Prince(ss) Chunk and the Issue of Cat Weight

Some of you might have noticed in the news lately the story of “Prince Chunk” (previously misreported as “Princess Chunk” by some news outlets), a 44 pound cat that was abandoned in Camden, New Jersey, when his owner’s home was foreclosed. The story has a happy ending, as Prince Chunk finally gets a new home, and a clean bill of health. 500 people applied to be the cats caretaker, and he has no major health problems except being extremely overweight.

The case of Prince Chunk provides an opportunity to review the issue of cat weight. Obviously letting your cat get become 44 pounds is a form of neglect. But there are variety of methods that can help you cat slim down if they have become overweight:

The National Academies offers this advice (link to pdf of brochure):

The most obvious answer is to put less of the same type of food in its bowl each day, still allowing it to eat at all times of the day. This is not the same as letting it eat as much as it wants at all times. About 30 to 40% of cats will overeat and become fat if given this latitude. Some cat owners offer less appealing food. Another option is to feed one of the low-calorie cat foods on the market. It’s also important to remember to keep your cat from sampling the cat-next-door’s food and to refrain from giving it table scraps.

I would estimate that 30% to 40% of humans would also overeat and become fat if given the option to eat as much as we want at all time. It would be the equivalent of leaving one bowl of delicious steaks and one bowl of pasta sitting in our living rooms all day long.

As for cat weight, in much the same manner that I view human weight, it is best to eyeball it based upon the cat. I like the description from Pictures of Cats:

So if your cat looks overweight she is. You can feel the fat around the neck and rib cage for example. As a guide average sized male cats should weigh in the order of 9-12 pounds and females about 7-9 lbs. That said, in my personal experience there is a distinct tendency for veterinarians to pigeon hole all cats into generic weight categories. This seems wrong to me. As is the case for people, some cats are naturally bigger than others. Some are naturally small. Some cats will have a propensity to be a bit heavier etc. Yet you see charts and the like listing weights for cats as if they all have to be within certain limits.

Common sense is usually the best way to treat these situations, and to tailor the diet to the cat. I will do further posts on this subject, as well as the importance of exercise to your cat.