The Chonk Chart 6 minute read Updated April 2026

The Definitive Chonk Chart.

Q: Where did the chonk chart come from?

The chonk chart originated as a Facebook post in 2018, attributed to comedian Em Lazer-Walker, with hand-drawn illustrations of chubby cats labeled with increasingly dramatic descriptors. It went viral, was reposted endlessly, and spawned countless variations. The original chart had six tiers, but versions with five or seven tiers are also widely circulated.

Q: What does 'chonk' mean?

Chonk is internet slang for a chubby animal — most commonly a cat, but also used for dogs, bears, and capybaras. It's an affectionate term, not a medical one, and it's evolved into a tier system describing different degrees of fluffiness or fatness.

Q: Is being a chonk bad for cats?

Lower tiers (Fine Boi, He Chomnk) are typically healthy or close to healthy. Higher tiers (Heckin' Chonker, OH LAWD HE COMIN) usually represent overweight or obese cats, which carries real health risks including diabetes, joint issues, and reduced lifespan. The meme is funny; the underlying issue often isn't.

Every tier explained, illustrated, and (gently) corrected. Where the meme came from, what each level actually means for your cat's health, and which one yours probably is.

Somewhere in 2018, an internet posted a hand-drawn chart of increasingly large cats with increasingly dramatic descriptions. It went viral instantly. It still goes viral. The original is everywhere; variations are everywhere; the words "oh lawd he comin" have entered the global cat vocabulary alongside "if it fits, I sits".

This is the definitive version. Six tiers, from the lithe and athletic to the gravitationally significant. Each tier includes its meme name, the corresponding clinical body condition score, and a short note on what it actually means for your cat's wellbeing.

A Fine Boi

BCS 4–5/9 · Lean to Ideal

🐈

"Look at this athletic young man. He could knock something off your counter from across the room. He has plans."

▸ The honest version A Fine Boi is the picture of health: visible waist, ribs you can find easily, a defined belly tuck. If your cat is here, give yourself a small pat on the back. They'll knock it off the counter.

He Chomnk

BCS 5–6/9 · Ideal to Mildly Above

🐈‍⬛

"Just a little chubby. A little. He has presence now. He sits with intent."

▸ The honest version He Chomnk is borderline territory — possibly still ideal, possibly the gateway to the next tier. The waist is less defined; ribs require a slightly more deliberate hand. Worth keeping an eye on, but not yet a crisis.

A Heckin' Chonker

BCS 6–7/9 · Overweight

😼

"Thicc, with two c's. The biscuits are firm. He has earned his place on the loaf throne."

▸ The honest version A Heckin' Chonker is genuinely overweight. The waist has packed up and left town. You have to push to find ribs. It's still very fixable — most cats at this tier can get back to ideal in 4–6 months with measured meals and a little more play.

H E F T Y C H O N K

BCS 7–8/9 · Significantly Overweight

😻

"He has tonnage. He has cargo. There may be moons in his orbit. The belly swings."

▸ The honest version We're in territory now where the joke is funny but the situation isn't. A H E F T Y C H O N K is well past ideal, with rib palpation difficult and a belly that visibly hangs. Joint stress, jumping difficulty, and grooming problems often follow. Time for a vet visit.

MEGA CHONKER

BCS 8/9 · Obese

🦁

"Geometry struggles to contain him. He has become his own structural concern. Stairs are a journey now."

▸ The honest version A MEGA CHONKER is medically obese — substantially elevated risk of diabetes, joint disease, and shortened lifespan. The cat is uncomfortable even if they don't show it. This is a medical issue requiring a vet-supervised plan; do not put them on a sudden diet alone, as rapid weight loss can be dangerous.

OH LAWD HE COMIN

BCS 9/9 · Severely Obese

🐯

"You hear him before you see him. The floor knows. The vet knows. Everyone knows. He has arrived."

▸ The honest version The peak tier of the meme, and the most concerning in real life. A cat at BCS 9 is severely obese and faces serious, immediate health risks. They likely struggle to groom, jump, or play. This is a vet-led intervention, often with prescription weight-loss food, a slow timeline, and regular check-ins. Cats at this level can recover — many do — but it takes a year or more.

The honest note in the middle of all this.

