78
Do you have a bathroom scale? If so, weigh yourself. Now pick up the cat and weigh yourself holding the cat. Subtract.
25
If you're concerned about healthy weight (not medication), the cat's weight in pounds or kilograms is less important than the amount of fat they're carrying.
According to Pets.WebMD, and the image shown below, the shape of the cat is a good gauge of your cat's healthy weight:
“Cats should have that hourglass figure when you’re looking down at them, they ...
21
I use a pet carrier and a digital fish scale.
With the cat, small dog, rabbit, etc in the pet carrier weigh with a digital fish scale. Hang the carrier by the handle on the fish scale hook.
Let the animal out of the carrier and weigh the pet carrier.
Subtract.
IMHO This gives a more accurate weight for medications.
Related Putting a cat into a ...
12
A healthy weight for a dog is typically one where if looking down at the back of the dog you see a noticeable curve inwards where the belly meets the hind quarters. If it seems the hind quarters meet straight with the belly then the dog is overweight.
Source
More exercise will help somewhat but this isn't always the best option for an older dog that may ...
10
Okay, there are a few points that may be relevant here:
Maine coons do have a tendency to grow and mature slower than other breeds. She may not be done growing yet or that may just be her body type/metabolism.
Her metabolism will likely change (read: slow down) after being spayed, so that should help. (I'm somewhat curious as to why you want to breed her ...
9
Yes. Just like us, cats vary in size and shape and weight. And like us, some of that is diet, some is health, some is genetics, some is age.
One of my lady's cats was the runt of the litter; it wasn't certain she would survive, and she has always been both small and skinny. It hasn't seemed to limit her climbing/jumping much, if at all; I think she benefits ...
9
To elaborate on @maple_shaft's recommendation of healthy, low-calorie treats for dogs, nothing beats appropriate vegetables and fruits. By "appropriate", I refer to vegetables that are safe for your pet to consume.
My dogs have carrots with almost every meal; they also always claim the celery from our orders of chicken wings.
Pumpkin (canned) is a great ...
8
While it's sometimes normal to see your snake's skin between the scales immediately after feeding, that's because they swallow their food whole and it's pressing on their skin. If you're seeing the skin between the scales otherwise, then your snake is definitely overweight.
I wouldn't use the spine as a reference for whether your snake is over/under weight, ...
8
When we had a failing cat that we needed to put weight on, we actually bought a digital deli meat scale on eBay and that way we could accurately track his weight gain/loss. It works really well as long as the cat doesn't move around too much. And as I like to joke with our healthy cats, as a benefit, if the cat gets to be too much trouble, this method is ...
8
If your puppy is truly too thin, I urge you to feed it with a well balanced diet (with “diet” = “the way the food is composed” not “diet” = “ less food to become slimmer”!). Months 3-6 are the time frame when a puppy grows the fastest and needs a nutrient-dense food that will supply all the calories, nutrients, minerals and vitamins it needs. All ...
7
The answer occurred to me the other day. No, I still don't know if this cat is too lean or what, but an answer to how I can get her to eat more.
It is actually so obvious that I wonder why it took me so long to get to. This shy eater needs to be fed separately. Now I put wet food on a plate and place the plate (bowl) in such a place where only one cat at a ...
7
Yes and No. It depends what you mean by "big."
Normally a well fed kitten will have what I refer to as "a fat belly," reflecting their stomach being full of food. One of their main jobs at this stage in life is to store food and grow as fast as possible. The more they can gorge themselves the longer they can survive when mom is away hunting.
A skinny ...
7
If your cat's spine seems bonier than normal, but his weight is the same, he may be dehydrated. If he is dehydrated, his subcutaneous fat layer is thinner than normal.
The best way to know if there is something wrong with your cat would be to take him to the vet. The vet will do a through examination, and if it's been awhile since your cat has been seen he ...
7
Locate a bathroom scale that is continuous reading (either mechanical, medical or externally powered type) and place it under the litter box. If your cat is happy with you snooping when doing its business then peek at the scale and wait for the cat to jump out and determine the difference.
If you cannot find a bathroom scale that is continuous reading you ...
6
John Cavan has some reasonable and appropriate methods for increasing a rabbits weight in his answer. These should as he points out be used with careful monitoring, because high value foods can ultimately be harmful to your rabbit. The House Rabbit Society has some good diet recommendations. Rabbits are somewhat dependent on having a high volume low value ...
