Teminology: A word for abdominal skin fold?

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(PeteCresswell) - 07 Jun 2005 23:59 GMT

I'm referring to that pouch/fold of skin that hangs down off their abdomen.
Sort of flops from side-to-side when they walk. My first reaction was "Geeze,
here's a cat that needs cosmetic surgery...."... then I realized it was a normal
occurrance.

Dunno if all cats have them, but ours (spayed female) does and the neighbor's
(neutered male) does and it seems like I see it fairly often in other cats.

If it is a normal occurrance, it probably has a cat-specific name.

Anybody know what it's called?

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PeteCresswell

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Wayne Boatwright - 08 Jun 2005 02:05 GMT

> I'm referring to that pouch/fold of skin that hangs down off their
> abdomen. Sort of flops from side-to-side when they walk. My first
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
>
> Anybody know what it's called?

Yes, it's normal, but I don't know what it's called. Even the big cats have
them. It seems to come after maturity.

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Wayne Boatwright *¿*
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Magic Mood Jeep© - 08 Jun 2005 04:05 GMT

>> I'm referring to that pouch/fold of skin that hangs down off their
>> abdomen. Sort of flops from side-to-side when they walk. My first
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
> Yes, it's normal, but I don't know what it's called. Even the big
> cats have them. It seems to come after maturity.

Don't know if there's an official term for it, but some people call it a
"spay sway", and some call it a "lion's pouch". Not all cats will have it,
but a majority do. It comes from when in the wild, and the huntin's good,
they will eat to excess - with what they don't use turned to fat stored in
the 'belly flap'. When leaner times come, they then use that fat up as
energy.

HTH.

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Orchid - 08 Jun 2005 19:12 GMT

>Don't know if there's an official term for it, but some people call it a
>"spay sway", and some call it a "lion's pouch".

It's called a primordial pouch, or sometimes, a 'spay sway'.
Primordial pouches exist to give the cats extra protection in
that area (cat fights involve a lot of savage kicking with the hind
legs at about that area) and to allow a longer leg extension when
jumping. A primordial pouch is just a flap of empty extra skin
between the hind leg and the torso.
'Spay sways' come from the weight that altered cats put on
because their metabolisms slow down. Add that slowdown to the
American tendancy to overfeed our pets, and you get a primordial pouch
that is filled with fat that shouldn't be there, aka a 'spay sway'.

>It comes from when in the wild, and the huntin's good,
>they will eat to excess - with what they don't use turned to fat stored in
>the 'belly flap'. When leaner times come, they then use that fat up as
>energy.

Felis lybica (the African Wildcat) is actually quite different
from the big cats, predation-wise. Big cats are desgined to gorge and
fast -- they make one big kill maybe once or twice a week. Little
cats, like F. Lybica, are designed to kill many small things
throughout the day, eating every day at least, more often twice or
three times. This is why domestic cats are susceptible to Hepatidic
Lipidosis when they do not eat for two or more days. Their bodies are
deisgned for several small meals a day, not one huge one once a week.
In zoos, big cats are fasted once a week for health reasons --
small cats *never* are.

Orchid
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BarB - 08 Jun 2005 13:09 GMT

>I'm referring to that pouch/fold of skin that hangs down off their abdomen.
>Sort of flops from side-to-side when they walk. My first reaction was "Geeze,
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
>Anybody know what it's called?

The technical name is "primordial pouch". It is inherent in some
breeds.

BarB

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~*Connie*~ - 08 Jun 2005 13:59 GMT

My Jack has one of those, and my newest tweedle seems to be developing one.
Jack's showed up when he was very young, and still very slender, so it
doesn't always come from old age and excessive weight. Its not technical,
but I call it his waddle.

> I'm referring to that pouch/fold of skin that hangs down off their
> abdomen.
[quoted text clipped - 12 lines]
>
> Anybody know what it's called?

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