by Elizabeth D. Blount, DVM
When you look at your “best friend,” what do you see? A well proportioned pet with a waist and a thin layer of fat over the ribcage? Or does your buddy have a broadened back and a bulge in the belly?
Being overweight is alarmingly common in the pet population. 58 percent of cats and 53 percent of dogs are overweight. The even more disturbing part of a recent survey was that 90 percent of owners of overweight cats and 95 percent of owners of overweight dogs believed erroneously that their pet was a healthy weight. This suggests that pet guardians do not know what a healthy weight dog or cat looks like. Their ability to recognize the problem is covered up by consistent images of obese pets; what is considered the norm has changed. Another study found that the rate of pets becoming overweight or obese in the U.S. in 2015 has increased for the fifth year in a row. The problem is only getting bigger, just like America’s pets.
Being overweight or obese severely punishes a pet’s body. Just a few pounds of extra weight has been linked to a shorter life expectancy, Type 2 diabetes, arthritis, decreased mobility, increased chance of physical injury and even cancer. The extra weight overloads joints and makes it difficult to get up and do normal pet things, so quality of life is diminished. The problem is worse for smaller dogs and cats. One extra pound on a Toy Poodle is proportionally much more than on a Great Dane; a tiny bit of extra fat damages a small pet more than a large one. Nationwide insurance, the largest provider of pet insurance in the United States, released statistics on the 10 most common claims associated with pet obesity in 2015. They included dogs and cats separately and had claims from 550,000 pets from across the country.
Problems with obesity in cats are worse than in dogs. Obese cats have trouble with personal grooming, causing flaky skin and infections, and difficulty using the litter box. In fact, just like most “average Americans,” our pets consume too many calories, and as we work longer hours they exercise less. It may seem like no big deal to give our cat some left over salmon from our dinner or the rest of the can of tuna, but as little as two ounces of either to our cat is the equivalent of six chocolate frosted donuts for us. The same is true for dog “treats.” Did you know that a 6-inch rawhide bone has the same number of calories as four donuts? Proportionately, that’s equivalent to us eating the whole box!
Your veterinarian and your pet’s health care team are the best source of credible information about your pet’s body condition, as well as tips and ideas about fixing finicky eaters and other eating problems. Annual exams are a great place to discuss your concerns about your pet’s weight and exercise program. If you have limited time – or limited mobility – pet daycare or in-home pet sitters can often fill the exercise gap nicely by allowing extra playtime while you are at work. Several programs are even veterinarian-supervised. None of us wants our pets to have these health problems. Let’s fight obesity and we can all have healthier, livelier and happier lives.
The 10 most common problems with dogs are:
Arthritis
Bladder/urinary tract disease
Low thyroid hormone production
Liver disease
Torn knee ligaments
Diabetes
Intervertebral disc disease
Fatty tumor growth
Chronic kidney disease
Heart failure
The most common problems with cats are:
Bladder/urinary tract disease
Chronic kidney disease
Diabetes
Liver disease
Asthma
Arthritis
Dr. Blount is the medical director and CEO of At Home Veterinary Care Center in Tallahassee. Dr. Blount and her team are dedicated to helping pets and their families live happier, healthier lives, with advanced health care, training, play care and fun. Read more about them at athomevet.care.
