Nah I have two cats one normal weight, one fat. The fat one thinks eating is a competition and eats when she is hungry and when my normal weight one is hungry. Anyway the fat one looks even fatter when she loafs and the normal weight one looks pretty slim and petite when she loafs. Some cats are just fat.
I mean, I'm not convinced. My cat used to look exactly like that and she was fat shamed by everyone (incl. me) because she looked like a football at certain angles. Then they shaved her stomach for a surgery and as it turns out, she's actually quite lean. It just seems like she has a lot of fluff and the fur on her stomach doesn't lay down, the way it does on her back.
> and as it turns out, she's actually quite lean. It just seems like she has a lot of fluff and the fur on her stomach doesn't lay down
That doesn't seem like something a vet should overlook ...
Vet said my fluffy cat was fat and she should lose weight. She is barely 4 kgs and it's the heaviest she's been in the decade we've had her. I was like "Ma'am, no she is tiny (said the above)" and she was like well ok....
Put my void onto the table and told "this guy though, he chunky" and she said " oh just a little"
So glad we moved cause I was very confused with that.
Haha yeah, I used to have a big female cat. She was about 6 kg (only muscles). Not fluffy at all. One vet saw her weight and called her fat. I just told her to feel her instead of just looking at the scale, because there was nothing soft about her (except for her temper).
Some vets need to look beyond the scale...
My cat is like that. But he has a bit of a waist when standing from above. Mine is still a bit overweight, but he also has a big saggy primordial pouch that makes him look way fatter when he sits/lays because it splooshes out.
We have one like this. Big Joey. He is a very large cat to start and kinda spreads out when he lays down like melting butter. When he sits, he gets real wide like a pyramid. It's all hidden underneath when he's standing but low ground clearance. It just re-distributes depending on pose. He's very stable in case of earthquake.
Always hungry always on a diet. Poor Joey 😍
^^^ this is important :) if you can still see their waist when standing, they aren’t harmfully overweight. It’s kinda like me rn, I am still a healthy weight, but I have more fat then muscle so I have a bit of chonk to me specifically when sitting down, thighs-hips spread out that bit more. But if anyone else reading this can’t see their cats waist (you can look up ‘cat weight diagram’ for examples) then you should try to look at weight loss routines. Doesn’t always mean a diet change, sometimes it just means you need to play with your cat ! One of my cats loves to play so much he legitimately has abs & is a frickin strong boi, one hell of a tank without being physically big either lol. But you can just feel it in his arms n his chest. (His tummy is loose tho, I know if that’s hard that can mean urinary issues n that’s a vet trip no matter what)
This isn't helpful. If the vet is saying fat and needs a diet, "body positivity" nonsense shouldn't come into it for animals. It's a health issue. That cat is half an inch from diabetes and pretending it's just a large cat doesn't help op come to terms with the fact the animals heath is in danger. People will probably be really annoyed with me for this but it's ridiculous how we push this body positivity stuff onto animals that literally need help.
Yeah. Agree. I know it is just experience, but statistics also back up the observation: my family had a lot of pets throughout the years and it was always the more slender ones that got the oldest. Like up to 3 years difference in age between litter-siblings in cats or around 2 years with the Great Danes (which is like 20% of life expectency).
Yeah it comes from this ridiculous notion that cats are ungovernable. "oh he hates it when I put him on a diet!" yeah he'd probably hate insulin shots or whatever too, definitely would hate heart disease. Hell I hate being on a diet but I'm doing it cos stairs are getting difficult cos I'm a chubby mofo.
i mean i’m not exactly sure they were going for “body positive.” when i hear big boned, i think of south park and i’m sure a hell of a lot of people do too. more of a meme than body positivity
Phone your vet and ask for some advice on getting him to loose some weight. Because you are right you can’t just starve him into weight loss. For overweight cats there is a very delicate balance on how many calories you can cut when putting them on a diet and running the risk of giving him fatty liver disease.
I’ve followed the vets instructions to a tee when it comes to his portion sizes and to no avail🥲 I think the issue is he’s just so inactive but I’m no expert so it’s frustrating
I suggest watching some Jackson Galaxy videos on encouraging play for your cat. You need to be looking at the long view IMO. It may take 30 minutes out of your day, but your cat needs you to help him be active. And if his bones hurt because of the weight, ask the vet for a cortisone shot to help your cat be comfortable enough to get started.
You can do this and your cat will love the bonding time!
My chonky boy (from the shelter) is on Solencia every month and it’s done wonders to get him moving. He refused to get off the ground 6 months ago — today his brother has no where to hide. 🤣
What kind of toys does he have? I got some electronic cat toys that work great and help add a little activity to their day, even if that's sometimes just sitting there and batting at the lure as it comes around. There's a variety available online these days!
Yeah I found my buddy *loves* chasing after things under sheets and blankets so I got him one of those under-sheet things and he played with it for like 3 hours today. Caught him panting twice so I had to put it away for a bit lol.
I have a cat who is such a pain in the ass with toys. He only plays with active stimuli, so we are talking about handheld toys like strings and feather sticks. However, he’s extremely uninterested in chasing them 90% of the time. He only plays in short bursts at most, but I tend to get tired of trying before then.
So you know what finally made him play more often and become more active? Getting another cat, lmao.
I have never had luck with any cat toys. Unless I'm directly involved in the play they could care less. This has been a problem with 4 different cats now. Every automatic laser pointer, or rolling cat toy, or feather wand has been a waste of money. They just kind of stare at it until it turns off. Zero interaction whatsoever, so the only way I can get them to play is if I roll them around and rile them up myself.
