Is this 10 month old boy overweight?

[wesleydeman]

So I already had a male Sphynx cat in the past before my current one, but in his adulthood I wouldn't consider him a big heavy Sphynx cat. I would say he was about average for a cat.

Now I have 2 new Sphynx cats since May this year, they're brother and sister currently 10 months old. Here are 2 picture of them together, the boy "Loki" is the dark one and the girl "Lushi" is the light one. They're both neutered, the boy at 4/5 months old and the girl at 7/8 months old.

The girl is fairly light/slim, she is about 3.3kg. The boy on the other hand is heavier with a pot belly I would say, he is about 5.1kg. I just wanted to ask here since this is my first time experiencing a bigger cat in my life, since I find Loki already quite big for his age, even though I've had cats since I was a kid. I mostly notice his bigger size when he's sitting, I would call it a classic Sphynx belly. But still I think I would appreciate some input from the community here (I've been checking in and out here without an account before). Here are some photo's just from him to showcase his size. In the photos with his sister above in this post you can also see him sitting. I wouldn't classify him as overweight I think, but sometimes I do think, damn boy that's one belly you got there. But Lushi (the girl) is also quite slim, so that might also give some "amplification" to his size in my eyes.

 

[wesleydeman]

Whoops, small mistake about the age, but I mean close enough (I rounded it of a bit too much). Actual age as of today is 9 months and 18 days.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

So I already had a male Sphynx cat in the past before my current one, but in his adulthood I wouldn't consider him a big heavy Sphynx cat. I would say he was about average for a cat.

Now I have 2 new Sphynx cats since May this year, they're brother and sister currently 10 months old. Here are 2 picture of them together, the boy "Loki" is the dark one and the girl "Lushi" is the light one. They're both neutered, the boy at 4/5 months old and the girl at 7/8 months old.

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The girl is fairly light/slim, she is about 3.3kg. The boy on the other hand is heavier with a pot belly I would say, he is about 5.1kg. I just wanted to ask here since this is my first time experiencing a bigger cat in my life, since I find Loki already quite big for his age, even though I've had cats since I was a kid. I mostly notice his bigger size when he's sitting, I would call it a classic Sphynx belly. But still I think I would appreciate some input from the community here (I've been checking in and out here without an account before). Here are some photo's just from him to showcase his size. In the photos with his sister above in this post you can also see him sitting. I wouldn't classify him as overweight I think, but sometimes I do think, damn boy that's one belly you got there. But Lushi (the girl) is also quite slim, so that might also give some "amplification" to his size in my eyes.

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Hoping this might help. https://sphynxlair.com/community/styles//images/Cat weight chart.png

Males typically are known to be bigger than females. Our one boy is bigger boned than our other male. Our bigger one is 10 pounds which our vet said is ideal.

Kudos to you in wanting to be sure your boy is a healthy weight…with heart issues being a concern with the breed it is important just like in humans to watch their weight for overall better health. Kittens need/eat a lot. When ours turned 1 year old we took them for a yearly checkup and had our vet determine the ideal weight and then we aimed for for that target. Our other 2 Sphynx never had to lose weight, but our one boy we helped drop the weight to hit the 10 pound mark. Not a vet, but my guess is your vet will probably recommend losing a little bit once they hit a year old. He does look a little thick in the middle lol…but again he is still a kitten and growing. His build reminds me a lot of our bigger boy when he was a kitten


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[wesleydeman]

Hoping this might help. https://sphynxlair.com/community/styles//images/Cat weight chart.png

Males typically are known to be bigger than females. Our one boy is bigger boned than our other male. Our bigger one is 10 pounds which our vet said is ideal.

Kudos to you in wanting to be sure your boy is a healthy weight…with heart issues being a concern with the breed it is important just like in humans to watch their weight for overall better health. Kittens need/eat a lot. When ours turned 1 year old we took them for a yearly checkup and had our vet determine the ideal weight and then we aimed for for that target. Our other 2 Sphynx never had to lose weight, but our one boy we helped drop the weight to hit the 10 pound mark. Not a vet, but my guess is your vet will probably recommend losing a little bit once they hit a year old. He does look a little thick in the middle lol…but again he is still a kitten and growing. His build reminds me a lot of our bigger boy when he was a kitten


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Yeah I am also still in that mindset that he is a kitten and growing. I've also heard from the breeder that his dad is a big boy as well. When he turns 1, he will need to go the vet again for a vaccine and also be checked then. My current idea was if by then his weight still concerns me, I would bring it up there. I saw a similar chart, I would say he is currently leaning to 4. Thank you for your insights.

 

[kauna]

He could also be a bigger boned guy. My girl was 10.5 lbs (~4.8kg) I thought that she was a little heavy but the vet said she was just fine for her bone structure. Good idea to check with the vet at his next appointment.
Such a lovely duo you have there btw!

