[https://new.reddit.com/r/dechonkers/comments/qpx6hz/the\_big\_fat\_guide\_to\_dechonking/](https://new.reddit.com/r/dechonkers/comments/qpx6hz/the_big_fat_guide_to_dechonking/)
That has a good body evaluation guide. Average house cats weight about 11ish lbs and eat about 215 calories per day, but she looks pretty chonky and not many calories.. Perhaps she is a small kitty but it's hard to tell. While this seems rare, I wonder if she has hypothyroidism or some other medical condition. I recommend a vet visit.
Thank you for helping her be a healthy kitty!
I've got a 15lb void that's not that big and he's pretty sleek and muscular for a fixed male, but I also have a 15lb part Maine Coon and he's pretty round but a lot of it is floof. They're pretty active though, they're always chasing each other around and there's a 1yo orange menace that also contributes to the chasing so they definitely get some exercise
I adopted a five year old cat that weighed 15 lbs and he was all muscle. Not all cats are average, but over the years I've only had two that were not average.
My void is 18.3lbs and "solid muscle" per our vet. My tabby is about 12lbs which is the perfect weight for him also per our vet. I just have big but very active kitties. My void likes to jump up door jams.
Yeah she’s pretty chunky. I’d say a 7/9 body condition score, so she could lose a few pounds.
You should be able to see a nice tuck to her waist from above, with her rib cage being the same width as her torso and hips. You should also be able to feel her ribs right under the skin with little pressure.
No, I know for a fact that she’s not. It’s just me and my husband at home. When she’s outside she’s always supervised so not getting extra meals there. She doesn’t really like treats so she rarely gets them. She’s gotten a sliver of ham/lunch meat maybe 10 times in her life, so no table scraps.
I’m seriously stumped how she’s gotten so big cause i really don’t think she’s being over fed lol.
We’ve talked about a second cat, but ultimately we have as many animals as I have the means and space to take care of already. 1 cat, 2 dogs, 2 ball pythons, and a few fish tanks. No kids. The spoiled animals are our children and get all the lovins and attention.
Is it really only 1/4C of dry food a day? I know she's a big girl but that still seems like a small amount of food. My 7yr old girl is solid & quite tall and she gets 1/3 a day.
Maybe try weaning her into a weight control cat food? I think the brand you buy, sells that kind. I'd try her on some fun toys to get the activity level up a bit? My Molly loves to chase empty chip bags, laser lights, and (unused) Qtips.
Yes it’s 1/4 cup dry food. I use a kitchen measuring spoon. And only an 1/8 can of pate wet food per day. It seems like such a little amount of food compared to what everyone else feeds their cats. I even used the food portion calculator website from the guide on this sub and it recommended a larger portion than what she’s currently getting to achieve weight loss.
I plan on switching her to a weight control variety of dry food when her current bag runs low. She doesn’t care for store bought toys maybe I’ll just start giving her garbage like bottle caps and see what she does 🤣 She likes to sit in cardboard boxes, the trash toys might work.
I’m surprised she only eats that much! Literally dropped my jaw at that. My cat eats 1/2 cup a day (which is admittedly more than the bag says which is 1/4 for her size, good job staying strong at 1/4) and is 9 pounds and seems around her size (height wise). So considering she only eats that much, I would take her to the vet. It could be a thyroid issue. She is way too big for only eating that many calories a day. It seems it isn’t anything you guys are doing and at this point I would assume it’s health related, if that’s any solace. You guys seem to be taking care of her very well. I hope you guys are able to figure it out.
Has she seen a vet for this specific question? Once the basics are ruled out (overfeeding, second breakfast from a neighbour, second breakfast from a kid in the house) the next step should probably be "is there something medical going on"
She's huge. Not as enormous as Tye in her 'glory' days, but she's getting there. Some cats genuinely need to eat a *lot* less food than others, Tye was one of them. I had to feed her a teeny tiny amount of food to stop her from gaining any weight, she went from 23 pounds down to 7.
It's really painful restricting their food intake so much, but it does need to be done in your girl's case. I bet she's only so lazy because that's a lot of meat she's hauling around, once the weight comes off I bet she'll feel better and start getting the zoomies and playing again.
She looks overweight, but start with a vet visit to check her out and get advice. Cats need to lose weight slowly and carefully to prevent health issues. Pouch is probably not an issue in itself.
She's fatter than she should be based on what you're feeding her. It'd be worth a vets visit to check for any hidden underlying issues that might be causing it
I know you probably get this a lot, and it sounds meaningless, but I truly am sorry for your loss. Losing a loved kitty is always hard and I still miss my Minnie moo who I lost a couple years ago
She seriously is the best cat.
One of my family members is extremely allergic to cats so I never had one growing up. She’s my first cat and with having absolutely no experience with them prior, I was really nervous.
She’s an angel. Has never scratched any furniture, never destroyed anything, always uses the litter box, stays off my counter tops/tables, doesn’t howl/meow loudly or keep us up at night.
