How to body condition score a dog or cat

A scale tells you what a dog or cat weighs, not whether that weight is fat or muscle. Two Labradors can both weigh 35 kg (77 lb) while one is lean and the other is carrying several kilograms of fat. Body condition scoring closes that gap. It uses sight and touch to estimate body fat, and in dogs a trained scorer's result tracks closely with body fat measured by DEXA scanning (dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry), a laboratory reference method. Owners can learn the basics, though a vet's score is the one to plan around.

The 9-point scale

The scale used most widely, including in the WSAVA charts, runs from 1 (emaciated) to 9 (grossly obese). Some clinics use a 5-point version, where 3 is ideal. The ideal range differs slightly by species:

• Dogs: 4 or 5 out of 9 is ideal. Scores 1 to 3 are under ideal and 6 to 9 over ideal.
• Cats: 5 out of 9 is ideal. On the WSAVA cat chart, a 4 is already just under ideal.

Body condition scoring measures fat, not muscle. An older or ill animal can lose muscle without much change in its score. For that reason the AAHA nutrition guidelines recommend that vets record a muscle condition score alongside the body condition score at every examination.

Scoring a dog

Three checks go into the score. The descriptions below follow the WSAVA dog chart.

Ribs

Stand behind or beside the dog and run flat hands along both sides of the chest with light pressure. Coats hide a lot. Feel, do not just look.

• 1 to 3, under ideal: ribs easily felt and may be visible, with no fat to feel. At 1 and 2 the ribs, spine and pelvic bones are visible, and at 1 there is obvious muscle loss.
• 4 to 5, ideal: ribs easy to feel under a minimal to thin fat covering.
• 6 to 7, over ideal: ribs felt through a slight excess of fat at 6, and only with difficulty under heavy fat at 7.
• 8 to 9, obese: ribs cannot be felt under very heavy fat, or only with firm pressure. At 9 there are fat deposits over the chest, spine, neck and limbs.

Waist from above

Look down on the standing dog. At ideal condition there is a visible waist behind the ribs. At 6 the waist can still be seen but is not prominent. By 8 it is gone. From 7 upward, fat also collects over the lower back and at the base of the tail.

Abdominal tuck from the side

From the side, the belly line of an ideal dog rises from the bottom of the chest toward the hind legs. The tuck is still present at 6, may be present at 7, and is absent at 8 and 9, where the belly can hang or bulge. A very pronounced tuck, with visible pelvic bones, points to a dog under ideal.

Scoring a cat

The same checks apply, with differences worth knowing. On the WSAVA cat chart, an ideal cat is well proportioned, has a waist behind the ribs, ribs that can be felt under a slight fat covering, and a minimal abdominal fat pad.

• Ribs: easy to feel with minimal fat at 3 and 4. At 7 they are hard to feel, and at 8 and 9 they cannot be felt.
• Belly: the abdominal fat pad is scored directly. It is absent at 4, minimal at 5, moderate at 7 and prominent at 8, with obvious rounding of the belly. Many cats have a loose flap of skin on the lower belly, so judge how much fat it holds together with the ribs and waist rather than on its own.
• Waist: visible behind the ribs at 3 to 5, poorly defined at 7 and absent at 8 and 9. In long-haired cats it has to be felt rather than seen.
• Other fat deposits: fat over the lower back appears at 8, and at 9 there are heavy deposits over the back, face and limbs.

Why the score matters more than the number

Excess fat shortens lives. In a lifelong study of paired Labrador littermates, dogs fed 25% less than their partners had a median lifespan 1.8 years longer and later onset of chronic disease, particularly osteoarthritis.

The same pattern shows up in ordinary pet dogs. In more than 50,000 neutered dogs from about 900 North American veterinary hospitals, those overweight in middle age had a shorter median lifespan in all 12 breeds studied. The gap varied widely: about five months in German Shepherd Dogs and about two and a half years in Yorkshire Terriers.

A regular score catches gradual gain that a scale reading, taken now and then, can miss.

What to do with the score

• Ideal: keep the current feeding and activity routine, and rescore every month. Treats and table food count toward daily calories.
• Slightly over ideal: ask the vet to confirm the score and set a daily calorie target and a target weight. Measure food with a kitchen scale rather than a cup, and weigh the animal every two to four weeks to check progress.
• Obese: weight loss should be planned and monitored by a vet. Obesity is often accompanied by other conditions, such as arthritis or diabetes, that affect the plan.
• Under ideal: a vet should look for a medical cause, such as dental disease, parasites, diabetes, kidney disease or, in cats, an overactive thyroid, before food is simply increased.

Cats need particular care. An overweight cat that stops eating for days can develop hepatic lipidosis, a serious fatty liver disease, so a diet for a cat should never mean withholding food. Weight loss has to come from a measured, gradual cut in calories on a food the cat will actually eat.

Sources

1. Comparison of various methods for estimating body fat in dogs. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, 2004.
2. 2021 AAHA nutrition and weight management guidelines for dogs and cats. Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association, 2021.
3. Body condition score: dog. WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee.
4. Body condition score: cat. WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee.
5. Diet restriction and ageing in the dog: major observations over two decades. British Journal of Nutrition, 2008.
6. Association between life span and body condition in neutered client-owned dogs. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2019.
7. Hepatic lipidosis: clinical review drawn from collective effort. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 2018.