Do I Need to Put my Pet Cat on a Diet?
As with humans, our pets can often suffer from being overweight. This can be down to either a medical condition or simply from over-eating. The latter we have seen an increase in over the last few years. Are we purely over-indulging our pets, or worse?
The medical conditions related to being overweight could include an undiscovered disease or metabolic problems such as an under-active thyroid. These are serious conditions therefore it is essential that you first seek the advice of your vet before embarking on a strict diet regime. However it may be the unfortunate circumstance that your cat is simply obese.
Cats are not always necessarily active animals; having something of a reputation for laziness, particularly as they get older. Just like us, if they eat more calories than they burn off, they will put on weight. It is recommended that an average cat needs about 20 to 30 calories per lb of body weight a day. Therefore if your cat weighs about 7lbs or just over 3kgs, it will need about 210 calories a day. If you are in doubt of your cat’s weight, you could weigh them on bathroom scales or ask your vet to do it, which is much more accurate. A couple of extra pounds here and there should not really be a worry, but prolonged heaviness can cause more serious health issues. It may be a huge shock to you, but these include:
It may also affect you cat in other ways such as:
So how do you tell if your cat is overweight? They may show signs of being lethargic and sluggish; if they are hot they will pant excessively and be reluctant to do any form of exercise or play. Of course if you are concerned about them before any of the above extreme signs show, there is a simple visual test to determine obesity by assessing the appearance of the waistline whilst standing above your pet. There should be a decrease in flesh behind the ribcage, not an increase. You should not be able to see a hanging stomach from the side and you should be able to feel the ribs under the chest. If you determine that your cat is overweight, you must first confirm this with your vet and then seek their advice if there is to be a strict diet plan to adhere to. Never put your cat on a crash diet without getting the advice of a pet healthcare professional.
To help ensure that your cat keeps the weight at a suitable level, there are little things that you can do on a regular basis. Ensure that you do play with your cat daily if possible. (I play chase and hide and seek with mine, she loves it). Try to limit treats and dry foods, ensuring that they are not excessive. If they are to have a treat, it is best to give them meat rather than the sugary treats that are available on the market. Try not to free-feed; only provide the measured amount of food at each meal and at regular times.
Foods that are high in fibre and low in carbohydrates are the best foods for cats that need to loose weight. So looking for foods for which state meat – rather than cereals, – first on the ingredients list is preferable. These are, more often than not, premium pet foods, which will cost you more. Cheaper foods are less easily digestible and therefore go through the system quicker so your cat will often eat more as a consequence, making this a false economy. In the long run it’s better to feed your cat a higher quality food than risk your cat becoming sick from a weight-related illness. Even if you pet insurance to cover the costs of vet bills, you will still need to pay the excess which will probably be more than the few extra pounds per month to ensure that your cat is getting the diet appropriate for her needs.
Try not to give food as love as this will ultimately damage your pet’s health and can easily lead to excess weight gain. Give them companionship and attention, it’s a lot more rewarding and your cat will be the healthier for it.
About the author: Simone Davis is a freelance author writes articles on pet insurance; especially on cat insurance. To learn more about cat health insurance please visit http://www.animalfriends.org.uk
