30+ Cats Who Don’t Understand How BIG They Are

“It’s important to remember that when a cat is overweight the excess pounds puts additional strain on the normal functioning of the body,” Vet Nurse Downing explained. “The same may be true for some larger breeds of cat, especially amongst the pedigrees, where gene pools can be smaller.”

She also noted that breeds such as Maine Coons can suffer from heart disease or other breed health conditions that they inherited from previous generations.

“It’s vital that if your cat may have underlying health conditions, you do everything possible to keep them healthy so the condition isn’t made worse or brought forward early on in life. You can achieve this by feeding your cat the right amount of a good quality complete food, encouraging them to exercise, so that your cat can maintain a healthy lifestyle. The additional strain of any excess weight on top of underlying health conditions will only worsen things.”

Downing claimed that obese cats might have higher chances of having health problems. It’s the same for them as it is for us. “As with us, carrying excess weight puts extra strain on joints, makes organs work harder, and can interfere with the normal functioning of the body”.

“Overweight cats are at risk of developing diabetes, bladder problems, including painful blocked bladders, liver disease, arthritis, breathing problems, and even cancer. As well as these directly associated conditions, it’s worth remembering that once your cat’s health begins to deteriorate additional problems can start to develop as their body weakens.” 

Being overweight affects cats’ lives more than we can imagine: they are less active, sleeps more, and soon loses their curious instinct. Downing gave a reminder to owners about keeping an eye on our tabbies’’ behaviors: “Although cats naturally sleep a lot, when they’re awake they should be alert and active—cats are athletic and agile creatures, so disinterest in life is an unnatural behavior for them to develop.”

The foremost reason why cats are overweight is their owners overfeed them on a regular basis. According to Downing, overfeeding is the result of the emotional attachment between the owner and the cat. “Our nurturing nature for those we love can be expressed in many ways, including in the form of wanting to feed our loved ones, and it’s no different with our pets.”

Reflecting on her experiences from working in weight clinics, Downing stated that many owners overfeed their rescue cats to make up for the maltreatment they underwent at their previous home. Owners also feed their cats since they continuously begging for food and their human parents can't stand seeing them upset.

“These are both very understandable emotional responses. However, we need to change our mindset so that we don’t see food as the only way to express our love. Our pets of course need to be fed, but it’s important to understand that feeding is to meet the nutritional requirements for your pets’ good health and wellbeing.”

Downing continued: “By overfeeding pets, we are actually harming their health and shortening their lives. It’s important to recognize as well that many owners don’t even realize that their pet is carrying too much weight. We can become blind to our pets’ physical shape, as we see them every day.”

Instead of constantly feeding them and spoil them with treats, there are other ways to express our affection for them. “Spend time to research a suitable food for your cat and weigh it out with scales each day to make sure you’re feeding the correct amount. You can also make your cat work for their food by sharing their daily food allowance into different bowls and placing around the house, or using puzzle feeders,” she said.

“But remember, time, play, and activity are gifts that enrich our pets’ lives just as much as food does. By playing with our cats, we can keep their mind sharp and their body active, as well as the benefit they gain from the time we are spending with them. This will help them stay healthy and avoid any health problems associated with weight gain from developing. If owners can replace the treats and extra food with more playtime and snuggles, this is a much healthier way to show them how much you love them.”

Additional expert advice about caring for your felines can be supported by visiting the PDSA’s website.

The ‘Illegally Big Cats' subreddit makes it clear that the forum is for cats that are “somewhat big (or fat),” but not “morbidly obese.” To put it another way, the community is more interested in demonstrating how beautiful these floofs may seem despite their chubbiness rather than in glorifying their obesity. The only exception here is if they're on a diet."