The chonk meme is great. It's a kind, affectionate way to talk about cats, and it's done more to get people thinking about feline body composition than a thousand vet posters ever did. But it has one side effect: it's made being overweight feel normalised for cats. A "Heckin' Chonker" sounds like an achievement. It is, technically, a sick cat.

So: enjoy the meme, share the chart, laugh at your cat's tier. But if your cat lands at tier 4 or above, please don't stop at the joke. The joke is the door. The room behind it is "okay, what do I actually do about this?" — and the answer is usually "talk to a vet, measure food, play more". Not dramatic. Not punishing. Just attention.

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Where the chonk chart came from.

The original chonk chart appears to have been posted to Facebook in mid-2018 by comedian Em Lazer-Walker, with hand-drawn cat illustrations and the now-iconic tier names. The format was simple: a hand-drawn cat per tier, getting progressively rounder, with a short caption mock-celebrating each.

It went viral within weeks. Reddit, Tumblr, Twitter — the cat internet adopted it instantly. By 2019, "chonk" had crossed into general internet vocabulary, applied to any chubby animal (and occasionally to humans, by themselves, affectionately). Multiple variations followed, with five, six, or seven tiers, different names, and different cats; the original's tier names — "A Fine Boi", "He Chomnk", "A Heckin' Chonker", and especially "OH LAWD HE COMIN" — stuck.

The chart became something rare: a meme that genuinely changed behaviour. Vets reported clients showing them the chart and asking which tier their cat was on. It put a vocabulary around something owners had previously found awkward to discuss. It also, quietly, taught millions of people what a "primordial pouch" was — a piece of feline anatomy that explains a lot of false alarms.

How to interact with your chonky cat.

If your cat is on the higher end of the tiers — a Heckin' Chonker or above — here are some practical things to do that don't require turning your home into a feline gym:

Measure their food. Eyeballing portions is the single most common cause of cat overfeeding. A kitchen scale is more accurate than a measuring cup.
Switch to wet food, partially or fully. Higher protein, more moisture, fewer carbs. Many indoor cats do dramatically better on wet food.
Use a puzzle feeder. Turns 30-second meals into 15-minute foraging activities. Burns more calories. Cat is happier.
Five minutes of wand toy, twice a day. That's it. That's the whole exercise plan. Most cats won't sustain longer.
Don't free-feed. Set meal times. The cat will protest. The cat will adapt within a week.
See a vet for a baseline. Ten minutes of bloodwork rules out hidden causes (thyroid, diabetes, fluid retention) and gives you a target.

The chart is funny. The biscuits are real. The cat doesn't know what BCS 9 means. You do now.

Common questions.

Where did the chonk chart come from?

A 2018 Facebook post, attributed to comedian Em Lazer-Walker, with hand-drawn illustrations and the original tier names. It went viral and inspired countless variations, but the original six-tier structure with "A Fine Boi" through "OH LAWD HE COMIN" remains the most-shared version.

What does "chonk" mean?

Affectionate internet slang for a chubby animal, most commonly a cat. It's not a medical term, and "chonk" has no clinical definition — but it's been mapped onto the veterinary 9-point body condition score in many fan versions of the chart, including this one.

Is being a chonk bad for cats?

Lower tiers (A Fine Boi, He Chomnk) are typically healthy. Higher tiers (Heckin' Chonker and above) usually represent overweight or obese cats with real health risks: increased rates of diabetes, joint problems, fatty liver disease, and reduced lifespan. The meme is funny; the underlying issue often isn't.

How many tiers does the real chart have?

The most-shared original has six tiers, but you'll see versions with five, seven, or even nine (mapping directly to the BCS scale). All versions are valid as memes; clinically, only the BCS itself matters.

My cat is just fluffy, not chonky. Right?

Maybe. The rib test settles it: feel along your cat's sides through the fur. If you can find ribs easily under a thin fat layer, your cat is just fluffy and photographs heavy. If you have to push to find them, fluff is hiding actual mass. Long-haired cats genuinely do photograph chunkier than they are — but the test cuts through.

Can I post my chonky cat on the internet?

Absolutely yes, and we'll happily judge them for you. Upload a photo, get a tier verdict and a sharable card with their official chonk level. The internet was made for this.

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