What Is A Healthy Cat Weight?
How To Keep Your Cat Healthy

What is a healthy cat weight? Now that’s a good question. The answer is that there is no one single weight that can be given to cover all cats. So many things affect what makes one cat fat and another one healthy.

These factors include:

The breed of the cat - Moggies are more likely to put weight on.
The age - Cats under 2 are less likely to gain weight
The activity level - Neutered cats are a little less active then entire cats and so require less food for energy.
The type of food and amount fed - Dry food is more calorific than wet food and so less needs to be given.

Because of these varying factors a scale was invented which could determine how healthy a cats weight was by simply looking at the cat. So if they looked fat then yes they probably are, but this cat may eat far less than another who is not over weight.

Here is a rough guide to the levels within this scale known as the “Body condition score” or BCS.

Level 1 Thin Cat

The ribs of the cat are very visible and can be easy felt when you rub your hand along spine

Level 2 under weight cat

The bones are less prominent but do protrude from the body with only a thin layer of tissue between skin and bone

Level 3 Healthy cat weight

The ribs can be easy felt under the skin but do not stick out

Level 4 Over weight cat

It is less easy to feel the ribs under the sin and their may be some sagging of skin under the tummy area

Level 5 Obese cat

There is a thick layer of fat covering the ribs making very difficult to feel them and the sagging under the tummy is more prominent

This scale also makes it easier for a cat owner to know when there cat may be putting onto much weight. Well have you tried to get your cat to sit on the scales at home.

Why Is It Important That My Pet Is A Healthy Cat Weight?

Well just like the rest of us being overweight can make your cat susceptible to certain illnesses such as

Diabetes
Urinary infections
Arthritis due to strain on the joint
Liver problems
Heart issues

The cats immune system will also be weaken which makes them less able to fight off every day viruses.

As well as the medical problems, a overweight cat is less likely to be very happy, why? Because cats are naturally very active animals, their instincts drive them to hunt, climb, chase etc and if they are unable to do these things any more then just like the rest of us, they will become depressed and fall into the cycle of eating and sleeping only.

Prevention Is Better Than Cure

This is an old saying but really does ring true when it comes to your cat’s health and making sure that they don’t put on too much weight in the first place. Why?

As many cat owners are finding out, trying to get a cat to lose weight once they have become quite large can be harder than they think. This is because more is required than simply reducing the amount of cat food or the type of cat food fed.

This is because the body goes into what is known as starvation mode, it starts to slow metabolism even more to hang onto the fat because fewer calories are going in. In order to lose weight exercise also needs to be increased and trying to get a overweight cat who may also be depressed to chase a ball etc can take a lot of time and patience on the cat owners behalf.

Feeding a well balanced diet and sticking to the recommended amounts as stated on the packaging is essential.

Treats should be kept to a minimum and a regular feeding routine will all help to make sure that a healthy cat weight is maintained.

Read more about cat food and nutritional requirements.

Images on this page come from the Hills food company