How can you tell if a long-haired cat is getting fat?

[MarySkater]

I have 2 cats: Rocky, my 7-year-old moggie, somewhat overweight at 5.7 kg. Ria, my 8-month-old Norwegian Forest Cat, technically still a kitten, but already as tall and long as Rocky, although slimmer at 4.5kg. She's going to be a big cat; her mother wasn't huge, but the photos I've seen of her father show him as very big.

Each cat gets 2 pouches of wet food, and "some" dry food per day, split into 3 meals. Back in December, I started weighing the dry food, giving Rocky 30 grams and Ria 50 grams per day. Rocky has gained weight slightly on that, so I'll need to cut it back a little. (They have microchip-coded feeders, so neither can steal the other's food.)

But I'm not sure I'm managing Ria's diet properly. Obviously I don't want to underfeed a growing youngster, but equally I don't want her to get overweight, and then have to struggle to get it off again. Over the last 6 weeks since I started weighing food and cats, she has gained 0.9kg. She used to be a picky eater, but lately she has been hoovering up her food and would obviously like more. But she's so fluffy, it's hard to see if she's developing a belly.

If I put my hands either side of Ria's chest, and stroke back along her body, she goes in a very little behind the ribs, and out again at the hips. (Rocky doesn't go in at all!) I'm trying to estimate the "waist measurement" of both cats. Neither will keep still for a tape measure, so I put my hands round the middle, touch my fingers together underneath, and gauge by how much my thumbs fail to meet at the top. On that approximation, Rocky is 21 inches at the waist, Ria is 17.

My feeling is that Ria is beginning to accumulate a bit of fat (she was a skinny little scrap when I first got her, 1.4kg at 3 months and not much interested in food). On that basis, I shouldn't increase her food any, and maybe even cut back slightly. I suppose I'd just like some reassurance that, despite her increased appetite, she doesn't need any more food than I'm giving her.

Mary

[meriad]

My Ava is 5.8kg (I think) and the vet hasn't ever commented on her weight. When I feel down her sides I can make out (just ) the ribs and spine which is what they often use to measure body condition and to me she's quite a healthy active cat.

Ava probably reached her adult weight when she was about a year and a bit; to me she never grew much after that. She's a solid girl, that admittedly - like me - probably could do with losing a bit of weight, but as a breed they just are heavier cats.

Harry on the other hand (same breed) the vet commented a while back that he was a bit overweight and could do with a bit of weight loss. Which always surprised me given that males should be heavier than females and Harry is just over the 5kg mark - so a good deal lighter than Ava. But then saying that he's a different build to Ava and I'm fairly certain that he probably isn't 100% NFC even though he was taken into rescue from a hoarder who was going to use him as a stud

Mine are free fed dry food and they all get 1/2 pouch wet in the mornings and then again in the evenings. They then pick at the wet and play musical bowls and have a bit of everything so I'm never sure who is getting how much.


As a by the by - when I collected Ava, two of her brothers were there as well; one (the family was keeping him) was huge already compared to Ava and the other brother. He was an absolute stunner

[alanc]

Your Ria seems to be of similar build to my Maine Coon Tilly - long and narrow with long fur. Tilly is now nearly 7 years old, is over a yard long and weighs 5.6kg. At 9 months she was about 4.6kg. When I stroke her flanks, I can feel her ribs, but they do not stick out and some padding can be felt between them. Her regular vet says she is the right weight. However, the long fur makes people think she is wider than she really is. She has fooled one vet (admittedly an emergency vet who hadn't seen her before) into thinking she was too thin after weighing her and finding she was only 5.5kg!
Tilly eats about 40g of dry food and 200-250g of wet food a day and is still quite active although slowing up a bit. She used to eat more when growing but I am not sure quite how much more as she and Badger used to share - she ate most of his wet food, he ate most of her dry food and they both supplemented their diets with mice.
I don't know for certain, but I expect Norwegian Forest cats, like Maine Coons, keep growing for a long time. Tilly kept growing until she was about 4, so I think Ria will still need feeding on the growing cat scale for some time yet!

[MarySkater]

Thanks for the input. I daren't free-feed my cats with dry food - they'd explode! That's my fault for buying James Wellbeloved; they like it too much! When the current (big) bag is finished, maybe I should buy them something cheaper. I'll certainly look for a "light" dry food next time. I used to dish up the wet and dry food in separate containers, but I've now tried mixing them, and that seems to slow down the eating rate.

Alan, Maine Coons and Wegies are similar. I'm not sure if they're related, or if it's just the result of evolving in similar environment. But Wegies are said to be slow growing, which agrees with what Meriad said about Ava, so I certainly don't want to stunt Ria. I'll keep weighing her every couple of weeks to make sure she's still growing, and try to keep feeling her ribs and midsection to make sure she's not growing outwards instead of upwards.

This is Ria's father. He's being held by a child, which makes him look even bigger, but I don't think the owners are exaggerating when they describe him as a "big soft gentle giant."

[alanc]

Mary, how big was Ria's mother? Tilly takes after her mother and is much the same size, shape, weight and temperament as she was - just different fur colour. By the looks of things, Tilly's father was about the same size as Ria's dad (and equally soppy)!
The evolution of Coonie cats and Wedgies is shrouded in mystery. I suspect parallel evolution under similar pressures, but who knows? I am sure though, that the only thing Racoons have to do with Maine Coons is the name!

