Is my cat overweight?

How to check

• Ribs: run both hands flat along the sides. You should feel the ribs with light pressure under a thin layer of fat.
• Waist: from above, you see a slight waist behind the ribs.
• Belly: from the side, it isn’t round and doesn’t hang.

Long-haired and large cats such as Maine Coons are harder to judge. Feeling works better than looking.

The 1–9 body condition score

• 1–3: too thin.
• 4–5: ideal. Ribs felt with light pressure, waist visible, little belly fat.
• 6–7: overweight. Ribs hard to feel, waist barely visible, belly slightly round.
• 8–9: severely overweight. Ribs can’t be felt, no waist, round belly, fat over the lower back.

According to the 2025 chart of the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA), a 6 may be acceptable in some cats, especially older ones. Ask your vet.

The belly flap

Many cats have a loose flap of skin between the hind legs that swings when they walk. It’s part of their anatomy and isn’t a sign of extra weight on its own. What counts is the ribs and the waist.

Lose weight slowly, never starve

Overweight cats that suddenly eat little or nothing have a higher risk of fatty liver (hepatic lipidosis). So: lose weight slowly, at most about 2% of body weight per week, and never let your cat go hungry.

If your cat doesn’t eat for a day, call your vet. In cats, even 24 hours without food can be serious.

A very overweight cat may need up to a year to reach its target weight.

How common is it?

In US vet clinics in 2022, 61% of cats were overweight or obese. In a study from LMU Munich, 51% of neutered males and 26% of spayed females without a pedigree were overweight.