Obesity
Obesity is a growing trend not just amongst us humans but also amongst our pets. A survey by the RSPCA showed that 41% of Australian dogs and 33% of cats are overweight. It is certainly very common and I see animals every day that are suffering poor health due to being overweight.
Being overweight can contribute to a whole range of diseases such as heart disease, pancreatitis, arthritis, diabetes, overheating and even skin disease
Owners will often state that the animal was not overweight until it was desexed. There is some truth in that. Desexing can slow down the metabolic rate a bit and desexed animals have fewer interests than undesexed animals. Desexing will reduce wandering (to find mates) and some other forms of exercise.
Fundamentally though, for the vast majority of animals, the cause of obesity is that they are eating too much or exercising too little. There are certainly significant metabolic and genetic differences but it is still possible to achieve a healthy weight in almost every pet. A thorough medical check up is important to ensure there are no medical conditions contributing to the weight.
Maintaining exercise such as regularly taking your dog for a long run or walk certainly helps. Getting cats to do more exercise is more of a challenge.
For most animals weight loss will require decreasing the amount or the content of the food being offered to your pet. There are now excellent weight loss pet foods available and these are very effective. Often even just buying a smaller food bowl can make a big difference. (Since the desire to fill a bowl is so strong by having a smaller bowl you feed less.) It is also good to keep track of who is feeding what to the pets – often several people in a house may feed or treat a pet. Treats can add up to a substantial amount of food.