Ragdoll Cat Overweight – Or Is He?
Looking for reader feedback, pretty please!
Betty writes, “My eight-year old Ragdoll cat weighs approx. 15 lbs. His vet is concerned (as am I) that he not get obese. He cries for food often and after waking throughout the day. He eats only high quality canned food, as mentioned in your article. Some he likes are Wellness and Weruva. I tend to feed him frequently (3-4 X per day) to keep the peace. If I feed him less then approx. 9 oz. of food, he will not be happy. He also wakes me very early in the morning and relentlessly bugs me until I get up and feed him. I think he has food issues because before we adopted him he may have not gotten enough to eat on a regular basis. What is considered to be a good amount of food (ozs. of canned)? Thanks!”
So I asked Betty if she would send me photos of him – from the side and from a bird’s eye view.
“Thanks so much for replying to my questions re. Buddy’s food/weight.
Buddy gets no dry food, however I do give Buddy a few small freeze-dried chicken or salmon bits as treats (about 8-10 smaller than pea size) in one of two treat mazes which I got on your web site’s recommendation. He loves them!”
While I am not a vet, I do not think this kitty is fat – I would have to feel him for sure, but he appears to even have a waist, especially in the last photo. I know that often times vets inaccurately label Ragdolls as fat, but I also don’t want to that to be an excuse.
What say you?
Hi, I’m Jenny Dean, creator of Floppycats! Ever since my Aunt got the first Ragdoll cat in our family, I have loved the breed. Inspired by my childhood Ragdoll cat, Rags, I created Floppycats to connect, share and inspire other Ragdoll cat lovers around the world,
My Ragdoll boys weigh 21 pounds each! My vet said they were slightly overweight but I don’t think so. You can can check on the cat body condition chart. You can feel the spine, hips etc ok and they have a defined waist. I am careful with what I feed them and they are active. I think a lot of vets just don’t realise how big ragdolls can get.
I have a 3-4 year old rescued Ragdoll. He came from a hoarding situation where he had to fight for the food he was able to get. He also demands food and sometimes eats so fast he makes himself sick. He weighs 14 lbs and the vet told me not to let him gain any more weight. I don’t believe my Fionn or your kitty are over weight. I believe they are big cats and naturally weigh more.
P.S Nothing to do with Ragdoll weight,just wondering how many Ragdoll Moms or Dads have a POLYDACTYL RAGDOLL my Baby Ceasar does have an extra toe on each front paw ,passed down from the Mom,witch is my Murphys sister,but Murphy doesnt carry the trait even know hes the babys uncle.I think its adorable. when I take him for shots and check ups its like cool,hes POLYDACTYL.jUST WONDERING IF THEIRS MANY OUT THEIR .BYE LISA B
Well surprisingly alot of vet doctors ,dont always see alot of Ragdolls in their offices.Also their are so many different breeds of cats they probley dont know every breeds traits,Ive been to two or three different vets with my Dolls and the staff is .usually blown away.Like oh is that a Ragdoll,I want one.MURPHYS year check up he was about13 lbs,vet said he was perfect but dont let him get any bigger,well he did hes two now and about 16lbs and not fat at all his bone structure grew and hes pretty active eats quite a bit of dry food and a good half can of wetfood and drinks plenty of bottled water.My 8month old boy ceasar was neutred today and the vet noted he was slightly overweight12lbs.I thought to myself runs in the family huh huh .Ceasar was the litter runt,and loved to eat as as a kitten I do agree his bone structure is a little more petite than Murphy so I will watch the dry kibble snacking and treats with this boy,but im sure his bone structure is still growing,Murphys did and he also went through a slightly chubby kitten stage too.Just mention to the vet,does he know male Ragdolls are a large cat.Funny I had one VET in a nice way say The Ragdoll was a money making thing that really their just a long hair domestic cat,I ignored the comment knowing what a special well breeded cat they are,and special traits passed down through the genes,not many cats luv their bellys rubbed like a dog huh huh .Dont worry your Doll looks perfect size very cute!Bye LISA B