I don’t really understand how cats even can get this large. I’ve kept a number of cats and always just fed them dry food in big bowls or auto-feed dispensers where they could eat as much as they wanted whenever they wanted it, and they always stayed a normal weight.
Probably a similar reason to humans. A cat in a healthy environment will regulate itself, but when stressed it may form eating disorders from using food as a coping mechanism. Or when given unhealthy food that has imbalanced nutrition
Cats will actually eat until they get the necessary nutrients from their food, unlike us where we stop when we’re full, regardless of how good the food actually is. So a cat free feeding terrible food can become obese fairly easily.
Kibble is the absolute worst thing you can feed cats. It’s usually at least half fillers and binders. They’re obligate carnivores so raw meat or high quality canned food where it’s mostly meat with some hydrating broth or something is as good as it gets for them.
A fellow ZeFrank enjoyer, perhaps? The obligate carnivore thing is so important to remember. I have a vegan friend who feeds her animals plant-based foods and her dog is underweight and her cat is overweight. Absolutely hate to see it, but adults apparently don’t respond well to being told that their pets with completely different physiology and no choice in what they’re fed won’t live their best lives on a vegan diet.
I’ve had two kitties that got one or two pounds overweight and both were long-hairs. I always figured that cats that are built for colder weather have an instinct to eat and bulk up in case of food scarcity. My short-hair kitty has stayed slender which, to me, seems to back that up. But I don’t know anything scientific or medical, it’s just an observation.