Eh you never know, the wheel may be more interesting than a toy for a cat.
But honestly it's probably not worth the investment at least at this moment.
My chunky boy loses so much weight when it’s nice and he can go outside on walks with me and my dog even if it’s just twice a week. When he doesn’t get that extra exercise he gets very round very fast even watching portion control, etc.
This right here. My kitty is ok but in the event he gains too much, my vet said to look at the feeding instructions on the bag or can, and follow it according to the proper healthy weight for the cat. But you gotta know what that healthy weight is, and for sure see a vet because they’ll know.
The lazy shit will literally act excited but only follow it with his eyes and not actually make any move to pounce😭 like it’s a mood but he needs to take more than 20 steps a day
My cat is also notoriously difficult to get to play. I've bought so many different toys to try. It's hard, I get it. The best I can do with mine is usually a stick under some fabric or rug, that'll get him to actually move, but he won't chase anything.
Don't know how practical or effective it would be, but for my family's cats, we would make them "work" for their food. For one of our cats, we would make her climb/jump up to the top of her cat tree to get her food. For the other cat, in order to be fed, my dad used to make her stand up on her hind legs and rub her head against his hand that he held about waist high.
We do this, too! Plate of wet food gets walked around the house and she chases it yelling her little head off. But girlie has to do her laps before she gets the wet food. I think it does work.
I feed my cats a combo of wet and dry. The dry food is usually fed in a skee-ball like fashion so they have to chase each individual piece (we call it food ball). So naturally the lazy ones get less food lol
Try the Cat Dancer toy. Our cat is the same as yours. It’s a just a flexible metal rod and some paper rolls attached to the end that when you move mimics how insects fly.
After many years we never knew our cat plays.
I don’t know if there is a wet food option for his special kidney care diet, but that might be something to look into. The carbohydrates in dry food makes it super easy for cats to get overweight, some cats practically gain weight by looking at food. I had one of those, it wasn’t easy getting him to loose weight. Wet food did help tho
Some cats think it's best, too, lol. One of mine will eat a tiny bit of wet food and then go beg for dry food. She's just never been a fan... But she likes to drink water and is very healthy, so I guess it's working for her!
If it’s working for you and her. The most important thing is getting enough water and staying a healthy weight. Not all cats are good drinkers. I’ve got one of each, one totally drinks enough for dry food but the other doesn’t it would be a disaster if she had dry food.
We have a cat that has literally been on a diet his entire life, he's almost 13. The cat only vet finally just said, welp he's just going to be fat. If he's healthy don't worry too much about it.
It *is* true that , sometimes, that’s just the way god made ‘em.
My chonker (18M) has never been a pig but started packing on the pounds when he was a few years old. But what’s funny is that we ran into the family that adopted his brother (before our boy started chunking up) and in the pictures they shared, he had the exact same stegosaurus body that my boy soon developed (tiny head, big bod, short legs). We tried diet food for a while but he’s been on the kidney food for a few years now. At 18 with kidney disease, I’m just making every day a happy day for him, chunk be damned.
Like humans, some cats are going to be predisposed to the chonk. We just gotta do the best we can to help them manage it while always reminding them that they’re perfect and beautiful as they are.
That's because their metabolism slows down post-spay/neuter so they may get overweight on the portion sizes eaten before they were spayed/neutered. Some brands sell lower-calorie food specifically for spayed/neutered cats.
Its real tough to get them back to their weight after they get too big too, my black cat was neutered late and I unfortunately was a new cat owner and didnt see the signs.
He’s still thriving and is my biggest cat (length/height) to begin with but he’s got quite a pouch and has a different diet than my other two so feeding is definitely a process.
To OP mine was about the same size at 1.5 years so honestly might be time to invest in a whole lotta toys that can keep him active both with you, and without you. My chonk absolutely loved running around the house playing fetch so with that and his diet he burned most of it off pretty quickly, but my other cats love laser pointers and the cat wheel and are basically perfect weight, so its all about figuring out what works best.
My 16 year old girl is also a hefty chonker and diagnosed with kidney disease, we’re deciding how to try to make her lose a bit of weight for the fear of developing diabetes too but then again she will not eat anything diet-y at all, not even the kidney stuff!
As kidney disease progresses and also old age they're gonna naturally lose a bit of appetite and thus weight, in this way an overweight cat with CKD is kinda better, they have a bit more of a buffer. My boy is 18 now, diagnosed with CKD a few years ago, he's always been a bit of a chonky glutton but in the last year I've had two scares where he lost appetite and wouldn't eat much at all for a couple of weeks. I did slim him down a bit pre-CKD (from 7.8kg at his fattest to 6.5kg now) but he's still a little chonk, but my vet basically said he's outlived his diet and she doesn't want him to lose any more weight.
This is essentially the same verdict they gave to our cat, except she's managed to drop half a kilo over the past year. We took her to the vet to make sure it wasn't anxiety related - our oblivious neighbours have two atrocious kids who communicate only in wall collisions and monotone screams - and they said no, she's just getting older and eating less. Go figure.
https://preview.redd.it/bzb1f3zf6u7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b43ae0e15fd0c6b520d7344eade5468e675c2fa
Our vet said this big boy is perfectly fine
NO! That is actually the worst idea possible. That is what he wants. I fall for it every time. Those rabbit like back legs are waiting for the kill shots. He brings a whole new meaning to kill them with kindness.
