In humans a big flap of ‘empty’ skin is usually left over from the skin being stretched out over something – like fat that has been dieted away, or pregnancy with twins or something.
But that doesn’t seem to be the case. We have two adult female cats, and both have those big hanging flaps. So much with one that if you are standing behind her as she trots away, you worry that the way it’s flapping back in forth might topple the cat over.
We’ve had them since six weeks. Neither of them have ever been fat, neither have had kittens. They were both spayed around 6-8 months, whatever it was the vet recommended.
OTOH, the female cats from across the street are as narrow-waisted and trim as a high fashion models.
Is it just a genetic difference? Those two cats are siamese, ours are your basic ‘domestic shorthairs.’
I was discussing this with my sister, and she suggested that maybe it was due to how the cats are spayed, like maybe one process just chops through belly muscles and leaves the skin unsupported afterwards?
I don’t think it’s that–you see it just as often in male cats, and neutering them is a very simple procedure that has nothing to do with abdominal walls.
We have a skinny little 7 lb cat with said belly flaps. When she runs toward you they swing side to side in a very amusing way. I’m pro-belly flap in kitties. (No idea where they come from, though, sorry.)
We refer to it as Mitzy’s banjo. When she runs and it sways, we start doing the Deliverance banjo duel thing in time to the swaying. Mitzy does not appreciate this.
My cats developed their bellies after being spayed. Mystery’s went away after a few years. Tikva is still flappy, but then again, she’s always been on the chubby side.
My sister is in vet school, and as far as she’s been taught (she’s finished her second year, and I asked her this a month or two back), the answer is “no one knows”. There does appear to be a very strong genetic component, but genetics isn’t all of it (belly-flapped parents might have non-belly-flapped kittens). I don’t know if there’s a lot of research going on in this field, though, since it really doesn’t seem to affect the cats in any way whatsoever.
Only one of our 4 cats has the belly flap, but his is so big that he will occasionally knock things over that are sitting on the top of our piano when jumping from the floor to the shelf above and behind the piano. It’s hilarious because it always seems to embarrass him, and sometimes scares him.
I have two belly-flappers and one svelte calico. One of the flappers used to be much larger, but that Indoor Cat Food had slimmed her down considerably, except for the flaps. The other flapper has decided to eat everything the older cat isn’t eating, so her flaps are getting flappier. The one time I asked my vet about it, he said that cats are like people…some get a little roll, some don’t. Some sag, some stay taut.