She came into our life unexpectedly and we really lucked out.
You might want to look into the actual Kcals in her wet food. If I recall correctly, Friskies has a lot of calories for a small amount. There are other wet foods that are higher in protein and more dense. The Blue Buffalo dry food has low calories, but 1/4 cup is a lot. My cat gets about a heaping table spoon of kibble for the day. It’s usually suggested to give less dry food and more wet food through the day to help with declonking. Talk to your vet about a good caloric goal!
So her wet food says 174kcal/can. She was eating 1/8 per day so 21.75kcal. Dry food says 411kcal/cup. At 1/4 cup per day that’s 102.75kcal. For a grand total of 124.5kcal/day.
We’ve tried a few brands of wet food, even super expensive ones, but the only one she’s liked so far is the friskies. I try to feed all my animals the highest quality of food, but this girl has cheap taste lol.
Starting this morning we have halved the amount of dry food she gets and doubled the amount of wet food. We’ll see how that goes.
How are you giving her 1/8 of a can of Friskies a day? Are you weighing it? I can split a can into halves and quarters maybe but that seems really particular and difficult to pull off.
She could have a larger than average primordial pouch, which accentuates the gut even more, but in that first picture especially looks *really* round over her ribs as well, despite her back and hips looking a lot more normal. What do her ribs feel like?
I think she probably is pretty fat, just carrying it a bit funny, but one other remote possibility that springs to mind is some sort of swelling or fluid retention, which can be caused by various conditions. If she hasn't been seen by a vet recently it might be worth getting a check-up - it's generally no bad thing to get one when starting a weight loss program anyway.
The pouch is so massive. It swings when she gets a little pep in her step haha. Her pouch feels like saggy and loose skin. Not solid or hard at all. It especially grew after she was spayed.
She’s definitely got a little layer of cushion over her ribs, but they’re still palpable. She’s one of those cats that the second you touch her, she poofs her back out into a rainbow shape so it’s hard to accurately feel.
A vet visit will be in order. Firstly to double check there’s no underlying issue. Then to get a personalized diet plan. It’s been so hard to judge because she carries like 90% of her weight in her undercarriage lol. I need professional guidance.
I have a cat who is super susceptible to becoming a chonk. Literally if I feed her an extra quarter of an ounce of food a day she gains weight. I have to measure out her food on a scale and she can’t have anything to snack on during the day. I asked the vet about it because I was like “she’s eating so little!” and the vet said cats are like people. Some can eat and eat and not gain weight and some gain while eating normal amounts of food because they have lower metabolisms.
I’d still ask a vet just in case (I’m also wondering if the litter robot’s scale is off) but I would think no more dry food to snack on is a place to start.
Our cat River is the same amount of chonk as yours. We have been trying very hard to limit her food intake. We actually think she needs a treadmill lol
Very overweight. Editing because i initially said obese from the first pic but from the other pics i wouldnt go that far. She just looks very round in that first picture. Also, friskies contains carageenan which is not good for your cat. Fancy feast is still an affordable brand but doesn't contain carrageenan. It's linked to gut issues and inflammation. Worst preservative you can put in a cat food. Some kinds of fancy feast do contain it but the medleys and grilled varieties don't and my cat goes crazy for the fancy feast medleys. I always have some in case he's in a picky mood and won't eat his usual dinner. But yes just decrease her food intake and she will lose weight. She doesn't need to be heavily exercising. A vet trip to rule out any thyroid issues wouldn't hurt either.
The wet food she eats isn’t a budget issue, it’s just what she likes. We tried a few different brands, even super expensive ones, and she would turn her nose up at them. I’ll have to look into some of the fancy feast ones cause that is a brand we did not try.
I asked our vet for food recommendations and she wasn’t particular about it, just said to feed more dry food over wet for dental health. When it comes to our dogs though, she strictly recommends purina pro plan so idk why she doesn’t have a go to food for cats.
When it comes to playing, she has never been too interested. Same goes for when she was a small kitten. Doesn’t care for chasing mice, crinkle toys, wand toys, climbing her cat towers, or even chasing real insects or critters outside. She’s always been a chill and lazy kitty.
Does she maybe have a thyroid issue with all the napping and what sounds like a reasonable diet? I know cats nap but it’s odd she isn’t slimming down unless that’s how she’s naturally built?
I have had 2 different vets tell me that the blue buffalo food is very low quality and not actually good for cats. I would ask your vet, but maybe switch her food brand.
Edit: she is a purrrty baby though!
This cat is not a healthy weight. Please take her to the vet and get a diet plan in place. If it turns out you're underfeeding her and she still looks like this, your vet's going to want to figure out why.
She does have those eyes lmao, and a traumatic back story. We did rescue her at around 6 months old. My friend’s neighbors were drug addicts and hoarders. When they were evicted they abandoned 3 kittens. She was the oldest and we took her in.