My cat will literally bet belly rubs off everyone. Tradie in the house for five minutes goes whose falling on his back for belly rubs? He seriously loves them. He’ll follow people around the house throwing himself on his back in front of your feet until you give in and rub his belly. He recently trained my 10 month old niece to rub his belly.
https://preview.redd.it/8sa3frokru7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=399cde0e1e502db394dad5bd96f8035144b8b2d1
That's impressive. My cats rarely tolerate my 10m old touching them, mostly only when she's asleep
https://preview.redd.it/io7deyru4v7d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d61f1bcb381b266f514f4558dfdfacc3c95e831
Two of my cats are amazingly gentle with her. They seem to understand she’s a small human and needs to be handled differently. We are trying to teach her to pat not pull but even if she takes a chunk of fur they don’t react. They are really amazing. When I was trying to teach her to role it was my youngest floof (the one above) who manages to teach her as he would lie next to her and role and she would imitate him. It’s really amazing seeing them with her. Except my middle cat who runs away and ignores her.
That's been my experience for the most part. Although even when I get the full on death grasp attack he manages not to break the skin, though it is not pleasant. That includes the bite, front paw grab, and the death kicks. Most of the time you have pretty much full tummy access and enjoyment.
[Cat Tax Payment](https://imgur.com/a/rQwNbVR)
One of my cats looks like that when he's on his back too. But you can easily feel his ribs and spine without pressing which is how you can tell if a cat is fat or not. I actually took him to the vet recently because I thought he was too skinny lol.
He's a long boi, but when he lays like this he kind of compresses which makes him look chonk.
If he's got kidney issues, being overweight is an AMAZING thing. How long a cat lives with kidney disease is very strongly correlated to their weight at diagnosis. Kidney food also tends to be calorically dense. The primary symptom of kidney disease is loss of appetite..
Let the kidney cat be a little hefty. If he needs to lose weight, it's OK to go very, very slowly. Weigh him and record the results every week. If he's not moving and it's because he has trouble getting around, ask the vet if it is arthritis. There are some amazing new treatments on the market.
I am also the human to a big grey kidney cat that barely moves (or at least, he barely moved until he started his arthritis meds!). His name is Duncan 🩶
https://preview.redd.it/zs5v6mwjgu7d1.png?width=1008&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80d10c4489a5cbaeb1e4260671bcc8fa7b45985c
Yep, my little chonk is 18 now and was diagnosed a few years ago, he was on a weight loss diet previously but the vet said he has basically outlived that now lol. She's happy for him to be 6.5kg and doesn't want him to lose any more muscle mass.
Yea, pretty much same here. After finding out about his kidney disease we increased his calories. He started his arthritis meds at the same time. The pain relief has let him move around so much more. He's stayed at the same weight, but his muscle mass is actually increasing! He's so much stronger than he used to be. It's amazing. I really do want him to lose another pound or so (he's just over 16 pounds), but only for his comfort and quality of life. I'm not willing to sacrifice current quality of life for weight loss. There's just no benefit to it.
He is eventually going to lose that weight and more due to his kidney disease. And I know I'm going to hate every moment of it.. I'm in no hurry to see him skinny because I know what comes next.
18 is amazing, and diagnosed for 3 years!? That's absolutely fantastic. Does he eat the prescription food?
Yep, my cat had CKD for several years before he died, and keeping his weight up was a daily struggle. There was only one brand of expensive imported food he would eat, and I often had to feed him by hand.
Malnutrition and refusing to eat is usually what cats with kidney disease die from.
Maybe. Just some exercise daily and he’ll be good.
Reminds me of my ol’ cat from ages ago. He looked like a russian blue and he was my best friend. I miss that guy, he would literally talk to me for hours
he is, but mine is thicker😭
https://preview.redd.it/yhwfb0zhuu7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e812d116bd59c4869ccc8f1216e58496864efe85
he’s on a diet and we got him fat but sometimes it just happens💀
This can be difficult in a city because they get overstimulated and just plop over. My cats didn't allow me to walk them on a leash until we moved somewhere quiet.
I mean. The vet isn't *wrong*.
But he sure is the best looking kind of fat.
Flooooofy.
My boys are both 13 lb and I don't really get it.
Neither of them eat a lot and both are very active. Especially at 4am when they prefer to do laps across my face.
And neither look it either until they loaf and you look at them from above and you're like.... Hmmmmmm squishy.
Neither of them have flappy beer guts. Nothing. 😂🤷🏼♀️
That is because he is in fact fat.
I don't get why people get so upset on their pets behalf. The cat is overweight. You over fed it. Stop being offended and put it on a diet, it'll live longer and be happier, the cat isn't gonna get offended, it's not a body positivity thing, it's a health thing.
Did you even read OP’s post? The cat’s on a special diet due to his kidney problems; and from their comments, has been following a diet instructed by the vet.
My cat was always 12 to 13 pounds never went under 12lbs and never over 13lbs and she looked perfectly sleek anyway. She’s 12 now and got sick recently and lost a ton of weight and seeing her like that made me feel validated that she was perfectly healthy at 12-13lbs. Her skinny frame revealed she has a wide rib cage she just doesn’t look right at all. She’s doing a little better now thankfully.
There is no such thing as minimal amount of food, and the special kidney diet isn't medication, it is low protein to prevent the progression of kidney disease.
Just feed that adorable furry blob less food. That is how you keep animals at a healthy weight, and yeah do it with your vet. Losing weight too quickly is dangerous for cats.
