What Does a Cat Need to Develop Cheek Fluff?

Cheek padding — the round "pancake face" — is a secondary sex trait of male cats, driven mainly by genes and helped by age, sex, and breed. Most cats start padding out at 6–8 months if intact and of a prone breed such as British Shorthair, Exotic, Chinchilla, or Himalayan; Siamese, Russian Blue, Sphynx and a few others essentially never will, so overfeeding them only causes obesity.

How to Help Your Cat Develop Stud Jowls

Jowls are mostly genetics, but the right support — high-quality food, plenty of protein, and neutering if you don't breed — can help a susceptible cat fill out. Siamese and Sphynx simply can't, and toms do it far more easily than queens.