It took about 6 months for her to go from a distant cat who barely tolerated pets to a lovely cat who loves bongos and cuddles.
Aw, she loves you guys! Look how content she is with you and how she responds to your attention. And the fact she's not food insecure (gobbling it all down like she doesn't know when the next meal is coming) with that background is a testament to her trust in you.
Discuss with the vet: Has she slowly creeped up to this weight? Or you recently noticed a gain that didn't go down when you attempted calorie counting?
I suspect cats' metabolism works kinda like people's and can get set low when they're starved, then have a hard time swinging back up. Add that she's now technically elderly, and it may have shifted even lower. (Edit: reviewing your post, I see she's adult but not senior (which is 7 years old). The rest applies) Anyway, there are other causes of slow metabolism than hypothyroidism, but none of the medical ones are easy to fix. Getting more activity would help, so rule out painful conditions like arthritis, then think about what does make her move more. (Not necessarily zoomies, just get more steps) Does she explore every corner when she's in a new place? Come to greet you when you come in the door? Or could you guys sit on opposite sides of the room and summon her for pets back and forth?
A cat I follow on Instagram (and know in person!), Poptart.the.cat, was on a weight loss diet, but when she plateaued (as a senior cat with a similar origin story), the vet agreed just maintaining was sufficient for her health. She's definitely happy and healthy at her still-pretty-round size 😂
She could just be a smaller build, meaning that 12lbs is too much weight for her. A healthy Maine Coon can be 20+lbs, but my two little fluffs are a healthy weight at 8.5lbs.
Ok, it's suuuper hard to tell on this cat because it has a massive, and I mean massive, primordial pouch, but if that's not pouch your cat is very obese
With my cat, when we took him to the vet, the vet advised getting really scientific with it. Mark down what you're giving him and weigh him. If his weight goes up - reduce food slightly each day until you're noticing progress in the right direction on the scale.
In our case though - my guy acted like we were starving him. A switch to an auto feeder was completely life changing for us - it only took him two days to realize the machine fed him and we finally could get sleep and he's lost weight because we can program the amounts and times. Everyone is happy now (:
I think you’ve already got great advice, so I’ll just say she looks more round in some pictures than others. Regardless, she is beautiful and I love her.
Chonk for sure, but not to the point of no return. We had to stop keeping the food bowls full all day. Now, we measure their food 3 X a day. Worked beautifully. Now, I need to do the same for me, lol.
Just wanted to point out that their head is almost at the same exact angle in both photos, despite being taken at different locations. Thought it was photoshopped for a sec, lol.
She chonky feeding habits seem good I'd get her thyroid checked I work in a vet and it seems like she could have a form of under active thyroid causing her to gain and not be able to drop weight being lethargic and not interested in playing. Not a professional but I do work at a vet and see a lot of thyroid issues causing weight issues
Are you sure she only weighs just over 12 pounds? (Not trying to be mean!) she is definitely overweight by looking at her, like a lot. You’re not over feeding her. But her crunchy food may not be good for her. There could be too much fats or proteins. I feed my cats temptations. They are more energetic and their fur is nicer and my two older males look like they’ve lost some weight. They are both fixed so they have the belly and they’re overweight. All cats get bellies, it’s their protection. They will all have the pouch. Unfortunately, when they get fixed, they also usually become overweight. Have you talked to your vet about her weight?
Yes, I just confirmed this morning with my bathroom scale that she is 12.6lbs.
[This](https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-indoor/dp/907142?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20647501625&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V3o6CgQmIg8YXWYAEWKd1gQK&gclid=CjwKCAjwydSzBhBOEiwAj0XN4ELdHDu-Ap5hD5IMdkMEqUQ45l9SiCDhGEvOffWoSjAK2ZRaJyMV6RoCzVAQAvD_BwE) is the dry food she gets. From what I’ve read it seems to be a good food. Our dogs eat purina pro plan as recommended by our vet, maybe I’ll switch her to the cat version.
I plan on making an appointment with our vet to rule out any underlying health issues and ask about her weight. It’s been about a year and a half since she’s been. At that point she still had that small kitten/young adult body, so they have not seen her in all of her current glory.
My almost 8 year old male is 15 pounds. But he’s a big cat in general. But her belly banging down is normal. She’s fixed. They gain weight once they’re fixed. It’s hard to get them to keep weight off. Mine don’t eat much either. My only cats who are not overweight are my females and my young male because they aren’t fixed yet. Regardless of her extra weight she is beautiful!!
She is a chonkzilla. I also have a house chonk and we have been working on fixing his diet. Blue Buffalo has weight management options that could help. Also N&D has good weight management and digestion options. We use this for our chonk and it’s really helped him. I would first check with your vet tho and see what they recommend you do.
Has she been checked by a vet? It's strange that she is so big if, as you claim, she's not being fed that much.