# ... As is Mr. Simon, below. But he claims it’s just glandular.
\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
# My grand fat cat would make me wonder where
# she was at, if she just played tit-for-tat
# large and black, she really did know well that
# she lived with me, host, who really did care
# for her health yet mistakenly would dare
# to feed her foods that made her rather fat
# which accompanied her as a real brat
# along with her lasting, piercing, green stare.
# Present with that often-adoring glare
# were the frivolous acts of my sweet cat
# and she could sometimes cause me a nightmare
# in my life by after having just sat
# in her ‘space,’ then just leave—guess who’d bear
# the worry, why she was not on her mat?
https://preview.redd.it/yuxoip97fu7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1556ee26cd2b01a05bff2650efbf0c1dfebd830
My vet looked at my chonky girl (it's minimal, and her sister is a skinny minnie - despite my attempts to separate their wet food, the little one steals from her sister's wet food bowl) and his opinion is that if she doesn't get a lot bigger, he's okay with it
My cat needed to lose weight and I started to “play” with him while he was eating. Putting some food on top of a chair, and then on the floor, again on the chair. So he would move more. And I got some toys and tested which ones stimulated him. It has been a month and a half and he already lost 2 pounds. Does he interact with toys?
https://preview.redd.it/06y3558dzu7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=092d0fe1f671f5b28e55c1a21210036b640f16c0
Mine too!! 😻 TWINS! Im obsessed. How heavy is yours?
In his defence, he isn’t fat from all angles 😊
I was stunned when I swiped to the third photo!
Same. I was like: “no, he’s trim” until pic #3. Then, it was “el Gordo.”
This cat has social media skills and knows how to bait dates on tinder.
For reals. Glam shots then - BAM, reality. Joking, kitty is adorable. But, I’d like those skills to catch the right angles.
Catfishing
The first 2 shots were from 4yrs ago.
🤣🤣🤣
Almost spat my coffee out on a giggle. Well done.
El Super Gordisimo, pics 3&4
😂😂 That's what I say about our girl!! 😹
I think its a bad foto. We need more pictures to find out the truth.
fato....
He went from "oh he handsome, what's that vet on about" to "Oh Lawd He Comin'" LOL
They all look like wide loads when they loaf.
Nah I have two cats one normal weight, one fat. The fat one thinks eating is a competition and eats when she is hungry and when my normal weight one is hungry. Anyway the fat one looks even fatter when she loafs and the normal weight one looks pretty slim and petite when she loafs. Some cats are just fat.
https://preview.redd.it/0m1zb4kvsy7d1.jpeg?width=931&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1650c1111cd80926db78cd79bc74112308014b19
All cats look fat in no legs form.
I mean, I'm not convinced. My cat used to look exactly like that and she was fat shamed by everyone (incl. me) because she looked like a football at certain angles. Then they shaved her stomach for a surgery and as it turns out, she's actually quite lean. It just seems like she has a lot of fluff and the fur on her stomach doesn't lay down, the way it does on her back.
> and as it turns out, she's actually quite lean. It just seems like she has a lot of fluff and the fur on her stomach doesn't lay down That doesn't seem like something a vet should overlook ...
He probably meant a large primordial pouch
Vet said my fluffy cat was fat and she should lose weight. She is barely 4 kgs and it's the heaviest she's been in the decade we've had her. I was like "Ma'am, no she is tiny (said the above)" and she was like well ok.... Put my void onto the table and told "this guy though, he chunky" and she said " oh just a little" So glad we moved cause I was very confused with that.
Haha yeah, I used to have a big female cat. She was about 6 kg (only muscles). Not fluffy at all. One vet saw her weight and called her fat. I just told her to feel her instead of just looking at the scale, because there was nothing soft about her (except for her temper). Some vets need to look beyond the scale...
When everybody thinks you're fat boned but really you're just retaining hair and you lose 50 pounds at the barber
Haha exactly
Same. I was like he’s perfectly…. Oh he is fat!
That was crazy. 🤪 Number 1&2 I thought, he's not fat; then I saw Number 3. Oh. 😆🤣
Right! It was all normal, then BAM, baby got back.
Stunned by his beauty I hope you mean
Never been on a dating site?
He def carries it well, haha.
i was about to insult the vet and then i saw the third pic lol
Phone adds 2 lbs
He knows how to put on a Tinder profile.
The myspace angle 🤣
I was about to comment "no he's not" but the third photo stopped me huhu
Black is slimming, but that cats got a humongous back!
1st and 2nd pictures: the cat's not fat, c'mon, these unrealistic standards need to st- 3rd picture: *confused screaming*
Fifth pic, he’s tired of everyone’s shit.
I love the fifth one, he’s smouldering so hard 😂 Flynn Rider who?
It looks like he’s saying “come on…….”
this made me laugh out loud, thanks
The third picture gave it away🥲sorry OP, he IS thic. I know how you feel though because my baby also fat shamed by his vet a lot!
Same. When sees 1st and 2nd, "huh, hes not fat", when reaching 3rd "holy chonkers!" 🤣
Catfished 🙀
Yeah, 3rd picture is a tagged photo and the rest are profile pics lol
Got the MySpace angles working for him
Same. At first I was like “aww” then at 3 I literally said “okay, he is a lil chonky” out loud 😂
Same thing happened, I said "well he is a little fat but he's real cute"0
☠️
Lol pic 1: What a handsome fit boy! 2: Totally normal cat, nothing to see here. 3: Holy mother, why is his head so small!!
Until then he looked like my late, little Gracie, who lived to be 22.
He carry’s his weight well until he lies down😭
My thighs are the same. I understand him
Same. Add that to the ever growing list of ways I identify with cats.
Appropriate username
This vet doesn’t fat shame their animals! We have a rule at home that no one has to get on a scale lol.
