Obesity in the United States is common, not only to humans but also to pets, which means that there are a lot of pets in your local animal vet clinic trying to get treated. Although fat cats and dogs on the Internet are subject to laughter and amusement, the condition they are experiencing is not a laughing matter: the complications an obese human will experience will also be evident in pets. That being said, let's delve into the subject and learn a number of facts that you need to know about the matter.
Most cats and dogs in the United States are fat
According to the data collected by the Association for Pet Prevention in the United States, most cats and dogs in the United States are either overweight or obese. For cats, 30% of them are overweight, while 27% are grossly obese. Only 3% are thin or underweight while 40% have the ideal weight. As for dogs, 36% of them are overweight, while 17% are obese, while 44% are in the ideal weight range.
The above mentioned statistics are very astonishing, and your dog sleeping on the couch and the cat on your belly might be part of this. Although most Americans are responsible pet owners, not everyone follows the right feeding rules and a lot of them aren't keen on making their pet exercise.
Pet obesity is very easy to avoid
The next time you stop by in your local animal vet clinic, try to ask your veterinarian if there are some easy ways to avoid pet obesity. Some of the things he might mention might include the following:
- Resorting to a high-fiber diet. Pet food fitting this category will give pets added bulk on their stomachs, thus preventing overeating and it will also prevent constipation as well.
- Daily exercise of only takes 10-30 minutes is enough to get and prevent obesity. A stroll around the park with Fido is enough to maintain his ideal weight, while a 10-minute laser pointing session with Mr. Purrfect can easily shed off excess weight.
- If you live near a water source or if you have a pool, why not let your pets take a dip? Certain dog and cat breeds are avid swimmers. Bear in mind that swimming is excellent exercise and doing so will surely shed excess weight.
- Lastly, never overfeed. Bear in mind that a dog's stomach is miniscule compared to that of humans – it's about the size of a tennis ball when empty.
Pet obesity can cause a number of ailments
Fatness should never be seen as being healthy – if your dog is overweight, immediately visit the animal vet clinic to help it out. If your pet is obese, it is susceptible to experiencing a truckload of ailments (all are severe), which include the following:
- Arthritis – obese pets will always have trouble with their skeletal system, particularly the joints. Although this is ailment isn't directly caused by obesity, having the latter will definitely pave the way for it. It is characterized by joint pain, stiffness and inflammation.
- Hip dysplasia – one of the worst skeletal ailments a pet can ever experience, hip dysplasia is characterized by one or two dislocated hips, paving the way for arthritis and lameness. One of the primary causes is obesity, especially if the process of gaining weight is rapid.
- Heart disease – being obese certainly means having hypertension and other forms of heart diseases caused by having too much fat.
Overall, pet obesity should never be ignored: if your pet is way too fat, regular trips to the animal vet clinic is absolutely necessary.
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