Check your pet for obesity to prevent disease
Prevention of illnesses is becoming increasingly more important among pet owners, as opposed to the times when veterinarians were consulted only when pets were already sick. Pets have genuinely become part of the family, but just like obesity has become a problem in humans in the USA, it is becoming an epidemic in pets as well.
Obesity is the most frequent nutritional problem encountered in veterinary medicine, and approximately 25-30% of the cats and dogs in the USA are obese.
An animal is considered obese when it is 10-15 percent above its ideal weight. Obesity can occur when caloric intake (food consumption) exceeds caloric expenditure (exercise and activity).
There are several ways to determine whether your pet is facing a weight problem. One is palpating the tissue overlying your pet’s ribs. When doing this, you should be able to feel the ribs right under the skin with a very small amount of fat in between. Another experiment involves looking down at your pet’s body shape. You should see a definite waistline just behind the ribs.
An excess of fat in the abdominal area is a sign of obesity. As a rule the body weight of a young adult animal is considered to be its ideal weight.
Owners should check their pet’s body condition at least every month, as obesity is a very insidious condition frequently only noticed after the animal has gained a significant amount of weight. Checking your pet’s weight is extremely important as obesity can lead to conditions like arthritis, respiratory problems, heart disease, skin problems, heat intolerance, urinary problems, increased anesthetic risk, constipation, diabetes, general discomfort and a shorter lifespan.
Should a reduction of your pet’s body weight be called for, your veterinarian should be consulted to establish a weight control program which involves the doctor and owner determining the animal’s ideal weight and a course of action needed to achieve that goal.
Reducing diets are a good way to deal with a pet’s obesity. This is a special pet food high in fiber content and less concentrated in calories, allowing for larger portions and satisfying your pet’s hunger. An example of this type of food would be Sciences diets r/d which is a food that is supplied only at veterinary establishments.
Cutting the amount of food your pet receives is another way to achieve weight loss. A gradual decrease in food would be the best course of action, so your pet doesn’t feel its being “cheated” out of food. If your pet is still constantly hungry you can add green beans or rice to their diet. For cats you can try to add the water from a cat of tuna to the rice (make sure you use tuna in water, and not tuna in oil).
Every pet owner loves their pets and one way they show their love is through treats, although we all love treats, your pet will love being fit and trim better than panting from just going up a set of stairs. Our two Corgi’s rarely receive real treats, since they are a breed that is prone to obesity we keep a careful eye on their weight. One good treat is ice cubes, or you can add a small amount of apple juice (100% juice) to an ice try to give the ice cubes a bit of flavor. Other rewarding treats that are healthy for your dog are carrot sticks, apple slices, small pieces of melon. All these like anything else need to be given in moderation, except the ice cubes =) Once again for cats you can put water from a can of tuna in a cube tray and give as a treat, or cat nip.
Another part of the program is encouraging mild to moderate exercise and increasing it progressively to support the weight loss.
Reducing diet alone will make the process take much longer. Try to spend 15 minutes per day playing with your pet to get him or her active. Short walks are an ideal way to get you and your pet active. For those with cats, I had a veterinarian recommend that I carry the cat away from the house and it will walk back to the house, which actually did work. Throwing toys for your pets to retrieve is another way to get your pet active; there are dangly toys for cats to whack at. A laser pointer is great, I can get our pets all excited with this thing they will run around and chase it. You may think your pets want to just lay around and be lazy but that isn’t true, exercise is a great way to keep your pets active and happy, plus it gives you the time to bond more closely to your pet.
A successful program will be greatly rewarding for you and your pet, and having your veterinarian involved will be of great help in terms of advice and supervising the maintenance of your pet’s weight control. Make sure that you take your pet to get weighed regularly to keep track of progress, remember the weight will not just melt off it takes time. Below are diagrams on body sizes, try and determine where your pet is and what they need.
And if you have had a pet that was overweight but is now healthy please reply to the post, I would love to put success stories up to provide motivation!!