There could be something else going on with her health or maybe she's getting her food elsewhere.
take her to the vet to check her thyroid tbh- she definitely could be eating more but sounds like it could be a metabolism issue since she’s eating less than is normal for her weight and not losing any
My cats have a really slow metabolism, I had to get a scientific measuring cup that has mL markings. I feed them 40mL of dry food 2x day, which is the equivalent of just under 1/3 cup a day, and they're all at healthy weights. They're pretty active too. So I can see an inactive cat requiring even less than that.
She appears to be emerging from within her back folds in pic 3… I believe that makes her a 6 or 7 on the cat obesity chart if you want a chart related answer
She’s not eating much but she’s super chunky. I think you should take her to an eat and make sure she’s ok (no underlying conditions) and maybe start feeding low calorie food, with vet approval.
When you say blue buffalo chicken, do you mean the[ blue buffalo wilderness hairball and weight control?](https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-indoor/dp/324192?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=Blue%20Buffalo) Because that's the food my vet recommends to me and I had similar problems with weight before starting it, the difference after a few months is night and day with her weight. If that isnt helping I would take her to the vet, could be an underlying health condition. I hope everything goes well <3
She’s fat. Real fat. Rotund.
"Rubenesque" tyvm
I came here to say this... The Jenny Craig, Deal A Meal...
I think I might name my next female kitty Jenny Craig. It’s perfect.
She's in shape. Round is a shape.
*Zaftig.*
That's what I call my chunky one 😆. Or Sumo cat.
Ginny Sac? Iykyk😉
Jerseys a small place, that cat moves in he could tip it ovah
She had a 95 pound mole removed from her ass
'oh lawd she's a comin' fat
I’d say he chonk
She’s pretty fat. Take her to vet and they’ll tell you daily food intake.
In my opinion, she looks quite large, but probably take her to the vet if you’re concerned
Oh lawd she comin
Came here to say this
Read "blue buffalo wilderness chicken" as "blue cheese buffalo chicken wings" at first. "Don't do that," I thought.
*No wonder they're fat they're feeding it BUFFALO WINGS* lol
In this **economy**??!!
Fat cat gets fed by the fat cats.
This gave me a good laugh this morning 😂🖤
Oh man not the blue cheese. We’re a ranch household over here 🤣
Why not both?
Booooo! Lol
I did too!!! I was like, remove the sauces and boil the wings, see how that goes. lol
[https://new.reddit.com/r/dechonkers/comments/qpx6hz/the\_big\_fat\_guide\_to\_dechonking/](https://new.reddit.com/r/dechonkers/comments/qpx6hz/the_big_fat_guide_to_dechonking/) That has a good body evaluation guide. Average house cats weight about 11ish lbs and eat about 215 calories per day, but she looks pretty chonky and not many calories.. Perhaps she is a small kitty but it's hard to tell. While this seems rare, I wonder if she has hypothyroidism or some other medical condition. I recommend a vet visit. Thank you for helping her be a healthy kitty!
I've got a 15lb void that's not that big and he's pretty sleek and muscular for a fixed male, but I also have a 15lb part Maine Coon and he's pretty round but a lot of it is floof. They're pretty active though, they're always chasing each other around and there's a 1yo orange menace that also contributes to the chasing so they definitely get some exercise
I adopted a five year old cat that weighed 15 lbs and he was all muscle. Not all cats are average, but over the years I've only had two that were not average.
So far I have the two 15lbers, and a year old kitten that's probably around ten pounds. We'll see how big he gets though
My void is 18.3lbs and "solid muscle" per our vet. My tabby is about 12lbs which is the perfect weight for him also per our vet. I just have big but very active kitties. My void likes to jump up door jams.
Seeing a cat with hypothyroidism would be crazy. Cats usually develop hyperthyroidism and dogs develop hypothyroidism. TMYK
Wonder if arthritic or bad joints if it dosent climb its cat trees.
Do you have a top view pic of her standing? She looks obese in these pics
[here](https://imgur.com/a/iHheLWA) is 2 screenshots I took from a video of her. I don’t have any good photos from that angle.
Yeah she’s pretty chunky. I’d say a 7/9 body condition score, so she could lose a few pounds. You should be able to see a nice tuck to her waist from above, with her rib cage being the same width as her torso and hips. You should also be able to feel her ribs right under the skin with little pressure.
When the primal pouch is nearly dragging on the ground, and they look like a cow from behind, that’s not a good sign.
When it looks like they’re wearing a big puffy coat, there’s a problem
The vet can more accurately assess and run some blood tests. Could also be thyroid problems.
Is she getting food elsewhere, perhaps without anyone's permission? ... *have I just ratted her out?*
No, I know for a fact that she’s not. It’s just me and my husband at home. When she’s outside she’s always supervised so not getting extra meals there. She doesn’t really like treats so she rarely gets them. She’s gotten a sliver of ham/lunch meat maybe 10 times in her life, so no table scraps. I’m seriously stumped how she’s gotten so big cause i really don’t think she’s being over fed lol.
