The statistics claim that over half of all pet dogs and cats are overweight or obese around the world. Surprisingly, the numbers are adding up and if it was for humans, it would have been shocking. But with pets, is it a concern?
The fact is that the body of a pet and human work mostly on a similar basis. When we humans and pets are healthy with optimal weight mostly lean, our appetite and energy levels are in a perfect balance. However, the real tragedy starts when we become overweight. The extra fat starts to produce enzymes and hormones that affect our health. A similar transition perfectly fits for pets too. Just like their overweight pet parents, obese dogs and cats are prone to diabetes, joint issues, urinary, liver, kidney, and skin disease. Factually, overweight cats are four times more vulnerable to diabetes than their thinner counterparts.
Thus, maintaining your pet’s weight, keeping them slim, trim, and healthier throughout their life directly means they will live longer and have a happier life. And, who wouldn’t like that for their furry companion?
If you are wondering what exactly is the normal weight for your pet. Well, the impression we have about the normal has shifted the paradigm over the years. Moreover, the body shape that most of us seem to consider as normal maybe now about 20 percent overweight.
How Do Pets Become Overweight?
Like humans, pets too, normally, become overweight from eating more food than required along with the pet treats and often added with a lack of exercise. Thus, the calories that are not used for daily activities are then stored as fat.
Additionally, pet parents aggravate the condition by offering leftovers, odd snacks, or frequent treats. Please know that a small treat or snack for a human can turn out to be a huge number of calories for your pet. Likewise feeding treats too often encourage pets to beg at the table and they are the masters at convincing you to treat them with their cute PUPPY eyes.
As hard for humans, dieting is equally daunting for pets and sometimes a little extra mile of effort is required.
How To Check Whether Your Cat Or Dog Is Overweight Or Normal?
It’s quite easy to check whether your cat or dog is fit having ideal weight. With their right weight, you can feel the ribs, an hourglass waist, no saggy belly fat and a tummy tucked up the side.
If you find that any of the above criteria is not matching with your pet, then it’s time to consider the weight loss program for your furry friend.
So, What’s The Best Way To Deal With A Tubby Pet?
Let us find the best weight loss steps for your dog or cat.
For humans, weight loss is usually successful when you use a combination of food and exercise. However, there comes a little addition when it comes to your pet’s weight loss regime as you need to make their feeding little interesting and delicious so that they don’t gulp down their entire meals in a matter of seconds.
Diet
Diet plays the most essential part of weight loss, and natural food diets are the prominent ones, which are usually designed to reduce the quantity intake of calories and improve their fat-burning capabilities. It helps to address issues like joint disease along with inflammation which are common conditions found in obese dogs or cats.
Exercise
As with humans, exercise goes hand in hand with diet when it comes to shedding that extra flab. Try various indoor as well as outdoor games as well as other activities that help increase their metabolism and help in burning more calories. Games like Fetch and Throw, Hide & Seek, and some puzzle toys can usually help your pet to be active and helps to reduce weight. Try to change activities and keep them engaged and active. Use the activities that appeal to them, increase the level of exercise and you can see that your pet is having a lot of fun along with losing weight.
Note that you don’t have to feed your furry friend whenever he asks for something to eat. And the biggest disaster comes when you distribute treats to your pet. Though it is the best way to induce the best behavior, especially with the dogs, the same can tend to pave the way to unwanted results.
With the right diet and regular exercise, it would be possible to bring back your dog or cat to their ideal weight. However, it is also important to maintain mental health.