link also probably has some Burmese in him which tend to get darker quicker while other lines will stay lighter longer.

 

[Sonatine]

My cat has two! Or rather, hers isn't actually on her belly. Instead, she has flaps of skin extending from flank to side, on both sides, but if you touch between them her belly is pretty much flat. It makes her look fat even though she isn't, since she's shaped like a box with legs. I'm not sure if this is a proper primordial pouch or not, as I've never had the nerve to touch the actual pouch on a cat that had one before getting my own.

I joke that they are leg wings, and that she is part dragon. She accepts this as a compliment.

 

[Daisy6]

Maybe a double pouch? I can't remember seeing a cat like that.

 

[Sonatine]

It's probably just a differently shaped pouch, or maybe differently positioned. I read that some breeds have pouches like that but my cat is hardly a purebred. But I really can't feel the loose skin around her belly, just on the sides. I still like to think of them as wings.

 

[lalagimp]

We didn't notice it on Tommy Gargoyle until he was 8 years old.
Not even when he was 21 lbs. Not after he was 13 lbs a few years later. Not until he was 8 years.
My little stray tortie has always had one. She moved in with us when she was maybe 7 years old.
I can't speak for Tom's sissy,Yue. She has too much fur.
I'm not sure about Stewart either. He's a BW DSH Tux. The guy is now 6. I had to have him lose 25% of his weight a few years ago.
It's not indicative of them being a fatty. That's determined by their fat over the ribs and their waistline from above.

 

[Daisy6]

It is not noticeable in overweigbht cats because extra fat fills it up.

 

[lalagimp]

Not true. 30 lb Bob that was my houseguest still had a swinging pooch.