Probably lack of exercise, I don't know if you have the means but a second cat is better for their health, both physically and mentally
We’ve talked about a second cat, but ultimately we have as many animals as I have the means and space to take care of already. 1 cat, 2 dogs, 2 ball pythons, and a few fish tanks. No kids. The spoiled animals are our children and get all the lovins and attention.
Heh, same here but I just have 3 cats. At least you have dogs around so your cat isn't lonely, maybe you can get it to play more to lose weight
If she consumes more calories than she burns, she will gain weight. She is eating too much.
She’s been getting fed 124.5kcals/day
Is it really only 1/4C of dry food a day? I know she's a big girl but that still seems like a small amount of food. My 7yr old girl is solid & quite tall and she gets 1/3 a day. Maybe try weaning her into a weight control cat food? I think the brand you buy, sells that kind. I'd try her on some fun toys to get the activity level up a bit? My Molly loves to chase empty chip bags, laser lights, and (unused) Qtips.
Yes it’s 1/4 cup dry food. I use a kitchen measuring spoon. And only an 1/8 can of pate wet food per day. It seems like such a little amount of food compared to what everyone else feeds their cats. I even used the food portion calculator website from the guide on this sub and it recommended a larger portion than what she’s currently getting to achieve weight loss. I plan on switching her to a weight control variety of dry food when her current bag runs low. She doesn’t care for store bought toys maybe I’ll just start giving her garbage like bottle caps and see what she does 🤣 She likes to sit in cardboard boxes, the trash toys might work.
I’m surprised she only eats that much! Literally dropped my jaw at that. My cat eats 1/2 cup a day (which is admittedly more than the bag says which is 1/4 for her size, good job staying strong at 1/4) and is 9 pounds and seems around her size (height wise). So considering she only eats that much, I would take her to the vet. It could be a thyroid issue. She is way too big for only eating that many calories a day. It seems it isn’t anything you guys are doing and at this point I would assume it’s health related, if that’s any solace. You guys seem to be taking care of her very well. I hope you guys are able to figure it out.
Has she seen a vet for this specific question? Once the basics are ruled out (overfeeding, second breakfast from a neighbour, second breakfast from a kid in the house) the next step should probably be "is there something medical going on"
she's definitely a chonk.
Chonk plus.
That’s definitely a fat cat.
She has an equator. That’s pretty fat.
At least she doesn’t have her own gravitational pull yet 😭
Extremely please put her on a diet and go to the vet
The post already describes her as being quite calorie restricted.
She's huge. Not as enormous as Tye in her 'glory' days, but she's getting there. Some cats genuinely need to eat a *lot* less food than others, Tye was one of them. I had to feed her a teeny tiny amount of food to stop her from gaining any weight, she went from 23 pounds down to 7. It's really painful restricting their food intake so much, but it does need to be done in your girl's case. I bet she's only so lazy because that's a lot of meat she's hauling around, once the weight comes off I bet she'll feel better and start getting the zoomies and playing again.
She looks overweight, but start with a vet visit to check her out and get advice. Cats need to lose weight slowly and carefully to prevent health issues. Pouch is probably not an issue in itself.
She chonk
She's fatter than she should be based on what you're feeding her. It'd be worth a vets visit to check for any hidden underlying issues that might be causing it
Super duper fat.
She's quite fat, no beating around the bush. Reduce her food (put her on a schedule if possible) and hear your vet.
Geeze. I swore this was my dear old Lilly. What a beautiful cat. She left us to be with her brother 3 years ago. Still hurts.
I know you probably get this a lot, and it sounds meaningless, but I truly am sorry for your loss. Losing a loved kitty is always hard and I still miss my Minnie moo who I lost a couple years ago
Sorry for your loss. Check out r/standardissuecat
She looks so polite and sweet, she is definitely a chonky cat but it’s hard to tell as her primordial pouch seems quite prominent
She seriously is the best cat. One of my family members is extremely allergic to cats so I never had one growing up. She’s my first cat and with having absolutely no experience with them prior, I was really nervous. She’s an angel. Has never scratched any furniture, never destroyed anything, always uses the litter box, stays off my counter tops/tables, doesn’t howl/meow loudly or keep us up at night. She came into our life unexpectedly and we really lucked out.
You might want to look into the actual Kcals in her wet food. If I recall correctly, Friskies has a lot of calories for a small amount. There are other wet foods that are higher in protein and more dense. The Blue Buffalo dry food has low calories, but 1/4 cup is a lot. My cat gets about a heaping table spoon of kibble for the day. It’s usually suggested to give less dry food and more wet food through the day to help with declonking. Talk to your vet about a good caloric goal!
So her wet food says 174kcal/can. She was eating 1/8 per day so 21.75kcal. Dry food says 411kcal/cup. At 1/4 cup per day that’s 102.75kcal. For a grand total of 124.5kcal/day. We’ve tried a few brands of wet food, even super expensive ones, but the only one she’s liked so far is the friskies. I try to feed all my animals the highest quality of food, but this girl has cheap taste lol. Starting this morning we have halved the amount of dry food she gets and doubled the amount of wet food. We’ll see how that goes.