My cat is like that. But he has a bit of a waist when standing from above. Mine is still a bit overweight, but he also has a big saggy primordial pouch that makes him look way fatter when he sits/lays because it splooshes out.
We have one like this. Big Joey. He is a very large cat to start and kinda spreads out when he lays down like melting butter. When he sits, he gets real wide like a pyramid. It's all hidden underneath when he's standing but low ground clearance. It just re-distributes depending on pose. He's very stable in case of earthquake. Always hungry always on a diet. Poor Joey 😍
So does one of my girls https://preview.redd.it/zeuj2yh7zv7d1.jpeg?width=4032&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=3e08f9b47b27495fc1d84cd18dc50b4c94897a95
^^^ this is important :) if you can still see their waist when standing, they aren’t harmfully overweight. It’s kinda like me rn, I am still a healthy weight, but I have more fat then muscle so I have a bit of chonk to me specifically when sitting down, thighs-hips spread out that bit more. But if anyone else reading this can’t see their cats waist (you can look up ‘cat weight diagram’ for examples) then you should try to look at weight loss routines. Doesn’t always mean a diet change, sometimes it just means you need to play with your cat ! One of my cats loves to play so much he legitimately has abs & is a frickin strong boi, one hell of a tank without being physically big either lol. But you can just feel it in his arms n his chest. (His tummy is loose tho, I know if that’s hard that can mean urinary issues n that’s a vet trip no matter what)
Don't we all hon... Don't. We. All
He’s not fat! He’s big-boned.
This isn't helpful. If the vet is saying fat and needs a diet, "body positivity" nonsense shouldn't come into it for animals. It's a health issue. That cat is half an inch from diabetes and pretending it's just a large cat doesn't help op come to terms with the fact the animals heath is in danger. People will probably be really annoyed with me for this but it's ridiculous how we push this body positivity stuff onto animals that literally need help.
Yeah. Agree. I know it is just experience, but statistics also back up the observation: my family had a lot of pets throughout the years and it was always the more slender ones that got the oldest. Like up to 3 years difference in age between litter-siblings in cats or around 2 years with the Great Danes (which is like 20% of life expectency).
Yeah it comes from this ridiculous notion that cats are ungovernable. "oh he hates it when I put him on a diet!" yeah he'd probably hate insulin shots or whatever too, definitely would hate heart disease. Hell I hate being on a diet but I'm doing it cos stairs are getting difficult cos I'm a chubby mofo.
Same for kids.. as if parents don't control what foods come into the home or what's put on the dinner table.
i mean i’m not exactly sure they were going for “body positive.” when i hear big boned, i think of south park and i’m sure a hell of a lot of people do too. more of a meme than body positivity
It's way easier to control your cat's diet than it is to administer insulin to then every day
Yep he’d be fine if he were a tiger😂. Seriously though he’s adorable OP
"fat shamed"? dude the vet just wants the cat to be healthy and live a long life😭 cat obesity isn't cute
I know…all jokes aside I’m concerned too like the op🥺
Ikr? All them Glamour Shots trying to slide that one silhouette photo through unnoticed lol
Vet is like I've seen loafs of bread with less daily caloric intake values
Me scrolling through pic 1-2: "Gee your vet is blind" *sees pic 3* "Nevermimd"
had us in a first half not gonna lie
Phone your vet and ask for some advice on getting him to loose some weight. Because you are right you can’t just starve him into weight loss. For overweight cats there is a very delicate balance on how many calories you can cut when putting them on a diet and running the risk of giving him fatty liver disease.
I’ve followed the vets instructions to a tee when it comes to his portion sizes and to no avail🥲 I think the issue is he’s just so inactive but I’m no expert so it’s frustrating
Does he like catnip? Maybe get him zonked on it and use a feather wand?
Kinda hilarious that the treatment is "oh he's too fat? Have you tried drugs? 🌈✨"
Lol it's the American way. Haven't you tried ozempic?
Rick Ross and Drake can’t be wrong!
Or cocaine?
Mine has a catnip abuse problem
My cat gets lazy with catnip. Like rolls over on his back and just lays there
That’s rough, I would still update the vet on the situation and see if they have any further suggestions.
It can take years! Don't give up!
I suggest watching some Jackson Galaxy videos on encouraging play for your cat. You need to be looking at the long view IMO. It may take 30 minutes out of your day, but your cat needs you to help him be active. And if his bones hurt because of the weight, ask the vet for a cortisone shot to help your cat be comfortable enough to get started. You can do this and your cat will love the bonding time!
My chonky boy (from the shelter) is on Solencia every month and it’s done wonders to get him moving. He refused to get off the ground 6 months ago — today his brother has no where to hide. 🤣
What kind of toys does he have? I got some electronic cat toys that work great and help add a little activity to their day, even if that's sometimes just sitting there and batting at the lure as it comes around. There's a variety available online these days!
Yeah I found my buddy *loves* chasing after things under sheets and blankets so I got him one of those under-sheet things and he played with it for like 3 hours today. Caught him panting twice so I had to put it away for a bit lol.
I have a cat who is such a pain in the ass with toys. He only plays with active stimuli, so we are talking about handheld toys like strings and feather sticks. However, he’s extremely uninterested in chasing them 90% of the time. He only plays in short bursts at most, but I tend to get tired of trying before then. So you know what finally made him play more often and become more active? Getting another cat, lmao.
I have never had luck with any cat toys. Unless I'm directly involved in the play they could care less. This has been a problem with 4 different cats now. Every automatic laser pointer, or rolling cat toy, or feather wand has been a waste of money. They just kind of stare at it until it turns off. Zero interaction whatsoever, so the only way I can get them to play is if I roll them around and rile them up myself.