6
There are a few things to help your bun gain a bit of weight.
In terms of hay, look to add some small quantities of alfalfa to the diet. Don't replace the timothy hay, but supplement in the alfalfa, perhaps about 25-30% ratio. This type of hay is good for young and growing rabbits and so will help her add on some weight as it is loaded with protein. You ...
6
Feline Obesity
Free feeding is never advised as most cats will eat more than they should, cats who are bored are also prone to consider eating an activity and will indulge way more than they should.
In order to better guide you on how much to feed your cat it would be good to know how much he weighs, what he should weigh and the type of food he is on.
It ...
6
I had this same issue with our dog. It sounds like separation anxiety. We solved the issue by using counter conditioning. Basically, you want to make the thing she fears (your leaving) associated with something she loves. For our dog, it was a treat in a Kong. It takes our dog about 20 minutes to get the treat out of a Kong. When we left, we gave her ...
6
First of all the 1 cup should be reduced to 3 quarters or 1 half, you should try to exercise her more by playing with her even if she wouldn't play along you shouldn't give up. Try to tease her with her favourite toy then make the toy move a little further from her, whenever she catches the toy praise her with a treat and sense her diet is now lessened she ...
6
Like humans cats will come in a range of natural weights - being 2kg over the "recommended" is quite a lot though. When my boy needed to lose weight (~1kg) I had better success with swapping his food out for a low calorie version. I also upped the amount of time I spent playing with him in order to increase the amount of exercise he was getting. It took a ...
5
The loose, hanging skin on a cat's belly is simply a natural part of a cat's anatomy, sometimes called the apron, or as in the following article, the primordial pouch. This is more prominent on some cats than others, and can become more obvious in cats as they age or gain or lose weight. Getting spayed or neutered does not cause your cat to gain an apron, ...
5
You should try to decrease the amount of food she gets in every meal and not let her choose when to eat because as you say, she's a little overweight. So you should choose her meal times and the amount of food she gets in every meal. For starters, make her food routine once when you wake up at maybe 6 or 7 AM, then at 12 PM, 6 PM, and if she gets hungry ...
5
The best advice I can give you is feeding special "kitten" food, because it's designed to have more calories than general "adult" cat food. An alternative is food formulated for "active cats".
Dry food tends to have more protein than wet food, so it's better for your kitten. You can soak it in some water to increase the water ...
5
Puppies need more energy and different nutrients than adult dogs.
They play and are very active, which burns many calories
Their bones must grow, which requires calcium and other minerals
Their muscles must grow, which requires protein (meat)
Their brains must grow and develop, which requires fat
Rice is a bad dog food, because it contains only ...
5
Since you need a brief answer, I'll make this quick.
There are some types of wet food (like Freshpet, which comes in a tube, get it here This is made with mostly human food that is modified for dogs.
The next thing you can do is get a customizable recipe, which will taste good to her and also will be gentle on her stomach. (link here)
In the meantime, try ...
4
The best way to check if your cat is overweight is to compare to something like this:
(Source)
and talk to a veterinarian specializing in cats, preferably cats with weight problems. If you are uncertain about the knowledge of your regular veterinarian, seek out a second opinion.
If he does have a weight problem, you will have to put him on a diet. Now, I ...
4
Great job on helping your cat lose some of those extra pounds! I bet she feels much better.
Unfortunately, your cat's skin will not likely tighten around her new body.
PEOPLE: For, people, it can take a couple years before the skin "fits" right after weight loss...and that's only if you are young and didn't lose too much weight. People not in this ...
4
Well obviously you have been taking good care of you cat as he is now a senior citizen (76 in human years) and in good health.
Cats' builds vary: Some are stockier and some are really lean. I have seen litter-mates that get the same food and live in the same environment have vastly different weights / builds.
Currently my adult cats range from 6 lbs to 17 ...
4
Indeed, like humans, cats can have fat distribution change, or even lose some weight just due to age. Maybe even more so with cats than with people, because cats tend to get a little hyperthyroidism with age. A cautionary checkup with the vet is in order whenever you notice any change, however, as cats do not tend to show distress, and sometimes the first ...
4
At 16 years old I highly recommend doing blood work as hyperthyroidism and kidney disease are ridiculously common in our senior cats. Once she is clear then talk to your vet about a diet, most senior cats should be on a senior diet.
Mhwonbat mentioned kitten food, I highly recommend you do NOT use this as it is also high in protein which can cause a lot of ...
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