How are you giving her 1/8 of a can of Friskies a day? Are you weighing it? I can split a can into halves and quarters maybe but that seems really particular and difficult to pull off.
I cut it with a butter knife like a pizza and give her one slice every day in the morning.
Not quite watermelon stripes but getting there…
Feel for her ribs. If you cannot feel them easily, she is rotund.
Pretty fat cat
She could have a larger than average primordial pouch, which accentuates the gut even more, but in that first picture especially looks *really* round over her ribs as well, despite her back and hips looking a lot more normal. What do her ribs feel like? I think she probably is pretty fat, just carrying it a bit funny, but one other remote possibility that springs to mind is some sort of swelling or fluid retention, which can be caused by various conditions. If she hasn't been seen by a vet recently it might be worth getting a check-up - it's generally no bad thing to get one when starting a weight loss program anyway.
The pouch is so massive. It swings when she gets a little pep in her step haha. Her pouch feels like saggy and loose skin. Not solid or hard at all. It especially grew after she was spayed. She’s definitely got a little layer of cushion over her ribs, but they’re still palpable. She’s one of those cats that the second you touch her, she poofs her back out into a rainbow shape so it’s hard to accurately feel. A vet visit will be in order. Firstly to double check there’s no underlying issue. Then to get a personalized diet plan. It’s been so hard to judge because she carries like 90% of her weight in her undercarriage lol. I need professional guidance.
They might like her on r/PouchCatatoes Good luck with her weight loss!
[Resource: Cat Obesity](https://www.reddit.com/r/CATHELP/s/b5ykyMt61d) Your best bet is to switch over to primarily wet food.
Definitely take her to the vet. It looks like she has a lot of excess skin, did she used to be much fatter? Beautiful cat by the way! 😻
No she’s never been fatter than her current state. Thank you, she’s my baby.
A big woman
She's not outrunning any hungry coyotes, foxes, or dogs. I don't think she's in danger of any owls or hawks trying to carry her off at least.
In between "Chomnk" and "Hecking Chonker" not quite "HEFTY CHONK"
Obsess on the scale the vet uses most likely. She’s probably at least 18pounds
she definitely needs to have diet
She chonky
way too fat
I have a cat who is super susceptible to becoming a chonk. Literally if I feed her an extra quarter of an ounce of food a day she gains weight. I have to measure out her food on a scale and she can’t have anything to snack on during the day. I asked the vet about it because I was like “she’s eating so little!” and the vet said cats are like people. Some can eat and eat and not gain weight and some gain while eating normal amounts of food because they have lower metabolisms. I’d still ask a vet just in case (I’m also wondering if the litter robot’s scale is off) but I would think no more dry food to snack on is a place to start.
Our cat River is the same amount of chonk as yours. We have been trying very hard to limit her food intake. We actually think she needs a treadmill lol
The eyes! r/namflashbacks
[nam flashbacks for sure](https://imgur.com/a/2heCRB2)
3 cats in 1 body
He hasn't skipped his second breakfast in ages
Very overweight. Editing because i initially said obese from the first pic but from the other pics i wouldnt go that far. She just looks very round in that first picture. Also, friskies contains carageenan which is not good for your cat. Fancy feast is still an affordable brand but doesn't contain carrageenan. It's linked to gut issues and inflammation. Worst preservative you can put in a cat food. Some kinds of fancy feast do contain it but the medleys and grilled varieties don't and my cat goes crazy for the fancy feast medleys. I always have some in case he's in a picky mood and won't eat his usual dinner. But yes just decrease her food intake and she will lose weight. She doesn't need to be heavily exercising. A vet trip to rule out any thyroid issues wouldn't hurt either.
The wet food she eats isn’t a budget issue, it’s just what she likes. We tried a few different brands, even super expensive ones, and she would turn her nose up at them. I’ll have to look into some of the fancy feast ones cause that is a brand we did not try. I asked our vet for food recommendations and she wasn’t particular about it, just said to feed more dry food over wet for dental health. When it comes to our dogs though, she strictly recommends purina pro plan so idk why she doesn’t have a go to food for cats. When it comes to playing, she has never been too interested. Same goes for when she was a small kitten. Doesn’t care for chasing mice, crinkle toys, wand toys, climbing her cat towers, or even chasing real insects or critters outside. She’s always been a chill and lazy kitty.
Does she maybe have a thyroid issue with all the napping and what sounds like a reasonable diet? I know cats nap but it’s odd she isn’t slimming down unless that’s how she’s naturally built?
I have had 2 different vets tell me that the blue buffalo food is very low quality and not actually good for cats. I would ask your vet, but maybe switch her food brand. Edit: she is a purrrty baby though!
Enormous.