[MarySkater]

I asked the breeder about Ria's mother's size, and she thought she was "about 5 kg." I didn't actually handle the mother - when I first visited, she was getting a bit fed up with her then 8-week-old kittens, and was lurking on a high shelf. But she looked a normal sort of size to me - 5 kg sounded about right. In a house-full of Wegies, most of the adult females looked like that, and I picked up one or two of them just to see what they felt like to handle.

I'm inclined to agree about convergent evolution for Main Coons and Wegies, although there's no way of knowing now how many specimens of European cats were taken to America by the early colonists. An American friend once told me of a time when she was living in a country district of New York state, with a Maine Coon. Her cat would come to a window to ask to be let in after a night prowl. She didn't want any prey brought into the house, so she'd look through the window before opening it. She said her cat used to try to hide his face if he was carrying any small animals
Nothing so ordinary as mice - he brought home bats and flying squirrels. She showed me a souvenir, a tail of a flying squirrel. Very interesting - looked just like a feather, but made of fur, skin and bone.

[meriad]

Maine Coon's and Wedgies aren't related at all - the one comes from Norway and the other from Maine in the US - the reason (or so I understand) that they're called Maine Coon's is because people used to think they were related to Racoon's when they first saw them, due to their size. MC's are the largesrt cats of them all and will easily weigh about 2kg more than the average NFC. Their features are also very different. But what they both have in common - and I just hope it always stays this way - is that they are one of the few pure breeds that hasn't had their original look changed to appease their breeders (ie Persians with their flat noses - they used to have quite normal noses).

But have to say, I do have a giggle whenever you post about your Ria... as I absolutely adore adore adore the breed and my name is Ria

[MarySkater]

Maine Coon's and Wedgies aren't related at all - the one comes from Norway and the other from Maine in the US

They may have common ancestors. I don't think the domestic cat existed in North America until taken there by European settlers. I think it's now accepted that the Vikings got there, but not to establish permanent settlements, so probably cats didn't get established until some centuries later. I think MCs and NFCs are both "types" that do well in a cold-temperate climate.

Their features are also very different.

I've read about that, on web pages like this one:
http://mainecoon.org/maine-coons-vs-nor ... rest-cats/
But, to be honest, I find it hard to follow. I can't visualise "wedge-shaped head." To me, a wedge is a slice out of a round cheese, or a thing you use to block a door. I'd need an example of each breed in front of me, with a cat expert pointing out what to look for.

But what they both have in common - and I just hope it always stays this way - is that they are one of the few pure breeds that hasn't had their original look changed to appease their breeders (ie Persians with their flat noses - they used to have quite normal noses).

I agree with you 100% on that one. (And it applies even more so to dogs.) I hate to see a detrimental feature deliberately bred into an animal, for the sake of human vanity. I look at a pedigree animal and ask, how well would it fare if it was dumped in the wild and left to fend for itself? To be honest, I'm a little uneasy about having chosen a long-haired cat. Wild cold-climate felines like lynx and bobcat have coats that get very thick in winter, but not, I think, as long as our domestic varieties. I've seen how matted such a coat can get if it's neglected. However, NFC's and (I think) MC's are semi-long-haired, and this seems to be a coat type which the cat can look after itself, unlike some of the fluffier breeds. I run my hands over Ria (no, not you ) quite often, and if I find any bits of litter or garden dirt stuck to her, I brush it out immediately, but I don't find she needs a lot of grooming.

But have to say, I do have a giggle whenever you post about your Ria... as I absolutely adore adore adore the breed and my name is Ria

I didn't copy the middle bit of your username! Her pedigree name is Priya. I just dropped a couple of letters, to make it something I'd find easier to say!

Mary

[alanc]

Although I have owned two Maine Coons, I am vague about what constitutes their finer points for breeding purposes, apart from being big, sturdy and having tufts on their ears. I just like them because they are big, beautiful and good natured (except where mice are concerned). Anyway, have just done a bit of research and here is Tilly's official wedge head:

So far as I know, there were no domestic cats in North America until the English and French brought them over in the 1600s. Under the stress of the New England climate, Maine Coons appear to have evolved from the typical short haired domestic mog in the 200-300 years from then until the late 19th century. Cats in Scandinavia were apparently brought back from Britain by the Vikings after 1000AD, so Norwegian Forest Cats also evolved from a short haired mog under climate stresses.
Fortunately, Maine Coons are the state cat of Maine, so I doubt any breeder would dare to try and fiddle with their appearance. There would be riots among Mane Coon owners if they did!

[MarySkater]

This is Ria full-face, taken when she was 6 months old.

The fur makes it hard to see the shape of the underlying bone.

PS - Alan, I meant to say, Tilly is a lovely cat.

[meriad]

Ava's pedigree name is Astrid. This apparently was going to be the last litter the family were going to have / breed / sell and their children were allowed to name them. It was when the movie "How to tame a dragon" was out and all the kittens ended up with a name from that movie as their pedigree name... One of the poor things was called Toothless and he was such a stunning big kitten