Cat Body Shape Guide

Cat body types can be categorized into six basic classifications in relation to breeding standards. The breed of your cat will determine your pet’s shape but body types also vary, within different breeds. Due to the lack of strictly demarcated boundaries on cat breeds, cat body shapes cut across the breeds.

The shape or type of the body of a cat breed can be described from the lenses of proportional strength, thinness, slenderness, as well as the size and thickness of the legs. These factors are crucial to the general image of your cat

So, which are these six types of cats?

1. Oriental – Cats with this body shape have a lean and beautiful appearance, but they are brawny and strong. They have a long and triangular and long head, a lengthy tail and long legs. Cornish Rex and Siamese are examples of cats in this category.
2. Foreign – This category of cats tend to be long and with a firm body and have a long and tapered tail, as well as proportional legs. These cats have a modified wedge head, with large ear and oval-shaped eyes. A good example of this cat type is the Somali.
3. Semi-foreign – Cats with this body shape tend to be lean and less long. Their head has a modified wedge shape with fairly-large ears. Typically, these cats are fine or medium boned. A good example of this cat type is the American Curl.
4. Semi-cobby – This cat category is a little less compact and less-round compared to the cobby cat body shape. They are known to be strong and the Bombay is a perfect example.
5. Cobby – Unlike their cousins (semi-cobby), cats with this body shape are known to be thick, short, and small, and with a short tail. They also have shorter legs and the Cymric is a good example.
6. Substantial – Cats in this body shape category are known to be large and are neither cobby nor rounded. A perfect example for this cat category is the Norwegian Forest cat. 

Body Type	Characteristics	Breeds
Oriental	Slender, long appendages, triangular heads	Siamese, Oriental Shorthair, Oriental Longhair
Cobby	Short, compact, muscular, rounded features	Persian, Himalayan, Burmese
Semi-Cobby	Big-boned, thick build	American Shorthair, British Shorthair, Scottish Fold, Bombay
Foreign	Long, lean, slim, oval/almond eyes	Turkish Angora, Japanese Bobtail, Russian Blue, Abyssinian
Semi-Foreign	Standard shape, medium-sized body	American Curl, Sphynx, Havana Brown, Snowshoe, Munchkin
Substantial	Large, tall, thick, built	Maine Coon, Ragdoll, Turkish Van, Norwegian Forest Cat, Bengal

Healthy Cat Body Shape

Since our furry friends are always there with us in the house as part of the family, we get the temptation of feeding them quite often with treats. As such, it is very hard to notice when they are becoming overweight or even obese.

What is your cat’s ideal weight: Normal Cat Chart Weight?

In an ideal world, a healthy cat should record a body score of approximately 4.4 -5kg (about 10 pounds) . If your cat is in that range, it is considered the healthiest weight. If you want a healthy cat, you are recommended to conduct frequent body condition checkups. This allows you to give your pet the attention it needs, as well as gathering info on any weight concerns or sore acnes.

Underweight

If you want to assess whether your cat is underweight, do these two things:

• Ribs – Run your hand over the side of your cat and if you feel many ribs, this indicates that you have an underweight cat. If you do not feel some flesh between the cat’s skin and the ribs, this is a problem. The vice versa is also true.
• Spine – Run your hand over your cat’s spine and feel the extent to which the bones are protruding. If you feel too much bone like there is nothing above the vertebrae, your cat is underweight. The vice versa is also true.

On the body condition score, an underweight cat weighs between 1 and 4.

Ideal cat weight

Are you wondering whether your cat has an ideal weight? If you see your furry friend’s waist behind the ribs, your cat has a well-balanced body weight. Run your hands over the cat’s side and if you can feel the ribs but with a small fat layer on the abdomen, you have a healthy cat.

On the body condition score, an ideal cat weight ranges around the score of 5.

Overweight

Cats are classified as overweight if they are 10% – 20% over the ideal cat weight. Since weight might creep over time, it is very easy for us to overlook. Do you want to know if your cat is overweight? Then do these two things:

• Ribs – Move your hand gently over your cat’s side and if it feels like there are no ribs or there is a huge layer of fat above them, your furry friend might be overweight. That is a problem.
• Spine – Move your hand over your cat’s spine. Here, you should feel the vertebrae bones but not too much. If you cannot feel your cat’s vertebrae, that is a problem because you have an overweight cat.

On the body condition score, an overweight cat weighs between 6 and 9.

Body Condition Score: Cat Assessment Guide

A body condition score refers to a number allocated to a cat’s body type. These numbers range from 1 to 9, where 1 denotes the most underweight cat while 9 represents the most overweight cat. A cat with a score of 5 is considered to have the most ideal shape.

This is what vets use to check if your cat is overweight or underweight since weighing them is not a guarantee that the cat is in a healthy shape. The body condition score evaluates three key factors, including the cat’s waist, abdomen, and ribs.

Cat weight chart, kgs, and lbs.

A typical or average healthy adult cat should have a weight between 7.9 lbs. (3.8 kgs) and 13.2 lbs. (6 kgs). Small to medium breeds cat weighs between 7.7 lbs. to 12.1 lbs. (3.5 kgs to 5.5 kgs.), while large breed cats weigh 13 lbs. to 17.6 lbs. (6 kgs to 8 kgs).

	Weight	Weight
Cat size	Kgs.	Lbs.
Small to Medium	3.5 to 5.5	7.7 to 12.1
Large	6 to 8	13 to 17.6

Cat weight chart by Age

Cat’s weight loss journey video:

The video above gets summarized well by the comment below: 🙂

Want to know if your cat is fat? Watch Dr. Uri from Vancouver explain feline obesity.