Excess weight or something else? Here’s why your cat has a flabby belly.
I have two cats: Tippy and Misha. Physically, they couldn’t be more different.
Misha is very energetic, so she has a lean physique and strong kitty muscles (despite being 6 lbs). Tippy, on the other hand… she’s gotten better, but most of her day revolves around napping. And eating. And napping some more.
Why does my cat have a beer belly?
I started to notice what I can only describe as the equivalent of a beer belly on both cats. That’s weird, I thought. Tippy, I can understand… but Misha? She’s so skinny!
How could Miss Misha and her bony butt have such a flabby belly? I went to work and conducted some research.
In other words, I Googled it.
The Primordial Pouch
One term kept coming up: the primordial pouch.
Pam Johnson-Bennett, author of Cat Wise, explains on her blog that this flap of skin is used as a defense against attack. Cats do this little “bunny kick” thing that closely resembles a kangaroo-style boxing match with another cat.
The primordial pouch protects a cat’s internal organs from damage with a layer of extra skin. That’s not its only use, however.
Experts like Pam believe that the primordial pouch – or ‘apron’ – allows a cat to stretch his legs further for a wider range of motion. They also talk about the possibility that the primordial pouch was an ancestral characteristic that allowed wild cats to store up on food (sort of like squirrels and their cheek pouches).
Primordial Pouch vs. Excess Weight
Don’t freak out if your cat starts getting a saggy belly. It’s a natural part of most cats’ anatomy. Trust me, if your cat was overweight, it wouldn’t be just his underbelly that started to swell.
It’s easier to tell with female cats if they’re overweight or not since they’re generally smaller, but what about male cats? This sizing chart gives us an idea of what an overweight cat looks like.
You’ll notice that a cat’s ideal weight includes a small amount of belly fat (the primordial pouch). Once a cat becomes overweight, it becomes difficult to visually separate portions of the body. You can see from the above view that the cat in #3 has a slight hourglass shape, whereas the cat in #4 is shaped like an almond.
As long as your cat is eating healthy and maintains a healthy weight, don’t worry about a saggy gut.
…that means the cat’s gut, not yours…
We love hearing your thoughts. Give us a shout-out in the comments section and let us know if you’ve ever been concerned about your cat’s belly issues.
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It’s called the “spay sway.” It happens to male and female cats when they get desexed and lose vital sex hormones that keep their skin youthful and taught.
The “spay sway”. I like it. XD