So while there is a debate up for that right now on the net; I'll go with what I've found. Not sure if this will answer anything or not.


A cat can be more rounded because it's eating more calories than it's burning off.
Like humans, cats can become overweight for a variety of reasons, including overfeeding, lack of exercise, old age and a slowing metabolism. Weight gain can occur any time calories consumed exceed the energy expended. (As said above). Excess energy gets stored in the body as fat (also see leptin resistance).
Many factors can contribute to excess weight gain including eating patterns, physical activity levels, environmental factors, and sleep routines.
Social determinants of genetics also play a role.
Feline obesity is a very common disease, occurring in up to 63% of cats in developed countries.
Also, neutered male cats are more likely than females to gain excessive weight.
The incidence of feline obesity increases with age peaking between the ages of six and eight years.
Many pure bred cats such as Siamese or Abyssinians are leaner than most mixed breed cats, suggesting a genetic influence on body weight may exist in cats, as it does in humans.
Multiple diseases are associated with overweight and obesity in cats, particularly diabetes mellitus type 2, lameness, and dermatosis, which reduce life quality and can even lead to early death.


In theory, the development of an overweight phenotype is a multifactorial trait, characterized by a complex interaction of different genes and the environment.

https://basepaws.com/blogs/news/cat-obesity
https://academic.oup.com/jhered/article/102/Suppl_1/S28/895728?login=true
The rest was just there on google to read

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All of the above applies to captive and domestic situations: pets, sanctuarys, rescues, reserves etc. Big cats dont have the luxury of consuming more than they expend: every hunt takes a lot of energy, and then they have to share their kill among the pride, feed their cubs their milk. You are confusing domestic cats with big cats, what applies to them doesn't apply to lions.

You simply would not get a fat lion for any reason, perhaps hypothyroidism but the lion would die from other complications of that (such as being too fatigued to hunt or defend themselves.).

Lions in real life only eat every few days, this is well studied and known, simply because of the amount of energy a hunt takes. Every hunt results in microtears of the muscles which in turn get bigger and stronger, like humans working out. They would not get obese with this lifestyle.

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Yes, because it is still up for debate right now on the net. But there is known cases. Man you don't have to be rude.

We'll just leave it at some of us like them and some of us don't lmao

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Unfortunately that isnt really a mutation tho. It is just eating habits. And even with eating disorders you still have to eat in order to be overweight (plus I dont think that is much of a thing in cats or many animals at all). Plus the cats that are overweight are so more because humans feed them so much compared to what they need. The most common reason for this is because cats still have that instinct were you should eat as much as you can, while you can. There is never really a way for lions to have this abundance of food, or rather any predator. That is the most likely reason there arent many, if any cases in the wild.

Mutations that do cause overgrowth in fat are mainly lipomatosis (which we have). These mutations do not cause a round lion, but rather an overgrowth in lipid pads that aren't suppose to be where they are at (EX: in the arms, chest, feet, etc.). These show up as clusters of bumps on a persons body.

As far as I can see there are no diseases that cause fat (round) cats. Diabetes is its own mutation and becoming fat is a side effect, so I doubt that would count here (plus diabetes can also do the opposite and cause underweight).
Feline obesity is strongly dependent on their enviroment. While there are genetic components, it is almost always what they are being fed, and how much that causes them to be that way. Because of this, I personally wouldn't count it as a mutation on lioden, plus there are limited cases of this in the wild if any. (https://www.google.com/search?q=feline+obesity+in+the+wild&source=lmns&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiaj5TSsrP7AhXoUd8KHcIFDmAQ_AUoAHoECAEQAA a link for my findings on feline obesity).

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@gagey, they arent being rude. They are just letting you know what they think.


And can you please link those cases? Cause from my findings there are no cases of such in teh wild. We would be a lot more willing to support if you could send us those cases.

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If you feel any of my comments were rude feel free to submit them to the modbox, I am doing my best to get my points across in the easiest way to understand and without room for confusion. I will not support this topic without proof it can happen in lions, not house cats.

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I agree with you there Hyena, Aha I'd say if there are any they would be like the ones in the Russian circus or like the tigers in the Chinese zoo. But they don't have VAST land to explore and they aren't out in the wild. They get food daily there- where as in the wild it's a more scarce thing. They also don't really have to fight for it I imagine.

Anyhow, I agree it's not a mutation it's more a disease with diabetes, which as you said can go the other way and make one underweight.

This is my first time actually replying on the board other than Giveaways or wanted/LF, man, haha

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https://www.quora.com/What-is-the-largest-lion-ever-recorded-How-was-it-compared-to-other-lions
:)

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The largest male lion ever recorded didnt have anything to do with it being fat neccesarily. It is more on the size in general plus it says: "Largest recorded in terms of mass and length is Simba, measured 3.2 m’ in total length and weighed 375 kg! He carried a lot of fat, but still he had a potential to be the largest non obese, functional lion, considering he is very tall (1.12 m at the withers) and very long." So Simba, the largest lion to exist, was not obese nor fat. He was just super large in weight, height and length.

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yea I don't know if this is a mutation... If it was a consequence of overfeeding your lions that might be cool but yeah this isn't a mutation

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I’m sorry, but as a plus sized person, I genuinely want to know why you’re basically saying body weight is a “mutation”. This could’ve gone in almost any other design suggestion, and while yes, animals can gain weight, the way you speak about obesity in this post rubs me the wrong way. There’s a difference between body positivity and glorifying obesity.

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the only reason i can think for a lion to uncontrollably gain weight would be hypothyriodism, but even then i still dont believe we should refer to them as chonkers. That term is used almost exclusively by negligent pet owners with morbidly obese animals that refuse to take responsibility for their actions

Even if a lion did have hypothyriodism, that isnt a mutation like melanism, achromia, or double uteri. its a genetic condition that makes the body unreceptive to thyriod hormone, much like type 1 diabetes

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I find this a little bit rude, to be honest. Being overweight isn't a mutation. Also, I commonly find that overweight/obese people and animals are infantilized or made to be "Cute babies" or "Very huggable". A lot of them don't appreciate it.

Obese cats aren't cute, they are most likely sick because of the lack of a good diet.

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