Pet Care: Help For Overweight Pets

Air Date:
Heard On The Larry Meiller Show
fat cat
fatcat (CC-BY-SA)

Obesity in animals is growing almost as quickly as it is in humans. Dr. Sandi Sawchuck is in to talk about what you can do to keep your pet fit. She also answers your other pet care questions.

Featured in this Show

  • Study: 58 Percent Of Cats, 54 Percent Of Dogs In US Are Overweight Or Obese

    More than half of our cats and dogs are overweight, according to a survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, and the statistic is concerning veterinarians.

    Fifty-eight percent of cats and 54 percent of dogs in the United States were overweight or obese in 2015, according to the survey published in 2016.

    Fit pets live longer, and are less likely to have arthritis, diabetes and secondary skin problems. Even some forms of cancers are more common in overweight pets, said Dr. Sandi Sawchuk.

    Sometimes pet owners don’t like being told they have an overweight pet, the veterinarian said.

    “We want your pet to live a long, healthy life, we aren’t trying to deprive them,” Sawchuk said.

    Too many calories is generally the cause of weight gain in pets, she said. Sawchuk recommended owners take their pets to the vet to get their body condition score, which is similar to a body mass index. The BCS will determine how many calories a pet needs in a day.

    It may not be the food you feed your pet in the morning and evening that’s causing the weight gain. It could be hidden calories found in treats or added liquids. Even a small rawhide treat can have 60 to 100 calories, and for a small dog, that could be a quarter of its daily calories.

    “People don’t seem to think that drinking that milk from the cereal bowl is going to add calories, but it does,” Sawchuk said.

    But owners must be careful when cutting a pet’s calories, Sawchuk cautioned. It’s important the pet still gets the nutrients needed, many times specially formulated foods are recommended by veterinarians.

    So, how can you tell if your pet is overweight?

    Feel their ribs. A pet’s ribs should feel similar to when you run your hand over the fingers of a closed fist. Try making a closed fist and run your hand over your knuckles; if your pet’s ribs feel like this, then he or she is too thin. If you run a hand over the back of the fist and the ribs feel like this, he or she is too fat.

    “Make sure when you feel the ribs you don’t press down, just run your hand over them,” Sawchuk said.

    Getting your pet back to his ideal weight can take time.

    “We recommend that they lose 1 percent of the weight they need to lose per week, so it’s a very slow, gradual weight loss,” Sawchuk said. “It can take several months.”

    The veterinarian recommends doing frequent weigh-ins with an accurate scale to make sure pet owners are staying on track because of the long process.

Episode Credits

  • Larry Meiller Host
  • Jill Nadeau Producer
  • Dr Sandra Sawchuk Guest

Related Stories