Cats do have different body shapes, don't they??

[Nothungrycat]

In the same way that some of us (including me, tbh) put on weight easily and others don't, I'm assuming the same is true with cats? Or is one of my cats finding another food source? I've got two and both of them are fed half a sachet of wet food a day, and then I leave down a bowl of dry food for them both to eat - I've not noticed one eating more than the other. The only treat food I do is dreamies - but I'd say that is only 2 or 3 times a week and the same amount to both. Cat one is quite big, has long legs and is the sort of cat who leaps gracefully onto high places. Cat two is quite small, has short legs and quite a chunky body and a really pronounced primordial pouch which swings a bit when she runs. She does not leap gracefully onto high places, but she can get wherever she wants to go! Both have free access to outside and Cat two probably goes out more than Cat one. I'm fairly sure that if I took Cat two to the vet they'd tell me to put her on a diet...

Yes. Males and females are different, as are neutered cats.
My cats have quite different personalities and get far too many treats.

If she’s finding another source of food it’s probably because she’s not being fed enough.

Agree with over the Atlantic One sachet and one bowl of dry food for them per day is not enough food

‘For a healthy adult cat, aim for 2-4 pouches of wet food or 1/2 to 1 cup of dry food per day, divided into 2 meals. Consider your cat's weight, activity level, and any specific needs ‘(condensed google search results)

I had two litter sisters and food was freely available 24/7. Throughout their long lives, one was a slim cat and the other was considerably heavier (a little bit chubby.)

Yes, we have a litter pair of neutered girls, 12 years old and one just is bigger-boned than the other and tends to put weight on. The vet printed me out their entire weighing history last year, cat 1 who is tiny, slim and agile has always stayed about the same 3.5kg, cat 2 who is plumper, less agile but not enormous fluctuates quite a lot (4-4.5kg) and we do have to keep an eye on what she’e eating at times to get her weight back down a bit.

One of our cats has always been small and slender, she weighs around 3.1kg. Her brother is quite a bit bigger at around 4kg. Both are very active.

Girlcat is long, sinuous and long legged. Tobias is short, chunky, much shorter legs than Girlcat. She has a long slim tail and her late brother's was at least floor length, Tobias's tail barely reaches half way down his back legs. She is significantly taller than him and longer, but they weigh about the same.

Just to clarify, I fill up the dry food bowl when it is empty, so I don't think I'm starving either of them. And they are both (neutered) girls..

Depends on the size of the bowl surely, and the measuring cup? My food bowls take at least 2 of the scoops I use for the dry food, and that scoop is around the same volume as a US measuring cup (which is smaller than a UK or breakfast cup). So you could be easily talking 1 "cups" of dry and half a sachet of wet per cat, if anything over the amounts you quote here.

Also by "healthy adult cat" do they mean my DSis's 2.5-3kg little girl or Boycat's 7kg (tall. long and slim and in perfect condition according to the vet)?

That's loads of food. My dainty little female only eats half to one pouch and small bowl of biscuits a day. I've tried giving her more, she doesn't want it! Cats are different shapes and have different appetites!

My cat sounds like your cat 2. She has a small frame, is about 5kg and very round. We have had one vet constantly pester us about her losing weight - he actually gave her / us a gold star in her vaccination book when she did lose some, which only happened because she was in a cattery for a week and wouldn’t eat.

Current vet ok with her weight but has said she can’t gain more.

Given that she only eats one wet pouch and a small amount of cat biscuits a day (portion control, not what she’d consume by choice) which maintains that weight, I’d say they very much do vary!

I had litter twins, both female, both neutered. One was slim and long and really dainty (she clipped along when she walked, it sounded like she was wearing stilettos!) and her sister was round, chunky and had a really prominent pouch. They were always fed the same and seemed very happy with it.
Totally different personalities too: slim girl was an adventurer and a hunter, whereas Ms Chunky was scared of the dark and didn't like to leave my side unless it was to go and rescue slim cat who was forever getting into scrapes and constantly needing to be shown how to climb down from roofs, trees ....
Don't worry. They are all different. That's the joy.

