Why are my cats so small?

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 20:56:43 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

I have read posts about cats on the group that are often 14 lbs up to in the
20's, particularly USA cats.
Compared with this, mine are miniscule. Boyfriend is around 7-8 pounds and
KFC is 4ish. They both have access to all the gooshy and dry food that they
might want and catch and eat der birdies too.
They are both healthy at their weight. They both look just right. Slim and
lithe hunting kitties.
Should I worry that they aren't heavier?
No wormies nor fleas thanks to Stronghold.

Cats just come in different sizes. It is easy to tell by feel whether
a cat is too thin. An average male house cat is 8 lb (so I've been
told) and an average female is 6 lb. I once had a 13 lb male cat that
the vet called "a whopper" and it was by far the largest cat that I
ever had. It could stand on the floor and peek over the edge of the
kitchen table to look for a treat. Right now Spotsie is 8 lb and Jo
is 6 (both spayed females). Spotsie just looms over Jo.

Speaking of large animals, I saw an Irish Wolfhound the day before
yesterday. That dog looked as if it could stand with all four feet on
the ground and look you straight in the eye.

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 20:56:43 +0100, "Christina Websell"
yodeled:

I have read posts about cats on the group that are often 14 lbs up to in the
20's, particularly USA cats.
Compared with this, mine are miniscule. Boyfriend is around 7-8 pounds and
KFC is 4ish. They both have access to all the gooshy and dry food that they
might want and catch and eat der birdies too.
They are both healthy at their weight. They both look just right. Slim and
lithe hunting kitties.
Should I worry that they aren't heavier?
No wormies nor fleas thanks to Stronghold.

Tweed



Aw, don't worry. First off, I've observed that in general, American
cats are bigger than English ones. Another thing-- your kitties were
found kitties, weren't they? They had already reached their full
growth by the time they took you on as their slave. So their bone
structure was already what it would be. So they might pack a little
weight on, but their frames are not going to grow the way a cat under
a year old would. AND your kitties are busy, outside hunting kitties.
If they look good to you, I'm sure there is no problem with them. And
some of us have observed that some of our cats are on the fluffy side.
My vet says the most common problem he sees in dogs and cats is
overweight.



Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 21:37:20 +0100, "Christina Websell"
yodeled:


"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"Christina Websell" wrote in message
...
I have read posts about cats on the group that are often 14 lbs up to in
the
20's, particularly USA cats.
Compared with this, mine are miniscule. Boyfriend is around 7-8 pounds
and
KFC is 4ish. They both have access to all the gooshy and dry food that
they
might want and catch and eat der birdies too.
They are both healthy at their weight. They both look just right. Slim
and
lithe hunting kitties.
Should I worry that they aren't heavier?
No wormies nor fleas thanks to Stronghold.

Tweed

Nope. Jessie, 6, and Demi, 7, are 7.55 pounds and 7.25 pounds. 4 pounds
is
small, but I don't think it's abnormal for some cats. What does your vet
say?

Hugs,

CatNipped


What, apart from please don't bring that little KFC back until it's really
necessary? ;-)



LOL. Reminds me of my tiny Mimi always squirting out of the vet's
grasp, and heading for the hills, holding the vet at bay under the
table, and TED sighing "It's *always* the little ones."




Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 17:29:40 -0500, William Hamblen
yodeled:

On Wed, 27 Jul 2005 20:56:43 +0100, "Christina Websell"
wrote:

I have read posts about cats on the group that are often 14 lbs up to in the
20's, particularly USA cats.
Compared with this, mine are miniscule. Boyfriend is around 7-8 pounds and
KFC is 4ish. They both have access to all the gooshy and dry food that they
might want and catch and eat der birdies too.
They are both healthy at their weight. They both look just right. Slim and
lithe hunting kitties.
Should I worry that they aren't heavier?
No wormies nor fleas thanks to Stronghold.

Cats just come in different sizes. It is easy to tell by feel whether
a cat is too thin. An average male house cat is 8 lb (so I've been
told) and an average female is 6 lb. I once had a 13 lb male cat that
the vet called "a whopper" and it was by far the largest cat that I
ever had. It could stand on the floor and peek over the edge of the
kitchen table to look for a treat. Right now Spotsie is 8 lb and Jo
is 6 (both spayed females). Spotsie just looms over Jo.

Speaking of large animals, I saw an Irish Wolfhound the day before
yesterday. That dog looked as if it could stand with all four feet on
the ground and look you straight in the eye.