 

[wesleydeman]

I've looked back on some pictures from when I just got them for the memories, and I noticed that it seems he always did have a fuller mid-belly, I think. He should be around 4-5 months here.

 

[Natalie Murphy]

My boy was exactly the same and the vet said he was over weight but then just after a year he grew so much he was just perfect and the vet has never said so again. Has he been neutered yet? I would wait for him to finish growing just keep up with your ration portions and do not increase them to much as he grows to the next size. He will fit in. And loose his puppy fat really soon.All teenagers do too

Enjoy his baby years they go so fast.
If he is blowing stinky bubbles he could be bloated and have a little extra gas build up.If you know your giving too many treats try to cut down and that would sort him out in no time. When mine was a bit chunky I got a wheel and gave him his dry food as a treat while he ran on the wheel.

But he looks so cute and is totally gorgeous. If you look in the threads their is a picture that has a top and side view of what the average and overweight cat looks like I can’t seem to find it on my iPad as I thought is downloaded it to use as a guide.

 

[wesleydeman]

My boy was exactly the same and the vet said he was over weight but then just after a year he grew so much he was just perfect and the vet has never said so again. Has he been neutered yet? I would wait for him to finish growing just keep up with your ration portions and do not increase them to much as he grows to the next size. He will fit in. And loose his puppy fat really soon.All teenagers do too

Enjoy his baby years they go so fast.
If he is blowing stinky bubbles he could be bloated and have a little extra gas build up.If you know your giving too many treats try to cut down and that would sort him out in no time. When mine was a bit chunky I got a wheel and gave him his dry food as a treat while he ran on the wheel.

But he looks so cute and is totally gorgeous. If you look in the threads their is a picture that has a top and side view of what the average and overweight cat looks like I can’t seem to find it on my iPad as I thought is downloaded it to use as a guide.
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He has been neutered close to 5 months old, he started to show adult behavior towards his sister at around 4.5 months... I've been paying more attention to food yeah, normally I would just keep the bowl topped up the whole day like what I did with my Sphynx cat before these. But now I've been just giving a certain amount of scoops a day, but also making sure it's not fully empty.

I don't give a lot of snacks to them, mostly only to stimulate good behavior. E.g. going in bath or after cutting nails. That's been going well, since they now go in bath of their own choice .

Yeah, @Catzzzmeow also shared a picture with top and side view. It seems currently he is leaning in the middle between ideal and overweight. My current plan is indeed to wait for him to finish growing which is about 18 months I think for cats. But when he's turning 1 he's going to the vet again for a vaccine and a check-up, so I will probably bring it up if it still concerns me.

For the moment I let it mostly for what it is, since he's still a kitten. But while being more aware of how much food I'm giving, and playing more actively with him. Meaning that I am also running around the house, to get him to run too haha.

 

[Natalie Murphy]

@wesleydeman have you thought of getting an automatic feeder. I got one and it is great. I can control how many grams they eat a day. My little monster has no problem eating a months supply in one sitting. I’ve found that out the hard way when I left the container open In the kitchen. Not once but twice LOL.

 

[wesleydeman]

@wesleydeman have you thought of getting an automatic feeder. I got one and it is great. I can control how many grams they eat a day. My little monster has no problem eating a months supply in one sitting. I’ve found that out the hard way when I left the container open In the kitchen. Not once but twice LOL.

I thought about one in the past with previous cats, but you got me triggered to look into them again, thanks.

 

[wesleydeman]

I was at the vet today with Loki, since I didn't trust the sounds he made. He's been sounding like he has a cold for a bit more than a month. Already called about that in december, but for the rest he was doing fine eating, drinking and playing et cetera. Today in the morning he sounded really hoarse and was swallowing while he was sounding hoarse and he also coughed like 5 times. So I called again, and they said to come in. Luckily he sounds healthy according to them.

But while at the vet, the vet said "well then, he grew quite a bit hasn't he". He said Loki needs to lose about 10% weight in the coming year. So about 500 grams, currently he weighs around 5,5 kilogram. I ofcourse already noticed his belly, hence this thread. But now the vet has confirmed too, that he's a bit overweight.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Well, your gut was right then about the weight. Now you have the target weight to shoot for. So your vet found nothing like a URI today after you described the hoarse voice and coughing? If not, I’d keep a very close eye. We had ours get hoarse and almost lose their voice and it turned out to be a URI.

 

[wesleydeman]

Correct, he didn't find a URI. He listended extensively with a stethoscope around his front body also checked his eyes and nose for discharge. He said he doesn't just want to give antibiotics without clear signs or discharge, which I agree with. He said I could send pictures/video's to their WhatsApp if any new stuff happends and they can check again.

The vet and I do have some suspicion about humidity levels in my apartment. My house is mechanically ventilated, during the winter times the humidity levels can drop to 30% in my house. I do have 2 humidifiers placed in my apartment. My current plan is to keep an eye on Loki and better activily check humidity levels to keep it near 50%.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Totally agree not to use antibiotics unless an issue just like in people. Glad your baby is well.

