I have a cat who weighs like 8 lbs. He feels all boney, but he acts totally healthy...should I be worried?
Answers:
it depends on breed and age.
anything from 5 to 25 pounds is normal... depending on those things.
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no he is likely just a smaller cat...ten pounds is normal, 8 is considered small.
Depends on the cat...Ive owned cats that full grown have weighed no more than 5.5 lbs and also another who weighed in at 17 lbs but not an ounce of fat on his body...if your in question syou should have your vet look at him %26 make the decision if he is a healthy weight
A domestic cat should weigh between 3 - 5 kilograms
only if he doesn't come back after kicking him like a football...
You should be worried if it looks too thin. You souldn't be able to see bones but the cat shouldn't be overweight either. I can only work in kilos but my cat is 3-4 kilos. Sometimes the problem is worms if they are eating well but not putting on weight. Maybe a visit to the vet would be a good idea.
Cats should look slim looking from the top down, not like a torpedo. Each cat is different depending on the breed. A cat should be able to sit comfortably without a "big belly" sticking out on each side of it's body. Cats are suppose to be slender, not porky. If you can see the cat's backbone, he's too thin. It's okay to be able to feel the ribs. Just provide plenty of quality food at all times. Cats nibble at their food, unlike dogs that bolt their food down. If you provide plenty of quality food and water, the rest will take care of itself. Unless of course your cat is sick and doesn't eat.
When I took my cats to the vet I asked the exact same question. She told me that anywhere between 5-10 pounds is normal. A 25 pound cat is not normal and don't let anyone tell you differently! A cat is suppose to feel a little bony. If you start at his head and put a hand to each side, then work your way to his tail your should feel with your thumbs up: the shoulder blades, followed by the tiny bumbs that are his spine. You SHOULD be able to feel his ribs clearly with your fingers and the rib cage should flare out a little. Past the ribs there should be an indentation before the hips that is the cats waist. The pelvic bone should be narrow, and will flow down into the hips, which should be muscled. The knee and ankle (elbow and wrist) joints should be easy to feel.
A 25 pound cat would be like a 5'6" woman who weighed 450 pounds.
Your 8 pound cat sounds perfectly normal, when in doubt you can always take him in for a basic health exam. A basic office visit is usually pretty inexpensive.
I wouldn't worry. My cat is full grown and weighs 6 1/2 lbs. She was the runt of the litter and the vet says she is just small. If you're worried you could ask the vet, but I bet he's fine.
Normal is as idiosyncratic for animals as for people. Your cat may just be a skinny guy. You did not mention the age of your cat, and that is important, as cats are not fully grown and fully developed until they are two years old. Just as in humans, growth can be a little individual, but a younger cat tends to be thinner just because he is still growing and developing. In addition, a younger cat has more energy, is more playful and active, and so has a higher metabolism.
The standard vets use on a gross physical exam is this: Place your hands on either side of your cat's rib cage and gently palpate or caress him, but in a clinical way. Your fingers are tools here, and you are caressing your cat to assess something. When you palpate in a largish circular motion or a sort of "squeeze-gently-and-move-the-r... motion, determine how well you can feel the underlying ribs. If they are prominent or covered a little but you can really feel them, your cat is underweight. If the skin is really, really loose and the ribs are really easy to feel, he is young and still growing. Or it could be an overactive thyroid, as cats are prone to thyroid problems. Or it could be worms. Or that is just him.
If you are really concerned, check with your vet. If he has been outdoors and eaten some grass or otherwise been exposed to a worm source, you may want to worm him or have the vet do this. If it is just him, there are some wonderful nutritional supplements that can be added to your cat's food or fed separately to help him gain some weight. Just as most people love fattening food, most cats tend to love these supplements, so there probably won't be any problem getting him to eat them if this is what he needs.
You can go online to www.drsfostersmith.com and go to the cat section to see what they have to offer in the way of do-it-yourself worming meds and/or nutritional supplements. They also have a vet hotline or online hotline as I recall, so you can ask questions about what you find that interests you.
Good luck.
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