How much does the cat weigh?

A kitten in the house is happiness, as well as a great responsibility. Every owner knows that for any animal it is necessary to provide proper living conditions so that it feels comfortable. For example, in our case, it is imperative to provide a kitten with food that suits his body. After all, health directly depends on what the pet eats. And one of the best indicators of health is weight gain. Let's take a closer look at how much a kitten and an adult cat should weigh, and also study the subtleties of the weight of different breeds.

When a baby is born, one of the first indicators that is noted is its mass. Good weight is the first sign of health. Not the only one, but one of the most important. It's the same with animals. There are weights for each cat breed. Basically, they are about the same when the kitten was just born. In adulthood, the norms are already changing. Determining weight and tracking it throughout the life of your pet is a must. By weight, you can determine overfeeding or underfeeding, impending or progressive disease, development.

At birth from one mother, the weight of kittens can be compared even without special devices. You just need to look at them. If the kitten is thinner than the others, then special supervision is required for it: behavior, feeding, sleep. If it is not visually clear that the kitten is thinner than the rest, then you can watch how it is applied to the chest.

The approximate birth weight of a kitten varies from 80 to 150 grams. It depends on the breed and body structure of the baby. A month-old Bobtail and Maine Coon kitten will be strikingly different from each other, since these breeds are completely opposite in size to each other.

Consider a table of the average standard weight of a kitten by months to a year.

• In the first month, the average weight of a kitten is 110 grams. It is this weight that is considered quite normal for a baby and characterizes his healthy development. The behavior of newborn kittens can be compared with human children - they only eat and sleep. The daily weight gain of a cat in the first month of life is approximately 10-15 grams, that is, 70-100 grams per week.
• A two month old kitten gains about 300 grams of weight. But weight gain of up to 500 grams is considered the norm. In the second month, the kitten stops feeding only on mother's milk. In his diet, water must be present in unlimited quantities, and you can also gradually include chopped meat and fish in the diet.
• At 3 months, the weight is from 1.2 to 1.7 kg, and the diet includes good nutrition. The main thing is to make a choice: feed the kitten with natural products or specialized food. Combined meals should be avoided as the stomach may not be able to handle it.
• At 4 months, the mass should already be 2 kg.
• At 5 months, the kitten weighs about 2.5 kg and eats only during the day.
• At 6 months, when molt is already possible, and in girls - puberty, the weight is 3 kg.
• Weight after six months will be added less intensively - about 100-150 grams per month. Thus, by the age of one year, the weight of an ordinary kitten will be about 4 kg.

It must be remembered that males are often larger than females. And their mass by the end of the first year of life can be higher by a kilogram.

Table with averaged weight indicators by months of development.

Lifestyle, castration, nutrition, maintenance - all these are factors directly related to the body weight of the cat. The life of an adult cat is not much different from a kitten if it lives in a family. The main thing is to prevent underfeeding or overfeeding of the animal, otherwise problems with the gastrointestinal tract may arise.

A domestic cat usually weighs 2 to 7 kg. Much depends on the breed, as well as on age. By old age, the pet will weigh less than, for example, at 2 years old. And the Siamese cat will weigh less than the Norwegian forest cat. Persians and British in weight will average about 6 kg. But the Maine Coon's weight can reach 13 kg.

Outbred cats are usually lighter by 1 kg of purebred cats. This applies to both females and males.

It is very problematic to weigh an animal without special scales, due to its agility and willfulness. Moreover, this applies to felines. But weighing is a must. Consider how to weigh a cat at home. The easiest way to get started is with a scale. But only electronic, since the pet may not want to stay on them for a long time, and for some weights, a second of holding in one position is enough to show the result.

The next way is more difficult - a steelyard. Take a carrier, preferably soft. Weigh it, and then put the animal there. Subtract the weight of the carrier from the figure that appears on the balance. If there is absolutely nothing suitable at home, then there will already be a visual perception. It may not show the figure of body weight, but it will be clear whether everything is in order with the pet.

The first thing to do is look at the spine. Is it visible, whether the vertebrae show through the skin, how strongly it is felt.Ideally, the spine should be hidden and only slightly visible so that it can only be seen with an armed eye. The belly is plump or sunken. Both options are not considered the norm. The abdomen should be flat, much less sunken. Run your hand over your chest and back to see if you feel a little fat. It should not be such that, apart from her, bones cannot be felt, but it must be mandatory.

An important point is the bones of the pelvis and ribs. If they bulge excessively, then your animal is underweight. Look at the waist area, it should be there too. If it is not there, or it is too "precise", and the figure at the same time resembles an hourglass in shape, then this can mean either obesity or dystrophy.