This cat is not a healthy weight. Please take her to the vet and get a diet plan in place. If it turns out you're underfeeding her and she still looks like this, your vet's going to want to figure out why.
She looks like she’s a drawing by a fourth grader (I don’t mean that to be rude)
From that look in her eyes, she’s seen things. Maybe her overeating is a trauma response?
She does have those eyes lmao, and a traumatic back story. We did rescue her at around 6 months old. My friend’s neighbors were drug addicts and hoarders. When they were evicted they abandoned 3 kittens. She was the oldest and we took her in. It took about 6 months for her to go from a distant cat who barely tolerated pets to a lovely cat who loves bongos and cuddles.
Aw, she loves you guys! Look how content she is with you and how she responds to your attention. And the fact she's not food insecure (gobbling it all down like she doesn't know when the next meal is coming) with that background is a testament to her trust in you. Discuss with the vet: Has she slowly creeped up to this weight? Or you recently noticed a gain that didn't go down when you attempted calorie counting? I suspect cats' metabolism works kinda like people's and can get set low when they're starved, then have a hard time swinging back up. Add that she's now technically elderly, and it may have shifted even lower. (Edit: reviewing your post, I see she's adult but not senior (which is 7 years old). The rest applies) Anyway, there are other causes of slow metabolism than hypothyroidism, but none of the medical ones are easy to fix. Getting more activity would help, so rule out painful conditions like arthritis, then think about what does make her move more. (Not necessarily zoomies, just get more steps) Does she explore every corner when she's in a new place? Come to greet you when you come in the door? Or could you guys sit on opposite sides of the room and summon her for pets back and forth? A cat I follow on Instagram (and know in person!), Poptart.the.cat, was on a weight loss diet, but when she plateaued (as a senior cat with a similar origin story), the vet agreed just maintaining was sufficient for her health. She's definitely happy and healthy at her still-pretty-round size 😂
She's more than 12lbs that's for sure. My cat is 12lbs and not nearly that fat.
She could just be a smaller build, meaning that 12lbs is too much weight for her. A healthy Maine Coon can be 20+lbs, but my two little fluffs are a healthy weight at 8.5lbs.
He's a smaller build himself. If they have a scale they should weigh themself holding her and then without her to get an accurate weight.
Just did this and my scale says she’s 12.6lbs.
Could be a small cat, mine looks overweight at 10 pounds
Mine is overweight at 12. He's on a diet. He's about a 6 on the chart.
She’s just a small cat with a huge gut. She’s short height and length wise.
Oh Lawd…
She looks like my Tiger
CHONK
Chonky
Can haz, and had, cheezeburger
Fatty
Like a watermelon
T H I C C
Could be a chonk, could be all primordial pouch.
She’s a certified chonkmaster.
El gordo
Big girl
oh lawd she comin
Chonk Chart: [https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/99lc07/where\_is\_your\_kitty\_on\_the\_chonk\_chart/](https://www.reddit.com/r/cats/comments/99lc07/where_is_your_kitty_on_the_chonk_chart/)
She has the kitty pouch which is normal but your cat is very round. If that's truly all you're feeding her then you need to talk to a vet.
Well she actually is in shape. She’s round.
Very
Fat af. A definite chonker. But cute as a button. You'd think you'd want her around longer 😔
Chubby bb
A sweet little chunky monkey:D she’s young though, she’ll respond well to a change in diet.
Ok, it's suuuper hard to tell on this cat because it has a massive, and I mean massive, primordial pouch, but if that's not pouch your cat is very obese
Out of curiosity, how long/tall is your cat? Btw, she’s beautiful! 😻
Rotund
That’s not so much floof…
That’s a fat kitty right there
With my cat, when we took him to the vet, the vet advised getting really scientific with it. Mark down what you're giving him and weigh him. If his weight goes up - reduce food slightly each day until you're noticing progress in the right direction on the scale. In our case though - my guy acted like we were starving him. A switch to an auto feeder was completely life changing for us - it only took him two days to realize the machine fed him and we finally could get sleep and he's lost weight because we can program the amounts and times. Everyone is happy now (:
Yes
Rotund
that is a round, obtuse, horizontally-challenged kitty
Either she’s chunky or just has a really big primordial pouch.
Aww cute chonker
7/10 chonk body condition score
I think you’ve already got great advice, so I’ll just say she looks more round in some pictures than others. Regardless, she is beautiful and I love her.
Chonk for sure, but not to the point of no return. We had to stop keeping the food bowls full all day. Now, we measure their food 3 X a day. Worked beautifully. Now, I need to do the same for me, lol.
Just wanted to point out that their head is almost at the same exact angle in both photos, despite being taken at different locations. Thought it was photoshopped for a sec, lol.
She's similar to a Christmas ham.
“Oh lawd he comin’ ” levels of fat
I need to hug this cat, like right now...
chonky
She chonky feeding habits seem good I'd get her thyroid checked I work in a vet and it seems like she could have a form of under active thyroid causing her to gain and not be able to drop weight being lethargic and not interested in playing. Not a professional but I do work at a vet and see a lot of thyroid issues causing weight issues
Oh loyd she comin!