I have 2 boys that are brothers. 1 is always about 1kg lighter than the other but he is the one that's most food motivated. The heavier one gets into trouble about his weight but can be fussy with his wet food. Don't know how you put just 1 on a diet.

Have you met a cat? 😂

Breed can affect body type, for example a British Shorthair would be heavier and stockier than, say, a Siamese. I have a BSH girl who is not overweight but has always had a prominent primordial pouch and it’s astonishing how many vets tell me she’s fat (she is 4kg and not at all fat)

Yep. My last boy was 2.5kg and ate like a horse, he was always tiny and very small framed
New boy is 7.5kg (don’t ask how I ended up with the opposite..) but tall height wise and also very long
I unfolded him out the carrier and the vet carried him round to show everyone

My cats are littermates and 8 months old. Neither of them is overweight and they both eat the same amount (and are not big eaters). One of them is just a stockier build than her sister - it’s just genetics. The stockier one looks like a normal house cat to me and also has a primordial pouch; the other one looks like an athlete - long legs, a slight frame and no spare fat on her anywhere. When they put their heads together you can see how much smaller boned and slighter she is.

DBoyCat is twice the size and weight of his littermate DGirlCat (and he can’t jump onto the top of doors). Different sizes and shapes it is. Also DGirlCat is much less interested in food (apart from Dreamies which are total cat crack).

Thank you all for your reassurance! It was just seeing her run down the garden yesterday which made me worry a bit. I suspect she needs to take a bit more exercise, so I'll break out the laser mouse thingy and encourage her to get off the bed/sofa a little more!

Finlay eats up to 6 pouches a day plus biscuits and treats
He is on the slender side and just burns it off with exercise

We can’t leave food lying around as one cat will eat it all and leave the others with nothing 🤣

I would switch to several set meals a day for both cats, using microchip feeders if necessary.

I think some cats are greedier and put on weight easily and others just eat when hungry. Very like people!
Ive had both types of cat, current female cat has stayed the same weight her entire adult life, she’s 11 now! She has free access to dry food but just isn’t greedy.

I had a ginger male cat who was chunky, quite common in gingers I think 🙈😂 he was so lazy though, he never went further than the garden and slept 23 hours a day 😂 he was soppy though bless him.

You've described my cat 1 and cat 2 exactly. Up til now we've always given our cats free rein on unlimited dry food and they've maintained slimline healthy weights, self regulating what they eat. Cat 2 is different. She munches that stuff all day long and her primordial pouch is so big she's now oblong.
The vet has had a stern word with her and she's been put on a diet.
We've bought one of those microchip feeders (on vet's recommendation) so only cat 1 can access unlimited dry food. But it's taken him a month of training just to go anywhere near the machine so cat 2's diet has had a slow start.

My two boys are very different. They are not related, but just very different builds.

One is 16yo, very thin and slender and weighs hardly anything at all. I’d be surprised if he was more than 2kg. He’s always been this way throughout his life. We thought he may have some Siamese in him with his build.

Our new boy is 2yo and at our last vet check weighed 5.3kg (and he is missing a back leg so lighter than he would otherwise be). The vet thought he may have some Maincoon in him he’s so big.

Very very different builds/body types. They’re fed the same, half a pouch of wet food each, morning and evening and biscuits available all the time.

My two year old neutered male cat is 3.7kg. He's an indoor cat, with free access to every room in my dwelling. He's very active and enjoys bouts of cat zoomies, as well as bouncing up and down stairs, window sills, beds, occupied or not, furniture and bookshelves. He has two bowls of dry food a day and two of wet. He's fussy about which wet food he's interested in, and I can see that I might be heading towards the more expensive ones in the near future. My super-fussy Burmese demanded Katkin fresh meat, which, of course, he got. However, at £50pm, I can no longer afford that.
Dreamies are obligatory. Two flavours, of course.

I thought my cat was pretty chunky and he’s only 4.7kg.