Pet obesity facts, stats and prevention

Pet obesity is a serious concern for Pet owners and also we all know that Obesity is a very common problem among people and pets specially in developed countries. In a study done by Association for Pet Obesity Prevention noticed and their pets obesity statistics were that 53 percent of cats were overweight cats and 56 percent of dogs were overweight dogs. This is very alarming because it means that most of the pets are overweight pets and the risks this overweight for pets possesses to their health cannot be ignored. This is especially disturbing and will be of trouble as more pets will be affected by overweight related problems like arthritis in pets, high blood pressure and kidney disease in pets and heart attack in pets which further will add cost to pet owners in term of the “medical costs.”  .  If you have insured your pets than this would mean more monthly pet insurance premiums.

With pet obesity awareness we must take Preventive measures to control pet obesity as dog obesity ratio and cat obesity ratio is more in pets than in human beings. Therefore It is important that as a pet owners one must understand, the significance and importance of even a few extra pound on dogs or cat and also the health risks of obesity for pets. The dog and cats owners must also know the reasons of pet obesity and the pet foods which cause this. Obese cats and Obese dogs owners must also know the health issues caused by the obesity and the pet problems that comes due to obesity.
There is a simple way of understanding obesity in cats and that is each excessive pound in your cat is equivalent to 13 pounds on the average female and 15 pounds on a male. A dog would be called a obese dog if the pet is 30 percent overweight than the weight of that pet should be.

Below are some general tips to ensure that the dog gets the most out of whatever food you offer him/her:


1: Feeding your pet at the same time each day.

When you will follow this principle you can also ensure that your pet food is always fresh. Foods that remain filled in the bowl for enough time is exposed to air and will not remain fresh.  Also never allow for the food to be down all day as this would certainly mean that your animal can just eat all day long and the result will be obesity in dogs or cats.

2: Make sure that your pet is getting enough exercise as it may help to control excess weight gain in your dogs or cats if your dog has the tendency to get weight. It is also advisable for controlling excess weight gain to put your dog on a low density calorie dog food. This food is available easily in any pet food shop. You can go to your vet doctor to ask for his help in deciding if this there is a good option that is specifically for your pet to in good shape and size and to prevent pet from Obesity.
3: There are many guidelines which applies for  prevention of obesity also applies to dogs and cats and other pets as well. There may be many recommendations that a veterinary specialist might be advising you which are aimed at obesity prevention in cats and dogs. The usual advice for pet owners is that they should keep an eye on how much food their pet is eating. These advices and guidelines will more often suggest on eating more vegetables and more fruits and these to be included in pets food. Also the pet food must be less concentrated and must be whole grain pet food . The milk pets take should be low fat skimmed milk. The sea food which the pets are taking must also be low fat and the poultry diet of pets should also be lean in fat.

Also we must take special care on how much sugar is pet consuming because if your pet is eating things like cakes and biscuits then you must limit the amount of these things also in your pets diet. Other foods to avoid for obese pets are pizza, cheese and ice creams.

Lastly it is concluded that the owners must learn about pet obesity awareness and must know that what are the reasons for pets obesity so that if their pets ever faces this problem they must have a solution in mind to avoid huge medical bills later. Also it can be difficult to prevent pet obesity once they are obese so it is wise to take action as soon as you feel you pet is obese.