Thread: Weight

I found with mine that their appetite increased with age until they were between the 12 & 18 month age group then it evened out & now the big ones seem to eat hardly any more than the average cat even though there is a lot bigger frame to maintain. Their weight chart levelled out more at the same point as well,hubby's didn't though I have proof in black & white that his monthly weigh in while holding the cats is going the wrong way...!

We are obsessed with weighing Larry and Monty and do it nearly every day! These are our first kittens so it's all new to us. Monty is very tall and long-limbed, but Laggs is more of a stocky chap. So Monty was heavier than Laggs for a few weeks, but it turns out that Laggs is a proper greedy guts and would eat all his food and Monty's twice over! So his weight has now overtaken Monty's and he's shooting ahead - this week he's putting on 80-100 grams EVERY DAY! (5 months old!) I think that Monty is growing his bones longer, whilst Larry is getting fatter...

Our two year old was around 14 lbs at a year and is now 21+ lbs at two years. Our just one year old, though, is 17+lbs. It will be very interesting to see if the one that is heavier at a year ends up bigger or not. I found they gain weight quite fast until like 8mos. then it becomes much more variable. The two year old didn't seem to put on much weight for quite a while, but then in the last several months put on quite a few pounds.

Hmm, I don't wish to offend anyone but with the research Ive done into weight and size etc, I'd say your cats are higly likely to be over weight, they are supposed to a long lean bread (Tall, long and narrow) The post from NCarver seems far more reasonable "14lb at a year". Look into the food you feed them, cats are carnivours, they don't need excess carbs which all the normal foods are very high in, (Potato, maize, rice etc) This is why and have discussed on here before that my MC's have 'natures menu', it's min 70% meat, and the small amount amount of dry food I mix in is 60% Chicken also. The crappy foods - whiskers, felix, hills, royal canin (infact it's all the well known brands) are the very reason that cats develop these health complications, think about what they would be eating in there natural habitat. Anyways, Ive ranted on now. So now im happy

I don't think anyone can make a comment on what the "average"maincoon stature should be versus weight as with so many different breeding lines now there are many variations,I have always fed my cats the "crap food"felix,hills,RC & have never had any health or weight problems with them.As to being overweight as I posted in another thread I have two litter mates that were the same weight until 10mths old now at 2.5yrs one weighs in at 7.10kg & is small, stocky & eats for England the other is tall & long weighing in at 9.65kg & hardly eats at all so no way do I think you can generalise on this.I have worked at a vets for a lot of years & can't think of one time when I have seen a overweight kitten of any breed,they are too active....

Would have to agree with jckerrison, there are weight variations in every breed of animal as there are in humans too. Harry eats the "crappy foods", ie Royal Canin and Felix but hasn't got an ounce of fat on him, he is big. i.e big boned, long etc and when he's had a bath you realise how long and thin he actually is, although at 9 months he weighs 14lbs. It will be interesting to see how they boys (Larry and Monty) end up, I suspect Larry and Monty will continue to have growth sperts but not necessarily at the same time.

they are supposed to a long lean bread (Tall, long and narrow)

Why on earth do you think that? That is not what any of the MC breed standards say. The CFA standard, for example includes statements such as: "solid, rugged" and "BODY SHAPE: muscular, broad-chested." and "legs substantial, wide set, of medium length, and in proportion to the body." The TICA standard includes: "Torso: Large, long, substantial" and "Boning: Substantial. Musculature: Substantial, powerful" and "The Maine Coon is a large breed with big ears, broad chest, substantial boning, a long, hard muscled, rectangular body...Good muscle tone and density give the cat the appearance of power."

Seems pretty much the opposite of "tall, long and narrow," actually. In fact the TICA standard says to penalize a MC for having a narrow torso. I cannot recall ever seeing a fully mature MC that I would describe as you have. Certainly they would not score at all well in the show ring so no breeder is aiming for that shape.

Obviously one doesn't want one's cat to be fat, but simply being heavy (for a cat) does not imply that a MC is overweight. Fully grown male MCs can absolutely be over 20 lbs and not have a speck of fat on them.

I weighed Simba again this morning because I need to worm him and need to know the dose to give him. I was a bit disappointed. He weighed 14 pounds which I think is about 6.4 kg so he hasn't put a huge amount on in the six weeks or so since I last weighed him. Do you think it's normal to slow down a bit at his age (10 months).

I still think the amount Louie sleeps sometimes is when he is growing he has slept loads this week & has definately grown, made up for it yesterday though he was on a real mission to get up to alsorts

Louie loves the RC food which I know is junk but does have added ingrediants to help his joints etc. He also loves raw turkey mince & has Hi-life which has a high meat content