Why Having Overweight Pets is Not a Good Thing

Why Having Overweight Pets is Not a Good Thing

Whether you want to believe it or not, there is a significant percentage of overweight pets out there. Obesity is usually a problem that affects dogs more often than cats, but it can also affect cats if you aren’t careful. The good news is that obesity in pets can actually be avoided, but pet owners must understand the risks involved and they must also take steps to ensure that their pet is a healthy weight. Here are a few things that you must consider.

The Health Risks that Come Along with Obese Pets
Firstly, you will want to take a look at the health risks that come along with obese pets. Obesity not only reduces the life expectancy of your pet, but it can also lead to a variety of other conditions. Diabetes in pets is more common than people believe. It affects about 1 out of every 200 dogs, and 1 out of every 400 cats. A quarter of obese pets will also have problems with mobility because of the stress that the extra weight puts on their joints. It is also noted that obesity can lead to circulatory problems, respiratory problems, and reproductive problems.

How Pets Get to Be Overweight
Pets can become overweight in a variety of different ways. Sometimes, it is their genetics that causes them to be overweight, but more often than not it has more to do with how much they are eating and what they are eating. It can also happen if your pet doesn’t get enough exercise. Many of these factors can actually be changed by the owner of the pet, but they must first realize that their pet is starting to become overweight. This is something that pet owners need to discuss with their veterinarian.

Getting Your Pet Healthy Again
If your pet has become overweight, it is really important for you to focus on things that you can do to get them back to a healthy weight. Talk to your Vet about the weight range that your pet should fit into. This will give you a goal to work toward. Once you have a goal in mind, you can begin working toward it. You may need to change your pet’s diet. If they are eating a low quality food, chances are it doesn’t have the nutritional value that they need in order to be healthy. Many of the cheaper pet foods will actually be full of fat, but not have the protein that is needed for them to be healthy. There are even some types of food that are made specifically for pets that need to lose weight or maintain their current weight.

Next, make sure that your pet isn’t eating too much. Too often, pets will have free reign on the amount of food that they eat. If you use an automatic feeder, you can’t really regulate how much your pet is eating, which isn’t a good thing. Sure, it is convenient, but it doesn’t mean that it is good for your pet. You need to feed them a specific amount of food, as specified by your Vet.

Something else to consider is the amount of exercise your pet is getting. If they stay indoors most of the time and don’t really get much exercise, it could be detrimental to their health. It is really a good idea to take them outside and let them run around and burn some calories. This is especially true if they are already overweight.

As you can see, having overweight pets is really not a good thing, but if you use these tips to help get your pet healthy again you will be able to extend their life expectancy as well as make them more comfortable.

Copyright VetDispense 2014