Will He Get Bigger?

[catssss12]

Adopted this guy a year ago. He is 15 months old and approximately 16 pounds. I wouldn’t say he is fat but just large. Any idea on a breed?

 

[lutece]

I would describe your handsome and well-padded fellow as a brown mackerel tabby domestic shorthair. Brown mackerel tabby is believed to be the original color and pattern of the domestic cat, before other mutations appeared. Most cats are not any particular breed.

As far as his size, bone growth for most cats (even the slow-maturing breeds) stops between 12-18 months. After bone growth stops, cats continue to broaden and fill out. Looking at your cat's adult pictures, I do think your cat may be a bit over his ideal weight already, but I am just looking at pictures... you can make a much better assessment in person. Cats can vary quite a lot in size, so weight in pounds is not a very good way to tell if a cat is "fat." It's better to refer to a body condition scoring chart such as this one:
https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/Documents/Committee Resources/Global Nutrition Committee/English/Cat-Body-Condition-Scoring-2017.pdf

 

[catssss12]

I would describe your handsome and well-padded fellow as a brown mackerel tabby domestic shorthair. Brown mackerel tabby is believed to be the original color and pattern of the domestic cat, before other mutations appeared. Most cats are not any particular breed.

As far as his size, bone growth for most cats (even the slow-maturing breeds) stops between 12-18 months. After bone growth stops, cats continue to broaden and fill out. Looking at your cat's adult pictures, I do think your cat may be a bit over his ideal weight already, but I am just looking at pictures... you can make a much better assessment in person. Cats can vary quite a lot in size, so weight in pounds is not a very good way to tell if a cat is "fat." It's better to refer to a body condition scoring chart such as this one:
https://www.wsava.org/WSAVA/media/Documents/Committee Resources/Global Nutrition Committee/English/Cat-Body-Condition-Scoring-2017.pdf

Thanks! Just don’t want him to get fat so maybe cut back on his diet a bit.

 

[Kieka]

I'd have to agree with everything lutece said.

I would consider cutting back on food a little at this point as most of his growth is probably done. But I know side photos can be a little misleading if the cat has a primordial pouch (a loose flap of hanging skin along the abdomen, which is common in cats but more pronounced in some). Pouch's should be relatively loose and flap around without any real substance inside of them. Loose skin basically with a thing layer of fat. My boy has a really big one and my girl a little one; which can be misleading since more body condition charts mention a tuck. Which is still somewhat visible with even the largest pouch but not always as easy to see in photos. I find the top down view is the easiest to monitor.

Here are some pictures of my crew from above to give you an idea of what you want to see. A slight pinch between the ribs and hips is what you are looking for:

Rocket, a barrel chested cat but almost too skinny according to the vet.

Link. He's on a diet at this point to make sure he doesn't put on any more weight.

Nightfury is slightly underweight but eats everything.

 

[white shadow]

.
Hi catssss12 and welcome to the forum !

Just don’t want him to get fat so maybe cut back on his diet a bit.

Chances are....it's not how much he's eating, but......what he's eating.

As a general rule of thumb, if his food is coming out of a bag, then he'll be getting loaded up with carbohydrates - something cats don't manage very well. They've evolved to thrive on meat, fat and a tiny amount of fiber.

There's a nutrition forum here - you're likely to pick up a lot of good info and feedback there.

One thing you need to know: cat's are unique in that they cannot metabolize body fat very well.....so, unless weight loss happens extremely slowly, they can develop a serious liver disease.

What a handsome cat !
.

 

[catssss12]

Keika, after looking at your cats, I have to agree he is overweight somewhat. It happened so fast. You have beautiful cats btw.

white shadow,
I feed them a mix of wet and dry food. The dry is the most expensive stuff they sell at PetValu and the wet is Fancy Feast (I know not great). I under feed them recommended serving of dry because of mixing the wet. I’ll check out the nutrition board! Thanks!

 

[Kieka]

Keika, after looking at your cats, I have to agree he is overweight somewhat. It happened so fast. You have beautiful cats btw.

white shadow,
I feed them a mix of wet and dry food. The dry is the most expensive stuff they sell at PetValu and the wet is Fancy Feast (I know not great). I under feed them recommended serving of dry because of mixing the wet. I’ll check out the nutrition board! Thanks!

Thank you.

It can happen really quickly. I usually do a check on my guys once a month. Just a quick track movement with eyes, check their body condition, and pet them feeling for lumps or bumps. Nothing too invasive but just a 1st of the month exam of sorts.

 

[lutece]

Fancy Feast is nothing to be ashamed of! Lots of us here use Fancy Feast. The classic pate flavors are low-carb, and are a fine choice for many cats. For weight control, it's often effective to cut back on the dry food (or cut it out entirely) and replace with low-carb wet food like Fancy Feast classic pate. But you'll read more about that in the nutrition forum

 

[dmt18]

That is such a good looking cat! Very strong and handsome!!!

 

[FrankieNMurphy]

He looks exactly like my last kitty! Adopted him at 3 months, and he grew HUGE! But, not fat. My vet said he was one of the biggest tabbies she'd ever seen. When he passed away at 21, he weighed 22 lbs

 

[jen]

Nightfury is slightly underweight but eats everything. View attachment 297471

Have you had his thyroid checked?

 

[Kieka]

Have you had his thyroid checked?

Yes. He's healthy on that count.