healthy wieght for a cat?

Question

my cat is 20 lbs. i weighed him this morning. he doesn't look that big but he had a double chin. i do not overfeed him. he gets about 2 cups of food everyday (he is 3). i love him and he's healthy but i was wondering if this weight could pose a problem down the line.

Answer 1

my sister has a fat cat but that is what makes her pretty let the cat enjoy its life un like us people worring about being over weight as long as he is ok with it and dosent seem sad then let him be or you can try to get him to play more to get him fit

Answer 2

Depends on the breed(s) that he has in his bloodlines. If he has some Maine Coon or other large breed, then the weight may not be a big concern.

Consult your vet to have him examined and find out if he's a healthy weight or not. If not, the vet will help you with ideas on how to lower his weight ("Lite" diet, interactive playing, less amount of food, etc.) Diabetes is a big concern in overweight cats....

I agree with the below poster, that 2 cups of food daily, seems like too much. I know that the food I feed (By Nature Organics) says that 1 cup is suitable for cats 15+ lbs.

I have a gray tabby female, and the ideal weight for her would be 8-10 lbs. She's 8.9 lbs and I hope to keep her that way (she was overweight when I adopted her, since the foster mom free-fed).

Answer 3

Yes the weight can pose a problem down the line as well at the food you are feeding which is what is causing the weight problem in the first place

Nutrition since there are so many bad things out there is very important to your cat’s health
Contrary to what you may have heard, dry foods are not a great thing to feed a cat.
Dry foods are the number 1 cause of diabetes in cats as well as being a huge contributing factor to kidney disease, obesity, crystals, u.t.i’s and a host of other problems. Food allergies are very common when feeding dry foods.
The problems with it are that they are loaded with carbohydrates which many cats (carnivores) cannot process. Most of the moisture a cat needs is gotten
out of the food and 95% of it is zapped out of dry foods in the processing. Also, most use horrible ingredients and don't use a muscle meat as the primary ingredient and use vegetable based protein versus animal. Not good for an animal that has to eat meat to survive.
You want to pick a canned food w/o gravy (gravy=carbs) that uses a muscle meat as the first ingredient and doesn't have corn at least in the first 3 ingredients if at all. Fancy feast is a middle grade food with 9lives, friskies whiskas lower grade canned and wellness and merrick upper grade human quality foods.Also, dry food is not proven to be better for teeth. Please read about cat nutrition.
http://www.newdestiny.us/nutritionbasics.html
http://www.catinfo.org/feline_obesity.htm
http://maxshouse.com/feline_nutrition.htm#Dry_Food_vs_Canned_Food.__Which_is_reall

Answer 4

He's probably overweight. Even larger breeds would be considered at least slightly overweight at 20 pounds.

And 2 cups per day IS overfeeding. Especially since he's as large as he is.

You should at least cut that down to 1 cup. You can do it all at once or gradually, in the hopes that he won't notice (LOL).

But there's a better way to do it, and since he's male, I highly recommend switching him to canned food. It'll be better for his urinary health as well.

In a nutshell, most cats are fat because they've been fed too much (free-feeding or indulging them) and because they're fed dry food which is NOT appropriate food for them due to the grain/carb/sugar content. Cats are obligate carnivores who need to eat a high meat-based protein diet, which is also high in fats and low in carbs.

Many vets, who are sadly ignorant on the topic of proper cat nutrition, will recommend prescription diet foods (usually dry). Cats are expected to lose weight on a starvation diet of 1/4 or 1/3 cup of food per day. Everyone is miserable in these situations.

The solution is to switch the fat cat (and any others in the household as well) to a good quality canned food. Because these foods are species appropriate, the cat will lose weight at a safe, slow pace (no more than 1 pound per month). Switching foods needs to occur slowly, and if you're trying to get a kibble junkie to eat canned food, that will happen naturally.

That's it. Easy as pie. Not only will fat cats lose weight, but it and any others in the home will reap many benefits of eating a speciies appropriate diet.

See the links below for detailed information on this topic.

Answer 5

You don't say the breed of your cat, and different breeds average different "ideal" weights. The best criteria for judging their weight is......does he have a "waist"? If his stomach hangs down, or you can't see any "indention" behind his ribs, HE'S TOO FAT! Yes, that can cause a problem sooner or later. Overweight cats can develop diabetes, heart disease, etc. Check w/your vet to see what he/she thinks. At any rate.....2 cups of food everyday is way too much. I feed my LABRADOR RETREIVER 2 cups of food per day! Try to cut down gradually, and see if he doesn't lose some of that fat. He'll be much healthier and live longer. We don't want to "kill him w/kindness"(food). Good luck.

Answer 6

It could BUT.... One of my cats weighs in at 28lbs.
His brother was 10lbs he died 9months ago.
I have a 8month old kitten who weighs in at 14 lbs he is healthy his brother is 10lbs and has had cat flu and feline enteritis. my 3 year old is 8lbs and healthy.
cats are like people. I don't think it is you weigh or lifestyle it is your will to live.
So if your cat has a will to live let her do it.

Answer 7

You bet it can. He can end up with arthritis. Talk to your vet about how to get him slimmed down.