How To Tell If Cat Is Overweight

Look at your cat from different angles.

How to tell if cat is overweight. Determining if your cat is overweight isnt as simple as stepping on a bathroom scale. One method to tell if your cat is overweight is to feel along her rib cage. How to tell if your cat is overweight. You can check if kitty has been carrying her holiday weight for a little too long in the comfort of your own home.

Evaluating your cats body 1. Difficulty or inability to move. Cats who are not overweight have an ideal body condition. Much more commonly however are the cats that rate above a bcs of 5.

If your cat is overweight the chances of them wheezing or snoring are higher. Examine the base of your cats tail. If your cat is wheezing or snoring it could also indicate another serious health issue such as upper respiratory infections asthma or a heart or lung condition. Depending on breed and body type a healthy average weight for a cat can range anywhere from 7 to 25 pounds according to the association for pet obesity prevention apop.

On the other hand if you feel too much rib thats also a problem. Run a hand gently over your cats side. These cats have become too heavy for their frame so they will look more block like. From above an overweight cat will look more like a rectangle than a nice tapered figure 8.

Touch your cats ribs. If you cant feel its ribs or it feels like there is a big layer of fat over them you might just have an overweight cat. This is because there is excess fat in the tissues surrounding the cats airways. Healthy cats come in all shapes and sizes and theres no single right weight.

These cats ribs can be felt without a pad of fat between the skin and ribcage and they have a waist when viewed from above. All you need is a keen eye and hands ready to pet. You can start determining if your cats overweight by looking at him. Run your hand over your cats sides.

Over ideal cat body conditioning score. In five minutes or less you can also gauge whether kitty is too thin either from illness or not consuming enough calories especially if a kitten. You can further examine your cat by touching him. If you have to press firmly in order to feel her ribs then she may be overweight.

If you cannot feel your cats ribs or see your cats waist your cat is likely overweight or obese. For a healthy cat the padding shouldnt feel any thicker than the padding over the back of your hand says the cummings veterinary medical center at tufts university.