How Much Do Cats Weigh? What’s Considered A Healthy Weight?

Have you noticed that cats are a trend nowadays? In general, pets are taking over social media with funny videos recorded by their owners. Many of these videos show us beautiful images of cute and chubby cats. This last makes us wonder. What is a healthy weight for my cat? How much do they weigh?

Cats usually weigh between 7 and 25 pounds. Determining a healthy weight for a cat can be tricky, but there are signs that will let us know if they are at a healthy weight. These are:

• Seeing an abdominal tuck from the side.

• A visible waistline in the overhead view.

• The ribs are felt but not readily seen.

As pet owners, we really do whatever we consider is best to keep them safe and healthy. How could we not? Our beloved cats are incredible creatures! However, there is a rise in pet obesity that we should be on the lookout for. Let’s review a few key points in regards to cats’ weight and how to keep it under control.

How Much Do Cats Weigh?

Currently, there are between forty and seventy-one breeds of cats that are recognized. Even though this number may vary depending on who you ask, something is certain; there are quite a few differences between them. Generally speaking, cats usually weigh anywhere from five to twenty-five pounds, most cats being roughly ten pounds. Take this last statement with a grain of salt, though. The reason is that there are more factors than just weight that will determine how much our cats should weigh. A number of factors such as body frame and lean muscle mass can alter how much the cat weighs. Nonetheless, to make things a bit more manageable, below we have a chart that shows how much a few types of cats weigh.

Type	Weight
Siamese	Between 5 and 10 pounds
Persian	Between 7 and 12 pounds
British Shorthair	Between 7 and 17 pounds
Domestic	Between 8 and 10 pounds
Bengal	Between 8 and 15 pounds
Maine Coon	Between 10 and 25 pounds.
Savannah	Between 12 and 25 pounds

Ideal Weight For Cats

There are multiple breeds of cats. Some are bigger in size, others smaller, and it is precisely those differences that make it hard to set an exact number for the ideal weight of all cats. To better explain this, let’s compare two of the types of cats shown in the previous chart. A Siamese cat weighs anywhere from five to ten pounds. In contrast, a Savannah cat weighs between 12 and 25 pounds. If we had a siamese cat that had a weight of twenty-five pounds, it would be considered obese. In contrast, a Savannah cat that had a weight of ten pounds would be severely underweight.

Obesity in cats places them at risk of various diseases. Conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, pancreatitis, and liver disease are all risks we are taking when keeping our beloved felines in an overweight state. Considering that an ideal weight for cats is so important, there are ways to determine if our cats are at an appropriate body weight. These are:

• It should be possible to feel their ribs.
• When looking down at them, you should see an hourglass silhouette (visible waistline).
• When looking at them from the side, you should not see a saggy belly (abdominal tuck).
• You should be able to feel their spine while touching their backs.

It is important to note that these signs can vary among cats. Things like the type of cat, age, sex, and overall health will cause slight variations in them. If you are in complete doubt whether your cat is at an ideal weight or not, you can always visit your trusted vet. They can determine their weight, as well as show you what to look for so that you can keep a vigilant eye on their weight.

When Cats Need To Slim Down

Sometimes it is inevitable to have an overweight cat. Maybe we are heavy-handed when it comes to treats, or perhaps our cat is moving less and eating more. Regardless of the cause, one thing that we can agree on is that we need to take matters into our hands and help them lose weight. In the following sections, we will provide alternatives so that we can have our cat reach an ideal weight.

Exercise

It is no secret that increasing our cats’ activity levels is a sure way to help them lose those extra pounds. We understand that in many situations, cats don’t want to cooperate in doing so. Nevertheless, there are ways that we can encourage activity levels to increase in them. These are:

• Taking your cat out for a walk.
• Use movement-inducing toys such as laser pointers, strings, feathers, or interactive animal toys.
• Consider purchasing a cat tree that has multiple levels.
• Add at least 10 minutes of active playtime to their daily routines.
• It is a good idea to place their litter boxes, water bowls, and food bowls in different rooms of your house. This will have them walking more to be able to reach each one.
• Consider getting another cat for your pet or pairing them up with a friendly cat for some playtime.

If you have tried most of these and your cat is not so keen on moving around. You can always use some catnip as a last resort to get them moving.

Portion Control

Whether it be with treats, regular food, or giving them from our own food, most of us are guilty of overfeeding our cats. While the practice isn’t really harmful if done with moderation, many of us have overdone it. One way to help our feline friends lose weight is by cutting back on their food intake. We can achieve this by giving them a smaller amount of food and keeping treats to a minimum.

A good guideline to keep this under control would be to feed them the amount that they should be eating at a healthy weight and not at an unhealthy one. One simple way to accomplish this goal would be to start cutting 25% of their current food intake until you reach the proper amount of food to give them.

Type Of Food

Another key aspect to consider is the type of food we give them. Instead of feeding them dry food, we can change to a wet food diet. These are generally lower in calories; they usually come in portion-controlled amounts per can and aid in keeping moisture levels in optimum conditions.

If you’d rather not have to deal with the wet food yourself, or if your cat tends to eat his daily portion of food at once, you can also give an automatic feeder a try. These devices will divide the set portions, and they will be given to your cat throughout the day.

Conclusion

There is no doubt that we must always take care of our feline friends by paying attention to their diet based on their breed. In exchange for the praise and attention we give them, their companionship and cuteness are all they can give in return.

For this reason, it is our responsibility to prevent our cats from developing health-related conditions that are caused by excess weight and obesity. By remembering the tips provided in this article, we are sure to be experts in determining the ideal weight our cat needs. However, if ever you are in doubt, you can always see your trusted vet.

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