Sheena is 10 months old and I believe she is overweight. Her belly hangs, and her head looks so small in proportion to her body. I was following the guideline about feeding kittens more, but when do I limit her? My Bombay male looks totally proportioned in weight, but she looks obese! They get a 3 oz. of wet in the a.m. and p.m., along with some dry food (about quarter of a cup). She also gets a few Instinct Mixers (raw freeze dried) and a couple of Temptations (which are only 2 calories each). My male Bombay doesn't eat the dry, so I know Sheena is eating it all. Is it ok to cut back on her food intake? I'd like to cut the dry out altogether. She is HUGE.

I hear you. Blondie and Grace are 17 months old and have always had big appetites. They share a 3 ounce can of wet in the morning and evening. They also get 1/3 cup of dry in the morning and 1/4 cup in the evening to share. I eliminated a 3pm 1/3 cup of dry a few weeks ago because Grace was 14 pounds and Blondie 11 pounds last month. They are pretty active, but they do sleep the afternoon away. They are always hungry.

I saw she was getting fat and I asked someone somewhere (maybe on here, not sure) if I should cut back and I was told NEVER to limit feedings for a kitten. Now I have a fat cat. I'm putting her on a diet.

It could be that she is due for a growth spurt...she is not quite a year yet. Maybe check with your vet and see what they say. Grace and Blondie started getting chubby about that same age so I stopped feeding them kitten wet food and switched to adult food. I just wanted them to have the best chance to develop.

I take my cats to a "feline only" vet and she said to never feed kitten food - just always feed cat food. Sheena is due for a checkup in January. I'm going to cut out her dry Orijen and see if she slims down. Gut feeling is telling me to cut back even though she's not fully grown yet.

Ours are 10 months, we just took off of kitten food, put cat food in the dispenser and they eat what they want and give canned food in the morning and evening as snacks... seems to work here

The simple answer is, when your cat is overeating and it's affecting his/her weight negatively. The trick is knowing when that is. If you are able to make that determination yourself, then do it. If you don't trust your own judgement, then get help from a vet. Hopefully you are on a regular schedule now of exams and shots and such?

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The little monsters 3

You need to post a picture so we can see what you're talking about. I don't know about a vet who won't recommend kitten food for a kitten as a kitten needs specific nutrients to help them grow! If she is still a kitten, she should be eating multiple times a day. And she should have so much energy that she uses up the calories. There are cat foods with fewer calories -- or for weight control.

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See that hanging flabby belly? It looks worse in person, believe me!
My vet specializes in cats, only. She said that kitten food is not necessary and that cat food is what I should feed her. I got her at 7 weeks and she has only had cat food. I am cutting out the Orijen dry food and only feeding Tiki and Nature's Instinct (both wet). She is not especially active and I think that may be the problem in her weight gain. So, she is down to a can a day, half in the a.m. and half in the p.m. Also, at bed time my cats split a 3 oz. pouch of Weruva Cats in the Kitchen. (only 61 calories in a pouch.). I just don't want her to be a blob and it seems she is getting there!

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Yes, my cats go regularly for exams. Sheena is due in January, but was last seen in April. She almost died after a vaccination, so no more for her. My cats are both indoor cats.

The flabby belly is probably her primordial pouch. Some bengals have more prominent ones than others. Hendrix's is particularly prominent and I was horrified when it appeared, it's like a saggy sack that wobbles around!

She doesn't look too fat to me, but always hard to tell in pics and she is still growing. I can remember how I used to worry about my two getting overweight as they packed so much food away at that age. They would start to look podgy but then suddenly have a growth spurt and look fine again. And I worried again when they stopped eating as much when they finally stopped growing!

Can you just about feel her ribs and does she have a defined waist? Have you looked at the body condition charts and compared her to those? They give a good idea of what to look for.

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Clare
Hendrix and Jagger, Brown Marble Boys (born 18 August 2013)
Hampshire, UK

When I look down at her from the top, all I see is a little head and a whale of a body. No defined waist. No, can't feel her ribs. She looks obese. I'm cutting back...I don't think she will suffer too much. A couple of 2 calorie treats a day (Temptations) and no dry food. Sometimes I think they gave me an actual leopard :-).