It could. And stand with its paws on your shoulders and tower over
you. Wonderful dogs-- very sweet and strangely quiet.




Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

I've got three,

Emily is probably about 8lbs and could lose a couple without it hurting (but
don't tell I said so)

Muddy is around 11lbs and probably stand to gain one or 2, when I first had
him I thought he was a big cat, certainly bigger than other cats I'd seen.
In his prime he was probably about 14lbs.

Mojo is that cat that convinced me that Muddy wasn't that big, he probably
stands 2" taller at the shoulder than Muddy and is at least 4" longer from
nose to tail. He's a very big boy and weighs in around the 19-21lb range.
Usually vets make jokes about black panther genes when they see him for the
first time.


--
Nik Simpson

On 2005-07-27, Christina Websell penned:
I have read posts about cats on the group that are often 14 lbs up to in the
20's, particularly USA cats.
Compared with this, mine are miniscule. Boyfriend is around 7-8 pounds and
KFC is 4ish. They both have access to all the gooshy and dry food that they
might want and catch and eat der birdies too.
They are both healthy at their weight. They both look just right. Slim and
lithe hunting kitties.
Should I worry that they aren't heavier?

I doubt it. I seem to recall the ancestors of the Maine Coon being a
large influence on cats throughout the US, so maybe they're simply
bigger through genetics.

Oscar hovers around 9 lb. .. but even she has little tufts in her toes
and other small signs that might speak of MC heritage.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

I have read posts about cats on the group that are often 14 lbs up to in the
20's, particularly USA cats.

It has to do with the build.

That is why Tyche, at 10 pounds, is overweight while Nocturne, at 12
pounds, is ideal weight. Nocturne is a much larger cat than Tyche,
skeletal-wise. Tyche is packing fat all around her belly.

--Fil

"Christina Websell" wrote:

Compared with this, mine are miniscule. Boyfriend is around 7-8 pounds and
KFC is 4ish. They both have access to all the gooshy and dry food that they
might want and catch and eat der birdies too.

Four lbs sounds like a small cat. How cute! Betty is 8.5 lbs, and I
consider her to be small, but she's the only cat I've had. She looks
smaller than most human infants I've seen, so in my mind, she's
"small".

Sometimes, when I pick Betty up, there's a set of exclamations that I
ritually make about her attributes as I carry her around. One of them
goes: "How small! How teeny-tiny! How wonderful! How beautiful!"
And repeat.

Shmogg was about 6kg in his prime, and thats about 13 advp and 16
pounds troy (no, I don't know what that means!) For an Australian he is
considered a very big, solid, but not overweight cat. IBKFergus is
significantly smaller and alot slimmer and more delicate looking
(Shmogg is very broad all over, he'd be a fullback, and IBKFergus would
be a gymnist).

I didn't have Shmogg neutered until long after I should have (I didn't
know!) so he got his full complement of testosterone. Still, those 20lb
cats out there must be bigger than Shmogg.

I figure that its probably due to the fact that inthe USA,t here's a
fair proportion of Maine Coons and other larger breeds in the mix, and
therefore your average stray moggy has probably inherited some of the
bigger cat traits that the rest of the world has yet to inherit (at
least to some degree).

Also, cats haven't been bred for as nearly as long as dogs, and you
already know the size differences in dogs. Eventually, one assumes
there'll be the catly equivalents of the Great Dean, St Bernard, the
chihuahua and the ****zhu in size in the pure breeds, and every size in
between in the mixed breeds.

As long as they are healthy and neither skin & bone nor a butterball,
it doesn't really matter what weight they are.

Hi Tweed,

My Chloe and Tiffy are small too - Chloe and Tiffy are under 9 pounds, Romeo
is about 11 pounds, Juliet is about 14 pounds and Jetson is about 16 pounds.
I think it just depends on the cat. Like people, cats come in all shapes and
sizes.

--
Flippy in Melbourne, Australia.
My Cats: http://www.flippyscatpage.com
Cat-chat: http://www.flippyscatpage.com/catchat.html


"Christina Websell" wrote ...
I have read posts about cats on the group that are often 14 lbs up to in
the 20's, particularly USA cats.
Compared with this, mine are miniscule. Boyfriend is around 7-8 pounds
and KFC is 4ish. They both have access to all the gooshy and dry food
that they might want and catch and eat der birdies too.
They are both healthy at their weight. They both look just right. Slim
and lithe hunting kitties.
Should I worry that they aren't heavier?
No wormies nor fleas thanks to Stronghold.

Tweed