Is my Maine Coon fat?

Sometimes, nowadays, concerned Maine Coon owners are aware of the domestic cat obesity epidemic and are vigilant about the weight of their cat. A good thing. On social media they ask if their Maine Coon is fat. One such lady asked users of the Mumsnet.com website that very question and she posted a photo:

Is this Maine Coon fat? No, is my answer. Image: Mumsnet.com.

And she said:

My (not so) little Ollie is 7 months old (100% Maine Coon) and his vet today told me he is too heavy for his age and to restrict food. He is 5.1kg. He doesn't seem overly round and he is still growing and very active... I've always been told not to restrict the food of kittens.

I am sure that you'll agree that he is not fat although more photos would help the assessment. But you can see the thigh bones sticking up at the rear. He looks quite 'boney' which is good for a Maine Coon as they are 'rangy' and a little slender underneath that copious coat of fur. 

Check

This is an easy way to check a cat's weight:

1. Looking from above, you should see a 'waist' just forward of the 'rump' (the hind legs, in effect).
2. Palpating (gently feeling with the hands) the chest area you should be able to feel the rib cage covered by a thin layer of fat.

In a cat with an ideal weight, you can feel and see the shoulder blades sticking up when they are sitting upright and you can just about feel the vertebrae of their spine but they shouldn't be too obvious.

Picture of a non-Maine Coon with an ideal BMI

Nice, ideal body weight cat (non-Maine Coon)

Maine Coon Lotus has a good BMI

Maine Coon Lotus. Photo: Instagram.

BMI - Body Mass Index. Used for people but I think it can also work for cats!