I have a kitten (Jork) who’s around a year old. I don’t know exactly how old because he was a stray, but I’d guess 11-12 months. To look at him, he’s perfectly normal-looking, not fat in the slightest. I’ve had fat cats in the past, so I know what they look like when they’re on the verge of getting too big. So, he looks normal, but when I go to pick him up, he’s HEAVY! He won’t stay on the scale so I don’t know exactly how much he weighs, but it feels like a ton. I can’t hold him with one hand, not because of his size, but because of his weight.
I had another cat who was bigger in size than Jork is now, and he was light as a feather, like you could blow on him and he’d fall over. I could have held him with one finger, if it had been possible. He died last year at around age 19, light to the last, eating the exact same thing Jork eats.
What makes a cat super-heavy when he’s normal-sized? Are his internal organs heavier than normal?
Is he just muscley? Muscle weighs more than fat of the same volume, so a well-muscled cat (or person, for that matter) will be heavy for their size.
I always have to remember that when picking up other people’s babies. Mine are/were both tiny, but solid muscle with barely a bit of baby fat on 'em, and I got used to that heft. I pick up a cute little butterball of the same size and nearly fling 'em across the room, they seem so light!
This is how I weigh my dogs: Hold critter, step on scale, note weight, step off scale, release critter, stand on scale, note weight, step off, subtract.
Are you sure he’s not a she? And whatever he or she was born as, is he or she still a he or she? Something often happens to female cats around that age which causes them to gain weight.
Muscle and bone structure, I would assume. Different cats and cat breeds are different weights and sizes. Some cats (likemine) are built like bricks (they weigh 12 and 11 lbs, respectively, and are about a foot tall at the shoulders, and about 2.5 ft long), whereas others, while being the same height and length, have a much finer bone structure and are less muscular. I pick up one of my friend’s cats, which is a longhair almost the same volume as mine, and I’m afraid I’m going to crush her, she’s so slightly built – it’s like she’s nothing but fur, whereas my cats throw their hard plastic cat carriers around for fun, and one of their favorite games is “knock over the chairs”.
Thank you for the responses WhyNot, KneadToKnow, Chronos, and Kalhoun! KneadToKnow, I took your tip and weighed myself both holding Jork and not, and he weighs about 12 pounds, give or take a few ounces. That seems a lot for a year-old cat, but yeah, it must be bone structure.
Kimsu, here you go!
This was Jork in August, right after we got him. This was Jork in October. This was Jork a few weeks ago. (He’s smaller, but heavier, than the white cat Ecto, who just died , in fact, Jork is the only one we have left now)
That’s my favorite one too! I need to incorporate those into the rest of the photos. The vet says he’s fine, I was just curious. None of my other cats, with the exception of Harvo after he gained weight and became an actual fat cat, were ever so heavy.
Kimstu, sorry I got your name wrong. I noticed after the edit window had passed.
Otto, the big fluffy white cat, is the one who was huge in size, but light as a feather.
Btw, Otto, Harvo and Ecto were declawed when we got them. We chose not to declaw Ran Tan and Jork. We got Harvo as a kitten, and he died at about age 18. He had diabetes. Otto died of a stroke. We had him for about 18 years too. We had RanTan for about 7 years, and he had cancer. We got Ecto at the same time (they were abandoned in an apartment) and he had a heart attack about three weeks ago. I lost 4 cats in just under 2 years. Jork’s young, so I hope I don’t have to lose him for many, many, many years. I’d like to get a young companion for him, but he’s a biter (nipper, more precisely) and I don’t want to freak out a new cat.
We have a postal scale that we use to weigh our two cats. My husband’s weighing method is to put the scale on the coffee table, then put a section of newspaper on the scale. Wait about two minutes, cats will appear to sit on the paper (one at a time). note weight.
never fails.
He looks perfect. He was a little thin in the earlier photos. Some cats are just solidly built. Most of mine have been. I’d like an ‘air cat’ (what I call those fluffy cats that look big but weigh next to nothing when you pick them up) someday but all cats are marvy.
Is that what’s been happening to me? And what happened to pretty much every one of my female kitties? How could I detect it?
Stranger On A Train’s answer made me realize I didn’t answer this question. He’s definitely a he. I took him to the Anti-Cruelty Society to get him neutered a few months ago.
He was feral (is that the right word?, a stray who lived in the woods, as opposed to Harvo and Otto who were city strays) when my brother-in-law found him and took him to the vet to get shots and a checkup. BIL already had a cat who was King Of The Manor and wouldn’t stand for having another cat in the house. We went down to KC and brought him back on the Amtrak (we got a sleeper room and snuck him in).
An air cat! I like that! Otto was definitely an air cat.
I know! We were amazed when he stretched out like that. That was our first surprise…how could a kitty so little be soooooo long? And now, how can a kitty not a whole lot bigger be soooo heavy? But I get it now, as QG said, some cats are just solidly built.
Could just be muscle, as others have said. He looks quite like my parents’ siamese, who’s very slender but weighs a ton. When he was younger, the vet looked at him and said “that is the most muscular cat I’ve ever seen,” and added that it was almost a shame we’d had him (the cat, not the vet) neutered.
This could bode well for Jork. Chatchat is fifteen now and is still very healthy and active.
, in fact, Jork is the only one we have left now)