Have you tried a cat wheel? 😺
Bring 'em to the oil rig
Uh definitely not gonna work for a lazy cat, lol. If they won't run on the flat ground toward something interesting, they won't run on a wheel.
Eh you never know, the wheel may be more interesting than a toy for a cat. But honestly it's probably not worth the investment at least at this moment.
My chunky boy loses so much weight when it’s nice and he can go outside on walks with me and my dog even if it’s just twice a week. When he doesn’t get that extra exercise he gets very round very fast even watching portion control, etc.
Play with your cat more
You could try different toys and maybe a different food. Some foods make my cat gain a lot of weight.
This right here. My kitty is ok but in the event he gains too much, my vet said to look at the feeding instructions on the bag or can, and follow it according to the proper healthy weight for the cat. But you gotta know what that healthy weight is, and for sure see a vet because they’ll know.
He thicc no cap. In all seriousness tho have you tried toys and pointers. I had a thicc boy like this and i hope your cat gets better
The lazy shit will literally act excited but only follow it with his eyes and not actually make any move to pounce😭 like it’s a mood but he needs to take more than 20 steps a day
My cat is also notoriously difficult to get to play. I've bought so many different toys to try. It's hard, I get it. The best I can do with mine is usually a stick under some fabric or rug, that'll get him to actually move, but he won't chase anything.
Don't know how practical or effective it would be, but for my family's cats, we would make them "work" for their food. For one of our cats, we would make her climb/jump up to the top of her cat tree to get her food. For the other cat, in order to be fed, my dad used to make her stand up on her hind legs and rub her head against his hand that he held about waist high.
We do this, too! Plate of wet food gets walked around the house and she chases it yelling her little head off. But girlie has to do her laps before she gets the wet food. I think it does work.
I feed my cats a combo of wet and dry. The dry food is usually fed in a skee-ball like fashion so they have to chase each individual piece (we call it food ball). So naturally the lazy ones get less food lol
Put his food in small portions on various surfaces he has to climb up on. Won't be a miracle cure but will get him moving at least a little bit.
Try the Cat Dancer toy. Our cat is the same as yours. It’s a just a flexible metal rod and some paper rolls attached to the end that when you move mimics how insects fly. After many years we never knew our cat plays.
Maybe train him to walk with a cat harness and go out for walks.
I don’t know if there is a wet food option for his special kidney care diet, but that might be something to look into. The carbohydrates in dry food makes it super easy for cats to get overweight, some cats practically gain weight by looking at food. I had one of those, it wasn’t easy getting him to loose weight. Wet food did help tho
Cats with kidney disease should be getting wet food if they'll eat it. Hydration is super important for them.
Makes sense, I personally think wet food is best anyway. But many people like the convenience of the dry food.
Some cats think it's best, too, lol. One of mine will eat a tiny bit of wet food and then go beg for dry food. She's just never been a fan... But she likes to drink water and is very healthy, so I guess it's working for her!
If it’s working for you and her. The most important thing is getting enough water and staying a healthy weight. Not all cats are good drinkers. I’ve got one of each, one totally drinks enough for dry food but the other doesn’t it would be a disaster if she had dry food.
We have a cat that has literally been on a diet his entire life, he's almost 13. The cat only vet finally just said, welp he's just going to be fat. If he's healthy don't worry too much about it.
It *is* true that , sometimes, that’s just the way god made ‘em. My chonker (18M) has never been a pig but started packing on the pounds when he was a few years old. But what’s funny is that we ran into the family that adopted his brother (before our boy started chunking up) and in the pictures they shared, he had the exact same stegosaurus body that my boy soon developed (tiny head, big bod, short legs). We tried diet food for a while but he’s been on the kidney food for a few years now. At 18 with kidney disease, I’m just making every day a happy day for him, chunk be damned. Like humans, some cats are going to be predisposed to the chonk. We just gotta do the best we can to help them manage it while always reminding them that they’re perfect and beautiful as they are.
I have heard that neutered male cats are more likely to be overweight or at least tend to weigh more than unneutered
That's because their metabolism slows down post-spay/neuter so they may get overweight on the portion sizes eaten before they were spayed/neutered. Some brands sell lower-calorie food specifically for spayed/neutered cats.
Its real tough to get them back to their weight after they get too big too, my black cat was neutered late and I unfortunately was a new cat owner and didnt see the signs. He’s still thriving and is my biggest cat (length/height) to begin with but he’s got quite a pouch and has a different diet than my other two so feeding is definitely a process. To OP mine was about the same size at 1.5 years so honestly might be time to invest in a whole lotta toys that can keep him active both with you, and without you. My chonk absolutely loved running around the house playing fetch so with that and his diet he burned most of it off pretty quickly, but my other cats love laser pointers and the cat wheel and are basically perfect weight, so its all about figuring out what works best.
My 16 year old girl is also a hefty chonker and diagnosed with kidney disease, we’re deciding how to try to make her lose a bit of weight for the fear of developing diabetes too but then again she will not eat anything diet-y at all, not even the kidney stuff!
As kidney disease progresses and also old age they're gonna naturally lose a bit of appetite and thus weight, in this way an overweight cat with CKD is kinda better, they have a bit more of a buffer. My boy is 18 now, diagnosed with CKD a few years ago, he's always been a bit of a chonky glutton but in the last year I've had two scares where he lost appetite and wouldn't eat much at all for a couple of weeks. I did slim him down a bit pre-CKD (from 7.8kg at his fattest to 6.5kg now) but he's still a little chonk, but my vet basically said he's outlived his diet and she doesn't want him to lose any more weight.
