Six month old cat is GIANT for a domestic short hair. Should I be concerned?

MutaCat

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This is Muta cat. He's a little over 6 months in age, is very long, and weighs about 11 lbs. He's certified Mountain Lion status.

I'm concerned because I've raised my share of kittens and worked in shelters, and I don't think I've ever seen a domestic short hair get this big this fast. He did come from a feral colony so there's a chance he has large breed genetics somewhere in his history. He seems otherwise healthy and has a diet of cooked lean meats and good kitten food.

Is this outside the range of normal?

Is he going to get even bigger?
 

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Willowy

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Normal-ish. I had one who was 10 pounds at 7 months, when he was neutered. He maxed out at 17 pounds, probably should have been 16 though (he was a teensy bit chubby), so he wasn't abnormally huge or anything. Just a fine big boy!
 

klunick

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My Boone is also 6 months and the same weight. I was a little concerned like you but he isn't fat. Just solid. I am thinking he is due for a growth spurt to even out more.
 

Willowy

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Oh, another funny thing about my boy is that his poor mama was only 6 pounds! And she had 4 massive boy kittens, I'm not even sure where she put them, lol. And she must have had very rich milk because they were FAT kittens. Poor girl. Good thing she was spayed after that.
 

stephanietx

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My cat was almost 9 pounds at 6 months. He evened out. He's old enough that you can cut back on the kitten food and start introducing adult food. I would start with a 50/50 blend. Also, keep him on more wet food than dry food.
 

tabbytom

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This is Muta cat. He's a little over 6 months in age, is very long, and weighs about 11 lbs.
My boy was 12.8 pounds when he was 7 months old. He's a lanky cat bSo I guess your cat is normal at that age and weight. And moreover, male cats are bigger and heavier than female cats.
 
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MutaCat

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My boy was 12.8 pounds when he was 7 months old. He's a lanky cat bSo I guess your cat is normal at that age and weight. And moreover, male cats are bigger and heavier than female cats.
How big did your cat grow up to be?
 

tabbytom

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How big did your cat grow up to be?
I stopped weighing him when he was near 3 years old and his weight at that time was almost 12 pounds.

Now I just roughly gauge his weight by his size and when I carry him. After all these years of carrying I'm all the time, there's not much change in his weight and therefore I stopped weighing him.
He's coming to 5 years old soon.
 

klunick

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All these posts about large 6 months kittens is easing my mind so much about Boone. I was worried he was too big for his age although I figured he was just going to be a big boy. He eats like a teenage boy ( which I currently have two human ones as well). If there is food around, he will be eating it. :lol:
 

KatherineE

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Our kitten, Louis, will be 7 months the first week of November. He’s just shy of 9 pounds but he still looks tiny in comparison to our 15 pound adult male cat, Leo. Leo is built like a Mack Truck while Louis is kind of lanky. Louis’s appetite of late has been insatiable and while I keep an eye on his caloric intake I don’t want to underferd him either. At what age do you start cutting back on the calories? One or does it depend on the cat?
 

tabbytom

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Our kitten, Louis, will be 7 months the first week of November. He’s just shy of 9 pounds but he still looks tiny in comparison to our 15 pound adult male cat, Leo. Leo is built like a Mack Truck while Louis is kind of lanky. Louis’s appetite of late has been insatiable and while I keep an eye on his caloric intake I don’t want to underferd him either. At what age do you start cutting back on the calories? One or does it depend on the cat?
At 7 months old,that'sn when the growth spurt starts till way into his first year. During this time, food intake and frequency will increase. This could last till around 2 years old and as he approaches 2 years old, you'll notice that the amount of food and frequency will taper off.

As for kittens, feed them well as much as the can eat with good quality wet kitten food which is needed for the formative years or get food labled 'For All Life Stages' which can continue into adulthood. Normal breed cats mature at 1 year old and bigger breeds take a longer time to mature.

Calories wise, an active kitten will need at least 250 - 300 calories a day and an active adult needs roughly 200 - 250 calories a day as adult cats sleep out of the time. Most can food will state the amount of calories on the label.

Best is to feed low carb grain free wet food as wet food has real meat and proteins and nutrients where dry food is full of carbs and not much nutrients left after manufacturing as high heat kills off most nutrients.
 

KatherineE

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Thanks for the info. We’re on track with all of your recommendations, which is reassuring.
 

klunick

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Boone
Turned 7 months on the 27th and as of today weighed in at 11.9 lbs 🤯
 
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