Weight of a Healthy Female Cat

Cats and other animals can become overweight, just like humans. As humans have become more sedentary, the same is mimicked in our pets. Cats are particularly prone to becoming overweight, because they generally are less active than dogs, and, if allowed, they will eat more than is good for them.

  1. Range

    • The range of healthy weight for cats varies according to breed and sex. Female cats average 2 to 4 pounds less weight than a typical male of the same species, according to TheCatSite.com. This means that a large breed, such as the Maine coon, has a healthy range of between 11 and 15 lbs, with a full grown male healthy at up to 18 lbs. For smaller breeds such as Siamese, female cat weight is healthy at around 6 or 7 lbs. With such variation in healthy weight range between cat species, animal health care practitioners recommend a physical examination, rather than scales, to check for healthy weight.

    Assessing

    • Assessing healthy weight ranges starts with feeling the cat's ribs, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. If you move your hand gently along the body of the cat and can easily feel and count the ribs under a layer of thin fat, then she is in the healthy range. Ribs protruding too much mean she is underweight while ribs obscured by fat mean she is overweight. If your cat is in a healthy weight range, she will have an obvious waist, a tucked-in tummy, be active and quick of movement.

    Pregnancy

    • Female cats, like humans, gradually gain weight when they are pregnant. While weight increase in a pregnant cat usually doesn't show until around the fifth week--cats have a nine-week gestation period--she will be around 40 percent heavier than usual by the end of the pregnancy, with a 25 to 50 percent increase in calories, according to IAMS pet health care company.

    Diet and Exercise

    • The normal caloric intake for a 10-pound female cat is around 200 calories, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. Most 5.5-oz cans of cat food contain nearly all the calorie intake needs for a healthy female cat, while cat food pouches--generally 3 oz.--contain around half the daily needs. Cats have a tendency to gorge, so it is up to the owners to control food intake. Snacks and treats should be kept to a minimum. Cats also need a lot of exercise to maintain a healthy weight. Playing with her is an important aspect of maintaining her health.

    Dangers

    • Rapid weight gain, if not associated with a pregnancy, is often the sign of an underlying health problem, and a visit to the veterinarian is in order. Overweight cats are more prone to arthritis, heart disease and breathing difficulty, according to TheCatSite.com. Spayed female cats are more prone to obesity because their caloric intake requirement is lower after being spayed, but they are often still fed the same amount of food.