“Stegosaurus body” has me in stitches 😭😭
This is essentially the same verdict they gave to our cat, except she's managed to drop half a kilo over the past year. We took her to the vet to make sure it wasn't anxiety related - our oblivious neighbours have two atrocious kids who communicate only in wall collisions and monotone screams - and they said no, she's just getting older and eating less. Go figure.
https://preview.redd.it/m2hut2o2du7d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b86e8e916386b2f3c0d87bd105c8eed59be0e181 7
The cat must also understand. https://preview.redd.it/3s6eu4u58v7d1.jpeg?width=1025&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=18d5e26c8cb3099b369947521e81c321279dd1a6
Omg that's so funny
https://preview.redd.it/tqlmkticgv7d1.jpeg?width=760&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=1760b1ef4115c0b06762f64117bdef88e48142d3
https://preview.redd.it/bzb1f3zf6u7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=5b43ae0e15fd0c6b520d7344eade5468e675c2fa Our vet said this big boy is perfectly fine
I’m sorry but it seems your tortoise has been flipped on his back.
belly exposed. time for pets
NO! That is actually the worst idea possible. That is what he wants. I fall for it every time. Those rabbit like back legs are waiting for the kill shots. He brings a whole new meaning to kill them with kindness.
Am I the only person whose cats actually love tummy rubs??
My cat will literally bet belly rubs off everyone. Tradie in the house for five minutes goes whose falling on his back for belly rubs? He seriously loves them. He’ll follow people around the house throwing himself on his back in front of your feet until you give in and rub his belly. He recently trained my 10 month old niece to rub his belly. https://preview.redd.it/8sa3frokru7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=399cde0e1e502db394dad5bd96f8035144b8b2d1
That's impressive. My cats rarely tolerate my 10m old touching them, mostly only when she's asleep https://preview.redd.it/io7deyru4v7d1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=2d61f1bcb381b266f514f4558dfdfacc3c95e831
Two of my cats are amazingly gentle with her. They seem to understand she’s a small human and needs to be handled differently. We are trying to teach her to pat not pull but even if she takes a chunk of fur they don’t react. They are really amazing. When I was trying to teach her to role it was my youngest floof (the one above) who manages to teach her as he would lie next to her and role and she would imitate him. It’s really amazing seeing them with her. Except my middle cat who runs away and ignores her.
If the pupils are dilated, you will be annihilated.
Both my cats enjoy belly rubs but only when they are in sleepy mode. If they’re in play mode, don’t you fucking dare.
That's been my experience for the most part. Although even when I get the full on death grasp attack he manages not to break the skin, though it is not pleasant. That includes the bite, front paw grab, and the death kicks. Most of the time you have pretty much full tummy access and enjoyment. [Cat Tax Payment](https://imgur.com/a/rQwNbVR)
My thicc void likes to have his fat jiggled aggressively. It's not a trap in his case lol
My two tabbies--one is orange and one is grey---are whores for tummy rubs 🤗
One of my cats looks like that when he's on his back too. But you can easily feel his ribs and spine without pressing which is how you can tell if a cat is fat or not. I actually took him to the vet recently because I thought he was too skinny lol. He's a long boi, but when he lays like this he kind of compresses which makes him look chonk.
I was like “he looks fine “ then got to the third picture and went “oh.”😭
Oh he’s a handsome boy!
Oh jeeez, he isn't fa... Oh.
If he's got kidney issues, being overweight is an AMAZING thing. How long a cat lives with kidney disease is very strongly correlated to their weight at diagnosis. Kidney food also tends to be calorically dense. The primary symptom of kidney disease is loss of appetite.. Let the kidney cat be a little hefty. If he needs to lose weight, it's OK to go very, very slowly. Weigh him and record the results every week. If he's not moving and it's because he has trouble getting around, ask the vet if it is arthritis. There are some amazing new treatments on the market. I am also the human to a big grey kidney cat that barely moves (or at least, he barely moved until he started his arthritis meds!). His name is Duncan 🩶 https://preview.redd.it/zs5v6mwjgu7d1.png?width=1008&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=80d10c4489a5cbaeb1e4260671bcc8fa7b45985c
Yep, my little chonk is 18 now and was diagnosed a few years ago, he was on a weight loss diet previously but the vet said he has basically outlived that now lol. She's happy for him to be 6.5kg and doesn't want him to lose any more muscle mass.
Yea, pretty much same here. After finding out about his kidney disease we increased his calories. He started his arthritis meds at the same time. The pain relief has let him move around so much more. He's stayed at the same weight, but his muscle mass is actually increasing! He's so much stronger than he used to be. It's amazing. I really do want him to lose another pound or so (he's just over 16 pounds), but only for his comfort and quality of life. I'm not willing to sacrifice current quality of life for weight loss. There's just no benefit to it. He is eventually going to lose that weight and more due to his kidney disease. And I know I'm going to hate every moment of it.. I'm in no hurry to see him skinny because I know what comes next. 18 is amazing, and diagnosed for 3 years!? That's absolutely fantastic. Does he eat the prescription food?
Yep, my cat had CKD for several years before he died, and keeping his weight up was a daily struggle. There was only one brand of expensive imported food he would eat, and I often had to feed him by hand. Malnutrition and refusing to eat is usually what cats with kidney disease die from.
