Animal Obesity

[Out of Order]

While getting your exercise and planning your meals please remember about your best friend(s) too........



http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2013/...lem-in-the-us/

[Moderator]

Was googling info about Biggest Loser competitions for pets as I'd just heard something a couple days ago about one, and found this article. Was chuckling about the cat being dubbed the Round Mound of Purring Sound and then aghast when I read that the owners had intended to have him euthanized because he'd gotten so fat, could no longer even get in his litter box, etc. While the cat did have health issues that were a direct result of his obesity, the idea of euthanizing him instead of putting him on a diet (which should have happened waaayy before he got to that point) is mind-boggling to me. Fortunately, Otto was instead taken to a veterinary hospital and had gotten down to 29.6 pounds. That was back in 2011 so hopefully he's still doing okay.

[Spideyman]

One aspect is the nutritional value, or lack of it, in many of the pet foods. They are mainly empty filler that pass through an animal with no nutrient value, thus making the animal hungry. The owner feeds more of the food, and it becomes a vicious cycle with the fat cells winning.
Busy lifestyles also means less play and walk time for these animals. A good play period and walk each day is beneficial to both human and companion.
Healthy table scraps are ok, but must be considered as part of the meal, not in addition to the meal.

Euthanizing any animal because of weight issues is never an option.

[Out of Order]

Thanks for that story Ms. Mod. The pictures that accompany it should be a wake up call for any responsible pet owner as to what can happen to your pet.

I too hope Otto is still okay and still losing weight.

[fljoe0]

One aspect is the nutritional value, or lack of it, in many of the pet foods. They are mainly empty filler that pass through an animal with no nutrient value, thus making the animal hungry. The owner feeds more of the food, and it becomes a vicious cycle with the fat cells winning.
Busy lifestyles also means less play and walk time for these animals. A good play period and walk each day is beneficial to both human and companion.
Healthy table scraps are ok, but must be considered as part of the meal, not in addition to the meal.

Euthanizing any animal because of weight issues is never an option.

One thing to really watch with your dog is how many treats you give him (or her) and what they are. Milk bones and treats like that are full of fat. Even though my dog is a large breed dog, I buy the small bones instead of the large ones. He is just as happy to get a small one as he is a large one and it saves a large amount of calories.

Listen to your vet and feed your dog what the vet tells you to feed him.

[Todash]

Something that has been really interesting to me, because we have multiple cats (four right now, but it's been as many as eight), most of whom we have had since kittenhood, is how different two animals raised in the same house can be from each other in eating habits and activity. My sweet Whitey is probably two pounds overweight (he weighs a bit over 16 pounds, probably should be 14.5 or so) ... his sister is a little pudgy, since right after being spayed, but not nearly as much as he is ... and the other two are not overweight at all. I've had Whitey literally from birth--he was born in a corner of our living room--and so I know that from the very beginning, he was ever inclined to eat more than the other cats. When all the kittens were tiny, they ran around together, almost like a school of fish, and more than once they'd be eating, then decide, hive-like, that they were done, and start to run off to attend to Very Important Kitten Matters. Sometimes Whitey would run off with them at first, get about two feet from the food bowl, and turn back, just to grab a little bit more. And then he would run and catch up with them and play. He's always just been a fuzzy butterball.

If he were an only cat it would be easier to trim him down some, but I don't want to limit their food more because Skittles and Ozzy are not at all overweight. Skittles doesn't eat much--he literally pulls out one piece of kibble from the bowl onto the floor at a time and eats it from there--and Ozzy eats rather a lot (especially considering he's only about seven pounds) but burns through it like mad, though he's not nearly so active as he used to be.

[Out of Order]

Todash, it sounds to me like your cats are very much like we humans in this weighty matter. Metabolism is a factor even for our furry friends........

[Todash]

Todash, it sounds to me like your cats are very much like we humans in this weighty matter. Metabolism is a factor even for our furry friends........

Yep. It's kind of disheartening, obviously, because I'm so dang fluffy myself.

[fljoe0]

Reading Todash's post makes me laugh about my moms dog. My mom lives close to me and when ever she goes anywhere, I keep her dog. She has a Cocker spaniel and I have an 76 lb Lab. I think that Cocker Spaniel can eat more than my Lab. Ozzy (my dog) is rather casual about his food and it may take him a couple of hours to eat his dinner. He will eat a little, go outside for a while, come back in and eat some more, etc. That Cocker Spaniel has a voracious appetite. Whenever I am watching mom's dog, I have to keep it away from Ozzy's food. The Cocker Spaniel will eat his food and then go searching for Ozzy's food and whatever else it can find to eat. Also when I'm watching mom's dog, I have to watch putting any food down within the dog's reach because it will go after that too. Ozzy has never taken any food off a table so I'm not used to having to be so careful about where I set edible stuff.

[Jojo87]

My dog Jane are too fat. I've try to give her less dog food. But of course not too less so the poor dog is not walking around hungry.
I buy all dog food from a pet store not from supermarket. Cause I think my elder dog Uno is allergic to normal supermarket dog food or cheaper
dog food. So it's little more expensive but better for my doggies. Uno is not very fat but Jane loves eating so have to keep an eye on her
so she wont get too fat. Bones I try to give to them every now and then, but if it's a big bone, I don't let them eat the whole one at once.