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Is Your Cat Overweight, Underweight or Just Right?

This article is part of a series on how to spot signs of a healthy cat. You can learn more about the key signs here.

Assessing your cat’s body condition is an important step in evaluating their overall nutritional well-being. Particularly in cases where your cat appears to be obese or thin, it is important to evaluate their total health before consulting a vet for a proper nutritional management program. Look for the following signs that your cat is overweight, underweight or just the right size.

thin cat i

underweight cat i

ideal weight cat i

overweight cat i

obese cat i

Thin Cat

Ribs, lumbar vertebrae and pelvic bones are easily visible
Thick neck and narrow waist
Obvious abdominal tuck
No fat in flank folds; folds are often absent

Underweight Cat

Backbone and ribs can be easily seen or felt
Minimal fat covering
Minimal waist when viewed from above
Slightly tucked abdomen

Ideal-weight Cat

Ribs are easily felt, but not visible
A slight waist can be seen behind the ribs when viewed from above
Abdomen is tucked up and flank folds are present

Overweight Cat

Slight increase in fat over ribs, but still easily felt
Abdomen is slightly rounded and flanks are concave
Flank folds hang down with moderate amount of fat — you might notice a jiggle when your cat is walking

Obese Cat

Ribs and backbone aren’t easily felt under a heavy fat covering
Abdomen is rounded; waist is barely visible or absent
Prominent flank folds sway from side to side when your cat is walking

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How Wheat Is Used in Our Cat Foods
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Why Use Wheat in Cat Food?
Wheat is a grain used as a high-quality carbohydrate source in dry cat foods. It provides energy for daily activity, as well as processing characteristics for the food. IAMS™ research has shown that including wheat in a complete and balanced diet resulted in a moderate glycemic response in dogs and cats, lower in general than that observed when a rice-based diet was fed.1,2

Misconception About Cat Food Allergies
A common misconception is that feeding wheat causes food allergies. Here are the facts:
The cat must have a hypersensitivity to the food or ingredient. It is an adverse reaction of an individual animal to proteins in the diet.
Food allergies are rare in animals and account for a very low percentage of allergic reactions in cats.
If your cat has a food allergy, he is most likely allergic to one ingredient or a combination of ingredients in his diet.

¹ Sunvold GD. The role of novel nutrients in managing obesity. In: Recent Advances in Canine and Feline Nutrition, Vol II: 1998 IAMS Nutrition Symposium Proceedings. Carey DP, Norton SA, Bolser SM, eds. Wilmington, OH: Orange Frazer Press, 1998; 123-133.

² Bouchard GF. Effect of dietary carbohydrate source on posprandial plasma glucose and insulin concentration in cats. In: Recent Advances in Canine and Feline Nutrition, Vol III: 2000 IAMS Nutrition Symposium Proceedings. Reinhart GA, Carey DP eds. Wilmington, OH: Orange Frazer Press, 2000; 91-101.
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