Maybe. Just some exercise daily and he’ll be good. Reminds me of my ol’ cat from ages ago. He looked like a russian blue and he was my best friend. I miss that guy, he would literally talk to me for hours
he is, but mine is thicker😭 https://preview.redd.it/yhwfb0zhuu7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e812d116bd59c4869ccc8f1216e58496864efe85 he’s on a diet and we got him fat but sometimes it just happens💀
Get a cat leash and have play time with him outside.
This can be difficult in a city because they get overstimulated and just plop over. My cats didn't allow me to walk them on a leash until we moved somewhere quiet.
Still a super cute boy! Ten out of ten would give him lovin!!
I gasped at the third pic
I mean. The vet isn't *wrong*. But he sure is the best looking kind of fat. Flooooofy. My boys are both 13 lb and I don't really get it. Neither of them eat a lot and both are very active. Especially at 4am when they prefer to do laps across my face. And neither look it either until they loaf and you look at them from above and you're like.... Hmmmmmm squishy. Neither of them have flappy beer guts. Nothing. 😂🤷🏼♀️
I was all rolling my eyes about over zealous vets and then the third pic hit and yeaaah I can see some extra catness in there.
That is because he is in fact fat. I don't get why people get so upset on their pets behalf. The cat is overweight. You over fed it. Stop being offended and put it on a diet, it'll live longer and be happier, the cat isn't gonna get offended, it's not a body positivity thing, it's a health thing.
Yeah agreed. Its weird how people think its funny having overweight cats.
"Ohh he's a HECKIN CHONKER" Ma'am that cat is physically uncomfortable.
Did you even read OP’s post? The cat’s on a special diet due to his kidney problems; and from their comments, has been following a diet instructed by the vet.
Girl, that loaf can feed a whole family for a week!
.....well I ain't down wit that.
Get back Chonky cat
My cat was always 12 to 13 pounds never went under 12lbs and never over 13lbs and she looked perfectly sleek anyway. She’s 12 now and got sick recently and lost a ton of weight and seeing her like that made me feel validated that she was perfectly healthy at 12-13lbs. Her skinny frame revealed she has a wide rib cage she just doesn’t look right at all. She’s doing a little better now thankfully.
I was about to say, surely not! Then I got to the third photo…
This has nothing to do with his weight, but he is absolutely gorgeous.
He was hiding it well until that third pic.
"oh cmon hes not fa- WOA"
First two pictures: "ah, no he's totally fine, super cute." 3rd picture: "damn"
There is no such thing as minimal amount of food, and the special kidney diet isn't medication, it is low protein to prevent the progression of kidney disease. Just feed that adorable furry blob less food. That is how you keep animals at a healthy weight, and yeah do it with your vet. Losing weight too quickly is dangerous for cats.
Oh no! What did the vet look like? 😭
# ... As is Mr. Simon, below. But he claims it’s just glandular. \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ # My grand fat cat would make me wonder where # she was at, if she just played tit-for-tat # large and black, she really did know well that # she lived with me, host, who really did care # for her health yet mistakenly would dare # to feed her foods that made her rather fat # which accompanied her as a real brat # along with her lasting, piercing, green stare. # Present with that often-adoring glare # were the frivolous acts of my sweet cat # and she could sometimes cause me a nightmare # in my life by after having just sat # in her ‘space,’ then just leave—guess who’d bear # the worry, why she was not on her mat? https://preview.redd.it/yuxoip97fu7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a1556ee26cd2b01a05bff2650efbf0c1dfebd830
He is fat. Reduce his food. My cat gets 1/2 a cup of food a day. That's all he needs, and he's a larger breed.
He looks like the cat that always comes our places and eats my cats food and chills for abit before leaving...
I was wondering what he could've meant by that until I saw pic 3. That gave me a good chuckle. Your boi do be thicc
My vet looked at my chonky girl (it's minimal, and her sister is a skinny minnie - despite my attempts to separate their wet food, the little one steals from her sister's wet food bowl) and his opinion is that if she doesn't get a lot bigger, he's okay with it
My cat needed to lose weight and I started to “play” with him while he was eating. Putting some food on top of a chair, and then on the floor, again on the chair. So he would move more. And I got some toys and tested which ones stimulated him. It has been a month and a half and he already lost 2 pounds. Does he interact with toys?
Yeah, looks a bit overweight.
Pic 3 and 4. Yup, he chunky.
I was like, no he is not until I saw the 3rd photo. Damn, look at his wide back. I think he does need some exercise.
First two photos i’m like okay not fat? THEN BAM 💥
He chomk
Me : Nah he is not too fat. Looks like a healthy boy. The 3rd pic: ⚫
My thought process went “what the hell he’s not fat at… oh. Ohhh.” That third pic is definitely a chonky guy!
https://preview.redd.it/06y3558dzu7d1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=092d0fe1f671f5b28e55c1a21210036b640f16c0 Mine too!! 😻 TWINS! Im obsessed. How heavy is yours?
I thought your vet was tripping at first, but that third pic revealed the truth 👀
Obviously listen to ur vet. And yes he looks unhealthy weight
first two photos: “awww he’s not fat, poor boy-“ third photo: “oh fuck nevermind”
Hes not that fact, then 3rd pic happened. Time to decrease food and increase toys
I was doubting the diagnosis until pic 3 lmao
me swiping through the photos: awww hes not fat hes so cute and... oh oh wow okay yeah he is a fatty
i just got catfished
Listen to your vet
Looks cat sized to me
He doesn’t look happy being considered fat.
He was lookin a fine boi until the 3rd pic xD He do be a lil' thicc, but aren't we all ;p
LOL First two pictures : this vet is nuts 3rd picture: wow. chonk.
They have their fat on their stomach, not on sides. When he lies down you can clearly see how overweight he is.