# sagging belly skin



## MopyDream44

Ok, so this isn't terribly important but it's something ive been curious about for a while. 

I've met two different cats (one male one female) who have droopy belly skin. They appear to be normal sized cats, and they didn't lose a lot of weight, so tell me.....

What's up with the hanging belly pouch?


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## Martho

I have only noticed this on older cats, I think it happens when there skin gets loose as they get older and it starts hanging down.


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## Jeanie

Martho is right. The is typical of an older cat.


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## Heidi n Q

:lol: DWY has the correct answer, it *is* genetics! 

That loose, floppy, hangy-down part of their belly is simply excess skin that allows the cats to move, stretch and contort into their many positions during their acrobatic activities. I've seen fit cats, fat cats, skinny cats, girl cats, boy cats, spay/neutered cats, un-spay/neutered cats, young cats, old cats ... _ALL cats_ ... both *have* a hangy-down belly and *not have* a hangy-down belly.

Just like us with our earlobes ... are yours attached or hangy-down? It's that wonderful world of genetics. :wink


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## raecarrow

Both my 3 year old bengals have a waddle. It is a genetic thing, neither of my cats are fat.

This is my Teddy at 10 months old and he already has a waddle


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## Jeanie

In your cases, I'm sure you're right about genetics. However, my cat was elderly, and had never had a sagging abdomen. The vet told me it was from aging, and that he had one at home just like my Blacky. Blacky wasn't fat either. It was just a lack of muscle tone.


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## Bethany

Then there's Stormy, who both has saggy belly skin AND could stand to lose a pound or two still...


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## Mrs. PBJ

My vet told me that it was from boss being fixed to young so his growth hormone is all out of whack. 

Boss is a perfect weight from the top but he has a good 1/4 pound of extra skin. 

I don't know boss was fixed at like 9 weeks old.


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## MopyDream44

haha it's the innie vs outtie of the cat world 

I think it's kinda cute but I'm glad other people have wondered the same thing!


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## Heidi n Q

Advanced age is very different from the hangy-down belly of younger cats. :wink One is a result of outside influences (time/body-condition) and the other is simply genetics. :mrgreen: 
I liked the comparison to the innie/outie belly button issue! That is probably easier to relate to than earlobes.

_When I was a kid I thought cats had the hangy-down belly because of being spayed; that the vet had cut across the muscles the wrong way. As I got older and was around more and more cats of various genders and ages I realized that wasn't the correct explanation for what I was seeing in such a variety of cats._


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## MopyDream44

I like calling it a "pooch" for some reason


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## nklincoln

My cats inherited it from me. LOL I do situps for mine. They just watch.


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## igloe

I also call it the pooch.

But I always thought it was from her losing a lot of weight. She used to be a fat cat.


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## madie

great post!

Mocha was very slim when her owner relinquished her to me. She had that 'annoying' saggy belly flap too as i have really never seen/noticed one on a slim cat before. she has gained some weight, but still has that belly flap. i have to say, it is a cute feature on her though :lol:


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## Heidi n Q

Our Louie is a slim and fit little cat ... but he has The Most Floppiest hangy-down-belly I've *ever* seen! Even when he walks, it sways noticeably from side-to-side ... and when he jogs or runs _oh-my!_ does it ever swing and flop! :lol:


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## MopyDream44

:lol: it is pretty funny looking


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## faithless

Teddys a looker...Whether its true or not, I too have heard its a neutering/spaying thing.


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## MopyDream44

yes, cats are beautiful even with the funny looking belly skin


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## Avalonia

Our fourteen year old tux has the saggy belly skin but our Turkish Angora who is the same age does not. I used to wonder if I overfed him even though he didn't look overweight but the vet never seemed concerned about it. Interesting to know that it's age and probably genetically related.


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## aprilmay

I agree that sometimes it happens after a cat has been fixed. All of my girls have the belly fat. They also have a lot of hair under there, I think maybe it's from where they're shaved before spaying.


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## Heidi n Q

I disagree that the hangy-down-belly(h-d-b) is a result of spaying. If spaying was the reason, then what explains the h-d-b in male cats?
It is genetic. Either the cat has the genetics to develop one, or they don't. 
It may *seem* like it happens because of spaying ... but think logically: In cases of female cats with h-d-b's, she is usually spayed as a juvenile, before she is fully grown. After she is spayed, she grows, matures and develops her h-d-b as she completes growing. That specific order of events could make it appear that spaying is the cause, but again, that would not explain male cats with h-d-b's whose bellies have never had an abdominal surgery.

In the case of saggy-skin due to age and weight loss, I feel those are special circumstances because they are caused by outside factors of environment and age related issues.


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## aprilmay

Hadn't though of it that way Heidi, I just assumed it had something to do with the vet cutting open my girls. Mr Kitty never had the belly, he was always a sleek and muscular kitty.


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## Heidi n Q

Our Silver (Mousie) 1995-2008 was a sleek and tiny girl of 6# with barely any hdb. Both of her brothers, though, had hdb's. Mister's 95-06 was very big and floppy, even though he was a very thin and narrow cat. Toby 95-07 was heftier, but his hdb was more moderate in size.
Our current male cat Louie has a big and floppy hdb like Mister's was. Lou is a fairly small cat at about 9#. He is fit and has never been overweight, but he's got the biggest hdb I've seen in any of my cats.


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## gunterkat

Cats have loose skin so predators can't grab and wound them so easily. Some more than others. I think sometimes it just hangs down.


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