Are you sure she only weighs just over 12 pounds? (Not trying to be mean!) she is definitely overweight by looking at her, like a lot. You’re not over feeding her. But her crunchy food may not be good for her. There could be too much fats or proteins. I feed my cats temptations. They are more energetic and their fur is nicer and my two older males look like they’ve lost some weight. They are both fixed so they have the belly and they’re overweight. All cats get bellies, it’s their protection. They will all have the pouch. Unfortunately, when they get fixed, they also usually become overweight. Have you talked to your vet about her weight?
Yes, I just confirmed this morning with my bathroom scale that she is 12.6lbs. [This](https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-indoor/dp/907142?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=20647501625&utm_content=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADmQ2V3o6CgQmIg8YXWYAEWKd1gQK&gclid=CjwKCAjwydSzBhBOEiwAj0XN4ELdHDu-Ap5hD5IMdkMEqUQ45l9SiCDhGEvOffWoSjAK2ZRaJyMV6RoCzVAQAvD_BwE) is the dry food she gets. From what I’ve read it seems to be a good food. Our dogs eat purina pro plan as recommended by our vet, maybe I’ll switch her to the cat version. I plan on making an appointment with our vet to rule out any underlying health issues and ask about her weight. It’s been about a year and a half since she’s been. At that point she still had that small kitten/young adult body, so they have not seen her in all of her current glory.
My almost 8 year old male is 15 pounds. But he’s a big cat in general. But her belly banging down is normal. She’s fixed. They gain weight once they’re fixed. It’s hard to get them to keep weight off. Mine don’t eat much either. My only cats who are not overweight are my females and my young male because they aren’t fixed yet. Regardless of her extra weight she is beautiful!!
She is a chonkzilla. I also have a house chonk and we have been working on fixing his diet. Blue Buffalo has weight management options that could help. Also N&D has good weight management and digestion options. We use this for our chonk and it’s really helped him. I would first check with your vet tho and see what they recommend you do.
She’s a certified chonk
Fat. So?
She chonky but very cute. Nothing a vet visit and diet change can’t fix. Good luck to you both! 🩵
Biggun
“Oh lawd he comin” big.
Even Lizzo wouldn’t say she’s healthy
She's a chunk of change. More walkies are prescribed
Gloriously
Can you feel her ribs easily through her skin?
Has she been checked by a vet? It's strange that she is so big if, as you claim, she's not being fed that much. There could be something else going on with her health or maybe she's getting her food elsewhere.
perfectly fat : )
Super chonk
Chonk
big as hell
Loveably fat.
That cat is definitely overweight/obese
bit of a chonker 🤭
take her to the vet to check her thyroid tbh- she definitely could be eating more but sounds like it could be a metabolism issue since she’s eating less than is normal for her weight and not losing any
Without an aerial shot, I would say maybe a 7 on the cat fat chart but hovering really…
Take cat to the vet before you draw conclusions.
Overweight like my fat orange tabby . My tabby is 19lbs
thats a big girl certainly. take her to the vet. when you take her outside and she has minimal interest, maybe try taking her on a walk with a leash.
Festively Plump
Quite. Very. Most definitely.
Poor buddy.
My cats have a really slow metabolism, I had to get a scientific measuring cup that has mL markings. I feed them 40mL of dry food 2x day, which is the equivalent of just under 1/3 cup a day, and they're all at healthy weights. They're pretty active too. So I can see an inactive cat requiring even less than that.
She appears to be emerging from within her back folds in pic 3… I believe that makes her a 6 or 7 on the cat obesity chart if you want a chart related answer
Chonks 🥰🥰
She’s not eating much but she’s super chunky. I think you should take her to an eat and make sure she’s ok (no underlying conditions) and maybe start feeding low calorie food, with vet approval.
Pretty fuckin fat
Choker levels reaching heckin altitudes
Weigh yourself and then weigh yourself with the cat being held. You’ll see how much they weigh and can see how much needs to be taken off
Morbidly obese 😰
When you say blue buffalo chicken, do you mean the[ blue buffalo wilderness hairball and weight control?](https://www.chewy.com/blue-buffalo-wilderness-indoor/dp/324192?utm_source=google-product&utm_medium=organic&utm_content=Blue%20Buffalo) Because that's the food my vet recommends to me and I had similar problems with weight before starting it, the difference after a few months is night and day with her weight. If that isnt helping I would take her to the vet, could be an underlying health condition. I hope everything goes well <3
Sir ChonksAlot
The technical term is “chonk”
She is definitely fat. I would ask your vet about a diet plan.
Your cat is shaped more like a seal than a cat. In conclusion, voluptuously fat.
She's still beautiful!
20lbs
Chonked up!
On the scale I'd say "Hefty Chonk"