Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a six month old kitten who is pushing 10 pounds! Our other kitten (his littermate) is only 4 pounds, and eats far more than our fat kitten. The vet told me not to worry, but lately the fat kitten has been breathing really loudly (like he is having breathing problems), and has been having a hard time cleaning himself. I measure his food - he honestly doesn't eat even a cup of dry food a day, and he picks at his wet food. We never give him table scraps or treats. He runs around the house all night long, so I don't think he is suffering from lack of exercise. Is it possible that he could have a thyroid problem? I don't know if this is related, but it's always struck me as odd - he has very large, visible, pink nipples - could this be hormonal?

I just read your post to my 7 month old burmese who is 8 pounds and he's quite pleased with himself. His brother is 6.5lbs (also a littermate) but has a totally different appetite. I'd have this big guy xrayed, and checked out with a full blood panel, urinalysis, etc. Apparently obesity in cats does the same thing for them as it does for us: diabetes, heart issues, etc. Is your "baby" eating kitten food? If so, I'd talk to the doc about stopping and shifting to a combo adult/diet mix. My doc said nothing while I complained about Alexander putting on weight, so I took the initiative and shifted him to a high protein adult at 5 months and now we're on a 60/40 diet/adult mix. The vet now says he sees what I mean with the extra weight-duh! I also put balls in his food bowl to slow down his feeding frenzy. All that stuff about feeding kittens as much fatty kitten food as they want is bogus. It's fine if your cat isn't a pig, but otherwise it's just a recipe for obesity after 5 months of age, imho. We made sure he had the fat, protein and calories he needed and not any more. so now he looks like a sphere with a cat head and tail. He also exercises constantly-I think it is truly a chemical thing. His brother Ptolemy just is not genetically hardwired for obesity, but alexander is. I'd have your kitty checked out just to ease your mind and then gradually shift him to diet food. You should post a picture of him.

take care and keep us posted on the details of what you find,

Lisa S. ,mom to three kitties (Alexander the round one, Ptolemy who is just right, and Taharqa who is a tad skinny) and two bunnies, one who is very fat and the other who is just right.

This kitten needs a vet check for sure. I am wondering if he has some sort of feline diabetes. There definitely seems to be something hormonal going on.

I hope you find an answer to this mystery. Let us know what the vet says!
-----
Smile, it will make them wonder what you are up to!