Is Your Cat Overweight, Underweight or Just Right?
There are many ways to find out your furry friend’s healthy weight status. Here are just some of the ways to measure but remember – some of these are pet parent friendly and others are best left to a professional.
Body weight measurement
An oldie but a goodie – using the scales to get a picture of body weight is a simple measure that provides a great reference point. The scales can help both pet parent and a vet easily track a cat’s growth and adult body weight changes over time.
It’s best to weigh your cat once a month to keep an eye on any changes in their weight. However, getting cats onto the scale (and staying there!) might prove tricky, so using the pet-designed scales at your vets could be the easier option for a more accurate result.
However you choose to weigh your cat, use the same scales for consistency and make sure to weight your pet at each vet visit.
Body condition scoring
Body condition scoring is a quick and simple way to check your cat’s body composition. There are a few different systems like the 5-point and 9-point systems and WALTHAM S.H.A.P.E guide that use a visual assessment and hands to feel for the condition of a cat.
As you’ve always got your eyes and hands on you – it’s a very quick and effective method of evaluating your cat’s status regularly to keep an eye on any changes over time.
The 5-point and 9-point systems
The 5-point and 9-point systems are widely used methods of checking a cat’s weight. Both systems categorize cats from emaciated to obese with pictures and a description of what to look and feel for when getting the measure of your cat’s condition.
In the 9-point system, a score of 4 or 5 is ideal; whereas in the 5-point system it’s a 3. Because the 5-point system uses half points, they’re two pretty similar systems.
Both use technical language, but if you’re ok with that and you’re good at following instructions then these methods could prove useful to for your regular cat check ins.
The WALTHAM S.H.A.P.E guide
The WALTHAM S.H.A.P.E guide uses a simple YES/NO flow chart to help pet parents classify their cat into one of seven categories. The guide has been specifically designed with untrained pet parents in mind and has been successfully validated against clinical measures of body composition.
Other measures
When weighing your cat needs a more in-depth approach, below is a selection of specialized clinical measures used by clinicians and veterinarian referral clinics during weight loss programs:
Dual energy X-ray absorption (DXA) – this is used to get a more precise measurement of body fat and lean tissue.
Bioelectrical impedance analysis – body composition is determined by measuring the nature of conductance of an applied electrical current.
Zoometry – this involves taking several measurements such as hind limb and body length and entering them into an equation that calculates body condition. A good example of this is the Feline Body Mass index (BMI).
Feline BMI – The Feline BMI can tell us a cat’s body fat. It’s calculated using the below equation, which uses the ribcage and the lower hind limb measurement (LIM) which runs from the middle of a cat’s knee to their midfoot.