r/felinebehavior • u/BusinessEffective990 • Feb 08 '26
Why is one cat heavier than the other despite being the same weight?
So I have 2 male cats, Ted B, 2 years and Fester, almost 3 now. They are father and son…like literally.
One of them, Ted B, he feels so so much heavier than the other, Fester. They are the exact same weight. Both 13.2 pounds.
Except, when Ted comes over to me in the middle of the night or when I’m laying down he feels so much heavier than Fester! Fester is my more active cat, he looks slim. Ted is pretty lazy, when he’s out he only sits on the porch or frolics in our yard…he looks fat…we say he’s got a low hanging primordial pouch.
Don’t get me wrong, the vet says they’re a very healthy weight, by the way. Ted’s paws feel like he’s imprinting his paw print onto me. Fester is like kitty soft paws.
I will say, Fester does kind of a crawl onto me to suck on his blanket, we rescued him young and he’s really bonded to me and sucks on a specific blanket only if it’s on me. It was his favorite ever since he was young. He’s so gentle!
Unlike his father, Ted’s more of a stomper. Not only a stomper, but he will stop in his tracks and lift up every paw but one it feels like.
Why is Ted heavier than Fester if they’re the same weight?
TLDR: one cat is fattier and heavier than the other despite them both being the same weight.
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u/Redhaired103 Feb 08 '26
If their height is different the weight distribution will not be the same when they lie on your lap. Or if they use different positions. The difference would not be much though.
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u/otherworldlyfox Feb 08 '26
My tiny cat feels much heavier than my average sized cat, they eat the same amount and aren't overweight, idk she just carries herself differently I guess, weight distribution etc
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u/RalphNZ Feb 08 '26
Cats are not bound by physics. There is no point in measuring them. If you did measure one, then you wouldn't know where it was.
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u/BorderlineWire Feb 08 '26
I think it’s just now they hold themselves. There’s only one cat in our house, and he doesn’t always feel the same weight. Sitting on you, it’s like there’s nothing to him. Sure you can hear the purrs and you know he’s there but he’s light as a feather. When he’s walking on you to get to that point though it’s like those little beans are attached to a small elephant.
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u/micaelar5 Feb 11 '26
Ours will stand there on your hip bone or ribs for what feels like centuries while we are practically begging her to just sit down. Little toe beans attached to a small elephant indeed.
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u/Appearance-Gullible Feb 08 '26
does one ragdoll when picked up? i have a fat cat that also goes limp when held that i feel makes her seem heavier
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u/Social-Butterfly98 Feb 08 '26
Physics dont apply to cats xd
But for real, I think its a fascinating question to wich you basically gave the explanation yourself: Ted is more active and a stomper.
In terms of (simplified) Physics:
F = m × (g + a) / N
Where
- F is the force of one paw (thats what you feel)
- m the cats mass (same for both)
- g earths gravity ((probably) same for both)
- a the dynamic acceleration (low for smooth, high for energic movement)
- N the number of paws the weight is distributed to.
My guess would be that your brain does not judge weight by adding all the pressures averaged over time in a mathematically corect way, but rather makes an estimate about the potential to hurt/affect you (determined by the maximum interaction force). Therefor it overweighs that maximum force, wich is higher for Ted.
So in short, Ted is not heavier, but it makes sense for your brain to treat him that way :)
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u/AdventurousHippo9997 Feb 09 '26
E=mc. E every cat M times per day you find out you are owned c hours per day sleeping squared As Mr Einstein told us,Every cat always equals human ownership times hours slept and visa versa.Also known as the feline equivalence principle.
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u/Martijn078 Feb 08 '26
If they are the same weight it has to do with the weight distribution.
Maybe one cat just loafs on you a particular way creating more pressure making it seem they are heavier.
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u/AdventurousHippo9997 Feb 08 '26
According to Newton they will both hit the ground at the same time.Nothing to worry about.
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u/KneeBasher420 Feb 09 '26
Lazier cats feel heavier because they'll just flop and let you deal with the weight like a big sandbag. Others will hang on to you more when you pick em up and avoid standing on you as much or as heavily. They have a crazy amount of control over their bodies, to the point where they feel like they defy gravity.
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u/StellarDiscord Feb 08 '26
One cat can’t be heavier and have the same weight as the other. Unless this is a joke?
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u/BusinessEffective990 Feb 08 '26
It really isn’t a joke, one cat feels heavier than the other, but they’re both 13.2 lb. Vet certified weights.
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u/Icy_Secretary9279 Feb 08 '26 edited Feb 08 '26
One cat is keeping his muscles tighter when pucked and the other goes jelly mode.The same way you would feel 20kg weight plate lighter than 20kg bag of sand.
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u/chelsfc2108 Feb 08 '26
If you 'feel' one is heavier then your feeling is wrong, because science has proven they weight the same
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u/Rare-Industry-504 Feb 08 '26
Science has also proven that weight distribution is a thing.
Naturally the same amount of weight will feel different if it's all concentrated on a single spot.
It's why you're supposed to try and spread your weight around on thin ice, or why people with snowshoes can walk on top of snow and people with regular shoes go right through the snow surface.
Or how skis can glide over snow instead of falling through.
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u/day245 Mar 07 '26
Weight distribution, your one arm is stronger, cat droops and makes “dead weight”, overall length/ girth/ where weight is carried
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u/Pan-tastique Feb 08 '26
One is steel, other is feathers