Obesity, exercise and diet food

Obesity

Research has shown that over half of dogs and over a third of cats in the UK are obese to morbidly obese. Obesity is just as dangerous for animals as it is for humans. It increases the risk of diabetes, heart disease, difficulties breathing and joint problems.

It’s difficult to determine an ideal weight for a certain breed or even an individual animal. Due to differences in height, build and breed it’s often difficult to determine whether an animal is overweight or not. Feeling the ribs can give you an indication of whether your pet should lose weight; the ribs of an overweight animal are difficult to feel even when applying pressure. Other signs of obesity are: a round belly, decreased stamina (getting tired quickly and moving slowly) and shortness of breath. Your vet can help determine your pet’s ideal weight.

Causes

For a small percentage of animals, obesity has a medical cause. If you think this is the case for your pet, you should contact your vet. In almost all other cases, obesity is a result of an imbalance between eating and exercising. This can have several causes:

• You give your dog too much food.
• You give your dog delicious treats that are high in calories and fattening.
• A neutered/spayed pet needs less calories after the procedure. Standard diets are no longer sufficient. You could feed Royal Canin VCN Neutered as an alternative.
• Older animals also need less calories. Which is why there are special diets for senior animals that contain less calories per unit of food. An example is HPM Veterinary.
• When your dog has a healthy diet but doesn’t get enough exercise, he burns less calories than (s)he eats. Excess calories are stored as fat.
• Health problems like hypothyroidism and illnesses that limit exercise can lead to obesity.
• Certain medications can cause obesity.

First signs of obesity

• You can no longer feel your dog’s ribs
• Your dog gets tired more quickly and wants to play less
• Obese dogs overheat easily in the summer
• Obese dogs often want to eat constantly

Increased risk of illnesses

One of the consequences of obesity is a bigger risk of illnesses. Obese cats are two to four times more likely to get diabetes than their slimmer counterparts. Joints of obese animals wear and tear more easily and obese animals are more susceptible to lipomas, shortness of breath and a decreased stamina. Obesity in pregnant animals can lead to problems during birth and in some cases a caesarean section is even necessary. Obese animals have a weakened immune system, making them more susceptible to illnesses and slowing down recovery. Obesity also increases the chance of skin problems.

Healthy, balanced diet

• A balanced diet that is high in fibre ensures that your pet gets less calories, but enough vitamins and minerals. Such foods contain healthy proteins and fibres that decrease appetite. Diet foods that help your dog achieve a healthy weight are: Eukanuba Restricted Calorie, Hill’s Metabolic Weight Management , Royal Canin Satiety, Sanimed Weight Reduction, Specific Weight Reduction, Veterinary HPM Weight Loss and Vetality Weight Management.
• Don’t feed your pet too much or too often. Use a scale to weigh the portions. If you want to give your pet treats, choose treats that are low in carbs. Treats should be subtracted from the daily diet.
• Exercise! Turn dinner time into a game: hide the food under a bowl or in a stuffable toy and make your dog work for his or her dinner. Take your dog for more walks, or change it up and go for a bike ride.
• Playing is also exercise. Keep your pet moving with balls, frisbees or tug toys.

Plenty of exercise

It’s important to adjust your pet’s exercise to his or her needs. One animal likes running while another likes digging. You should also keep in mind your pet’s physical limitations due to age or (possible) joint problems.

Dogs

Swimming is an excellent way for overweight dogs to lose weight. An animal weighs less in water, which decreases the burden on joints while simultaneously strengthening the muscles. There are also floating toys to combine swimming with playing fetch. When your dog has a better stamina, you can switch up swimming with cycling. With the Trixie U-shape Bicycle-set you can keep your dog next to your bicycle safely.

Cats

The best way to get a cat to exercise is by playing. Toys can be very useful for this and they come in all shapes, sizes and colours. Examples are the Frolicat Zoom Automatic Laser Toy or toys from Kong. You can also spread out their food over several rooms or bowls or use a puzzle feeder.

Note

Losing weight slowly is better than losing weight quickly. A weekly weight loss of 1 to 2% is a healthy way to lose weight. Do the above tips not help your pet lose weight? Weigh your pet on a regular basis and adjust his or her food until the weight goal is reached. Don’t give your pet unlimited access to food and keep the lower calorie-needs of older and spayed/neutered animals in mind. Is your pet still not losing any weight despite all these measures? It may be wise to contact your vet.

Do you have any questions about obesity in pets? Contact our veterinary team at veterinarian@vetsend.co.uk.