People aren't the only animals in America having to worry about being overweight, our pets are inching up on the scales as well.
If your dog or cat looks more like a footstool
than an animal, it’s time to do something about that excess
weight.
There is an epidemic of fat pets in the United
States, one that’s often unrecognized.
“It comes from the fact that they are beloved,”
says veterinarian Louise Murray, vice president of the American
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ Bergh Memorial
Animal Hospital in New York. “We see them as part of the family,
and we feed them. (The obesity) comes from a good place because we
love them. But we need to get it under control because it can cause
health problems.”
A survey earlier this year, conducted by the
Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, which works within the
veterinary community to combat pet obesity, found that more than
half of the dogs and cats in the U.S. are overweight or obese.
(Obesity is defined as being 30 percent above normal weight, and
one-fifth of our pets qualify.) The trouble is, many pet owners
don’t see it.
Thomas Graves, a professor of veterinary
clinical medicine at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the
University of Illinois, and director of the Chicago Center for
Veterinary Medicine, compares it to the childhood obesity
epidemic.
“Some of these studies, they get parents to try
to identify their child’s body type,” he says. “Most parents can’t
do that. We’re seeing the same thing in dogs and cats. Probably 40
percent of them are overweight, 20 percent of them obese. And the
vast majority of pet owners fail to recognize that their pets have
a weight problem.”
The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention has a
chart (petobesityprevention.com/pet-weight-check) that will give a
dog or cat owner an idea. It’s a good starting point, but a visit
to the vet is still recommended.
“There are medical conditions that can cause
obesity and weight gain,” Graves says. “So any animal with a weight
problem needs to be evaluated by a veterinarian. That way, a proper
weight loss program can be designed by the veterinarian.”
The program generally involves diet and
exercise.
“The truth about pet food is that most pet foods
are really good,” Graves says. “The pet food companies spend lots
of money researching proper nutrition. They want pets fed healthy
food that keeps them alive a long time — and buying more food.”
He doesn’t pick one pet food over any other but
says to buy a premium brand, one appropriate for the life stage the
pet is in. And check with your vet about how much to feed your
animal. A spayed or neutered pet is less active and needs less, and
some pet foods recommend more than is needed.
Murray says that most dogs’ weight problems can
be blamed on leftovers, snacks and treats, not their regular
food.
“Those things are very caloric, and that adds
up,” she says. “For dogs, the best advice is to cut back on the
non-dog foods, the unofficial stuff.”
Cats are different, she says. They become
overweight not from treats, but because their diet is too high in
carbohydrates.
“Cats are nature’s pure carnivores,” she says.
“They were never meant to eat carbohydrates. Their bodies are not
designed to handle them at all. Unfortunately, a lot of the cat
foods on the market are high in carbs, especially dry foods. It’s
easy for us to leave a bowl out all day, but then they’re snacking
on carbohydrates all day.”
Canned or moist foods from pouches are a better
choice, she says.
Exercise is the other key. You might even want
to participate — nice, long, moderate walks, Murray suggests. Three
or four times a week is about right, but work up to it gradually.
“You don’t want to take a couch potato out there with a Frisbee; it
could injure them.” If you’re not interested in exercising, a
little fetch goes a long way. You throw the ball, Fido retrieves
it. Over and over and over. The point is to get the dog moving.
If something more strenuous is your
goal, look into activities such as those outlined in “Canine
Sports&Games” (Storey) by Kristin Mehus-Roe. She presents
different activities tailored to the personality of a dog (an
intelligent and energetic canine would benefit from agility
training, for example). The idea is to provide mental as well as
physical activity.
“Any kind of exercise for them is good,” Graves
explains. “And it’s really important that they get mental
stimulation too. One way to keep dogs’ brains in better shape as
they age is to expose them to new things. Don’t take them on the
same route on the walk every day. Vary it. Go a different way. Let
them use their brains more.”
Exercising a cat can be as simple as
tying a toy to a fishing pole and waving it around, or flicking a
laser pointer around the room and have the cat chase it. Or ...
“One of the best ways to get a cat to exercise
is to get a kitten,” Graves says. “Kittens are a pain in the neck.
I can’t tell you how many times an owner has a cat losing weight,
and they come in, and we can’t figure out why. Then I find out they
got a kitten four months ago and, well, that’s the reason. Cats do
well in groups. They play more; they tend to eat better.”
———
SIGNS YOUR PET NEEDS A DIET
These tips are from the Association for Pet
Obesity Prevention website:
How to tell if your pet is a healthy weight:
Ribs are easily felt
Tucked abdomen — no sagging stomach
Waist when viewed from above
Your pet is overweight if …
It’s difficult to feel ribs under fat
Sagging stomach: You can grab a handful of
fat!
Broad, flat back
No waist
___
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