If everything you checked is normal, then there is nothing to worry about. But if even one point confuses you, take the animal to the veterinarian. Lack of weight, like obesity, is very dangerous. The cat may need to be put on a diet, but this is for his own good.

You worry about your pet like a child. Eats poorly, sleeps restlessly, does not play very actively, and also does not gain the necessary mass. You should never panic, because if everything is noticed on time, then the consequences will be minimal, or even not at all. You should never self-medicate without knowing the root of the problem, although there are still some things worth trying. First you need to try to analyze the time during which the pet did not gain or stopped gaining weight. Try to understand what could be the reason for the lack of mass.

The first thing that can be the reason if you are a cat owner is a recent birth. In this case, it is not possible to gain weight, but even during the recovery period of the cat, weight loss. If this is the case, then the cat will take about three weeks to recover. Then the weight will again reach the desired mark. If the duration of recovery is delayed, then you cannot do without a veterinarian.

The next big reason is stress. For four-legged felines of almost all breeds, moving is a huge stress. Especially if the cat is aged. Stress can include castration or sterilization, change of owner, some extreme event (for example, running away from home for several days or falling from a height). The main thing is that stress does not turn into nervous exhaustion, because there are extremely impressionable and unresponsive cats.

A common cause of weight loss is worms. They can appear in any conditions of life. For this, the pet just licks the dirt from the floor. Every six months, to avoid helminthic invasion, you should give your pet special prophylactic drops. Of course, if the worms appear, and it is not difficult to notice them in the feces, treatment is required. If the treatment is timely, it will take no more than a week for the complete extermination of parasites. But in the case of worms, and especially with severe weight loss with them, it is better to consult a veterinarian. He will select the right treatment and give the necessary recommendations.

The reason for exhaustion, in which the owner is out of power, is age. By old age, most cats lose weight. Here you can try to support your pet with vitamins and minerals. It is necessary to donate blood and understand what is becoming less in the body.

Inflammation of the oral cavity, toothaches, stomatitis are unpleasant reasons when the pet wants to eat and would be glad, but it hurts. In this case, he can often go to his bowl, but eat in tiny portions. Try to examine your jaw for any apparent cause. Red swollen gums, white stomatitis "holes", caries - everything is like a person's, and all this is not so scary if noticed in time.

Diseases. Here, you definitely cannot do without a veterinarian. It is difficult to list all possible diseases in one article.And it is difficult to make a diagnosis on your own, without donating blood, without using special equipment. If, in addition to weight loss, you observe unstable cat behavior, decreased appetite or other signs, do not hesitate! Go urgently to the veterinary clinic and go through all the necessary procedures to identify the disease.

Perhaps this is just an upset stomach, and there will be nothing terrible. Maybe the cat's paw is just tucked up, and because of this, there is no mood, as it hurts. There are many unpleasant diseases that have negative consequences. Do not over tighten.

Signs not covered in the above, which can be a wake-up call for the owner, are:

• yellowing of all mucous membranes;
• blood and mucus in the stool;
• constipation or diarrhea;
• excessive vomiting of non-wool lumps;
• bad breath;
• festering eyes or nose.

If the reasons why your beloved animal is not gaining weight are still not scary, then the first thing you don’t need to do is buy feed and mixtures in ordinary supermarkets. Everything that is sold in them should not be given to animals, even in extreme cases. Pet stores also have inexpensive but professional foods that can help you deal with weight problems. And feed from the mass market can aggravate the situation at times.

If you do not want to feed with food from the store, then most of the pet's diet should consist of beef or turkey.

If your cat has begun to eat very little, and you still know the reasons, you should not try to "shove" a kilogram of food into it right away. Here, as with a person, there may be something even more unpleasant, for example, volvulus. The portions should be increased gradually. Consider your pet's current weight and needs. The course of treatment for underweight can be lengthy. Be patient, as soon your animal will bounce back and be active again. Until this happens, the task is to restore the digestive processes.

And a couple of the most harmless reasons why a cat is not gaining weight.

• The portions are too small. Make them a little bigger and see the result.
• The pet does not like the taste of the food and tries to eat it as little as possible. Buy food with different flavors and see which one your little one uses with great enthusiasm, and which one just to eat.
• Pay attention to the location of the food bowl. If she is close to the litter box, then, most likely, the appetite will be reduced, since the pet has to eat his favorite food next to his own toilet.

Kittens are a big, but very pleasant responsibility. To grow a beautiful stately cat out of a small creature is a lot of work. Follow all the recommendations, keep an eye on the baby and be sure to visit the veterinarian sometimes for prophylaxis.

In the next video you can see the dynamics of the kittens' weight.