Overweight Kitten?

[AlleyCat]

Help, how do I know if my kitten is overweight? She's a 7-month old calico and she is a large (very!) cat - but not that fat. Just very long and tall, with a little paunch on the sides. How do I know if this paunch is too much? Believe it or not, she is 15 pounds. But she's not a butterball either. Maybe I need to attach a picture? My primary vet thinks she's overweight, but others say "just a little" I don't know that I should be enforcing a diet when she's only 7 months old ... My vet's suggesting the "Catkins" diet - any comments?

[catfancier]

The way to tell when a cat is carrying more weight than they should is that when you feel over her ribs you should be able to make out the individual ribs but also feel a fat layer on top. From a bird's eye view, you should be able to make out a waist in between where their abdomen ends and their back legs begin.

Is she a breed, or just a moggy? I have a siamese and they are naturally slim, so even a little pudginess shows on him!

I would recommend reducing the amount you feed - if she is still on kitten food just feed a little less. Kitten food is really high in calories because they have a lot of energy to burn what with growing and playing. If she isn't very active she won't be burning those calories. I feed my two cats 1/4 of a cup of cat biscuits PER DAY. They are happy and fine on that amount (1/8th in the morning, 1/8th in the evening).
It may pay to switch to an adult formula food (less calories), or promote more exercise - play with her more and get her active - chasing toys/string/birds is a fun way of exercising.

Good luck with things, let us know what happens!

[AlleyCat]

Well, she's a calico .. don't know if that helps any. She actually started eating adult food at about 3 months - I wouldn't have except that she refused her kitten food by then. We adopted her at nearly 4 weeks old, and fed her KMR for the first 4 weeks or so until she didn't want that anymore. Anyways she's definitely round-ish and I don't know what more to do since she's already on adult food and we have been monitoring (and lowering) her food intake. I think it may just take a while to start seeing some changes in this - I just feel bad since she's still a kitten.

[QueenScoopalot]

Hmmm..has she been spayed? Hope she didn't make a slip outside to meet with the neighborhood boys if not. That is quite large sounding for a kitten, but if she's cut back a bit on her caloric intake, and gets some good long play times with feather toys, laser pointers (careful never to let it shine in eyes) and other toys that rev up her metabolism, chances are she'll be fine. She sounds like one cute armload!

[catfancier]

I just also thought about worms - do you worm her regularly? Quite often an infestation of worms can lead to a round-belly appearance.

Or as Queen Scoopalot touched on - is there any chance that she may even be pregnant?

[AlleyCat]

Millie has been wormed regularly, and no chance she's pregnant! She was spayed at 5 months and is not an outdoor cat anyway. We have a new kitten here as a playmate for Millie and this past week that we've had her, they've done nothing but play play play, so hopefully that will help too. We have had 3 other cats, and no problems with weight whatsoever, so this is a new experience for me, especially this at 7 months old.

[QueenScoopalot]

Glad she's spayed and indoors where she's safe. Playing with a kitten will be great excersize for her. Just hug that girl for me!

[catmandu]

She might be a Maine Coon,but that is Big,even for that breed.

[AlleyCat]

If you look at my avatar at the left, she is the 2nd cat (first is black, then Millie is 2nd) - I think she's definitely a calico But you're right, she's a big girl! Her mama went off into the woods at the farm Millie was born at and has not come back (as far as I know of), but I was told that she is a very large cat, so maybe Millie is following in her footsteps.

[sirrahbed]

Yes, she is calico A pretty girl, too. I do not really have much advice as I also have two overweight kitties. My Emily did not become pudgie until she was spayed and I have had her on S/D weight loss but she hates it so I give up!! What I do is limit the amount everyone gets twice a day and try to go easy on treats

Having that new kittens sounds like an excellent exercise plan!!