 

[wesleydeman]

@wesleydeman have you thought of getting an automatic feeder. I got one and it is great. I can control how many grams they eat a day. My little monster has no problem eating a months supply in one sitting. I’ve found that out the hard way when I left the container open In the kitchen. Not once but twice LOL.

Well then, I'm sorry little ones. But as of today they're getting fed with an automatic feeder. 4 times a day.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Let us know your review of this please…so others will know the pros and cons in the future.


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[Natalie Murphy]

Love your feeders. I did the four times a day to start off with then noticed he was always Hungary, so I did bigger portions 3 times a day The biggest one being when I was at home at night and slowly after a while we settles on 2 big portions a day instead of 4 small ones and it worked well. I did the transition over 6 months and it really helps to keep him trim. If he is complaining in the beginning you can bulk it up by being cheeky and put some water in the tray before the kibbles drop.

 

[wesleydeman]

Let us know your review of this please…so others will know the pros and cons in the future.


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So far I like it.

Pro's

• No app/wi-fi needed (pro for me, I want this thing to work even when an app or wifi isn't working)
• Setting it up via the buttons on the unit itself is pretty easy.
• The timing of feeding times with the internal clock seems consistent, meaning the clock doesn't seem to go out of sync (yet)
• Holds plenty of food, about 4.3 KG.
• Configurable to do 50 portions per meal, 6 meals are configurable per day. 1 portion is about 5 to 10 grams, depending on your food.
• Holds three D-cell batteries as backup for a power outage
• Indicator light which will turn red if food is almost empty or empty & will also turn red if backup batteries are almost out of power.
  • Display on the unit will tell you with a simple icon why the indicator is red.
• You can see the kibble from the top, since the lid is see through plastic. Allows for a quick glance to see the food level.
• Feeding tray & kibble holder are removable to more easily clean

Con's:

• The indicator light which indicates if it's working properly or food is almost empty or empty is pretty bright
• The feeding tray is plastic, not stainless steel (It's dishwasable proof though)
• The feeding tray is not too wide, it's okay enough, sometimes the cats do bump each others heads away
• Holds three D-cell batteries as backup for a power outage
  • Which can be a con for some because of D-cell batteries, not really for me as they're backups.
• Kibble holder lid might be hard to open for people with long nails.

I've ordered a sheet of dimming stickers, so I can dim the indicator light. It's pretty bright, not too bright that it lights up the whole room. But I just find it way too bright for an indicator light.

I also might consider getting a 2nd unit, I'm gonna see how it goes the rest of the week/coming week with them eating together from the feeding tray. My boy got used to it really fast and runs to it when it drops food, my girl is getting used to it a bit slower, she does seems to notice it better every day. So I want to see them both really used to it. So I can check if they both get their fill, and if I find they struggle too much with eating from the same tray, I will maybe get a 2nd unit. But they should be fine, they've been eating kibble from the same tray together since they were kittens. Only thing they were fed separately was wet food. All the automatic feeders I found with 2 trays at the bottom without the need of an app/wifi, were either badly reviewed, or didn't share the food properly 50/50. I might try to do bigger portions but 3 times a day, so more food is in the bowl, so they have more to share.

 

[Catzzzmeow]

Great feedback.


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[Toa and Ross]

Thanks for this great info!

 

[Natalie Murphy]

I’m so glad they are adjusting to their new feeder.

 

[wesleydeman]

Update, my boy (Loki) and now also my girl (Lushi) are now totally adjusted to the automatic feeder. It also helped their sleep-wake rhythm, as they're no longer playing like crazy at midnight, which is great. Loki is also already losing weight, while still being very active and not meowing for food. His waist is already looking better. In the beginning while they were adjusting they tried to open the automatic feeder now and then, and meowed for food around 8pm. But since I adjusted giving their wet food around 7-8pm instead of 6pm. They're totally fine.

 

[wesleydeman]

Loki is doing great with his weight, for his first yearly check-up and vaccination at the 28th of February the vet also checked his weight and he lost 300 grams since his last visit 2 months ago. He's also more agile like when he was younger and small, he jumps up higher and makes flips again in the air to catch toys. He's still a big boy, but he's big in general .

 

[Catzzzmeow]

I congratulated you in your other post…but kudos again. Many don’t realize there will be such a big change in their mobility…I bet he feels fantastic! @wesleydeman

 

[wesleydeman]

I congratulated you in your other post…but kudos again. Many don’t realize there will be such a big change in their mobility…I bet he feels fantastic! @wesleydeman

Thanks, since I implied in the other post that he is a "big boy". I wanted to make sure to give some context he is losing weight haha. But I love that picture so much of him, even though it might not be to flattering.