when do you know when a cat needs to be on a diet?

The physical size of the cat, meaning bone structure, also adds into whether a cat is fat or not. I have different sized cats and overweight is different for each one of them. One of my cats who has sinced passed away, was a big sized cat with big bones and he weighed 15 1/2 pounds and that was fine for him. Although, when he went up to 19 1/2 pounds he was considered overweight. Then I have a smaller cat who at 13 1/2 pounds is considered overweight because of her size. So, as far as I know, it all depends on the frame and size of the cat as well as the weight, just like people.

I was just at the vet a few weeks ago. My cat had gained some weight this winter, which is probably normal for animals to pack on fat in the cold weather. He's 12 pounds. My vet said that's an okay weight for him, but if he gets any heavier I should think about cutting his food down. That's hard to do when I also have a thin as a reed Siamese at only 9 pounds. I can't be standing around feeding them separately. I think it may also depend on if your cat is a male or a female.

Well the last time I was at the vets with my male kitty (his name is Brock) he weighed 20lbs and I was concerned. According to the vet though, Tom cats are generally bigger all around and it's normal for them to be alittle larger than the females. She said that it wouldn't hurt him to lose any weight but he wasn't obese or anything. I think when you have indoor cats it can be difficult to keep them active, but the odd time he'll run after some toys that he enjoys. For the most part though, he's a typical lazy kitty. :)

The best way to tell, rub your hands on the sides/back of the cat(or dog). You should be able to feel their ribs, with just a little bit of skin/fat in between. Then look at them from the top. They should have an indent just before their hind legs, it should narrow in a bit. From the side profile, you see their chest is rounded, then it should slowly slope up/go up towards their back legs. If their belly is even with their chest or beyond that towards the floor, they're overweight. I've seen posters at the vet's office with great pictures of this, try searching online for them, I can't find any at the moment. One thing too, if your cat is overweight, you don't want to drastically cut down on their food portions, or cut out a meal. To much of a drop in calories at once, can cause them to get a fatty liver, which isn't good for them.

I was just at the vet a few weeks ago. My cat had gained some weight this winter, which is probably normal for animals to pack on fat in the cold weather. He's 12 pounds. My vet said that's an okay weight for him, but if he gets any heavier I should think about cutting his food down. That's hard to do when I also have a thin as a reed Siamese at only 9 pounds. I can't be standing around feeding them separately. I think it may also depend on if your cat is a male or a female.