Weight loss in pets is a particularly challenging topic for many pet owners. It is fraught with varying degrees of guilt and complicity since our pets are completely dependent on us for their calorie intake. While there are many days that I wish my dogs could feed themselves since I seem to be the only human in our household who has solved the conundrum of opening the cabinet doors and filling the food bowls, until that day comes, we have to accept that we play some role in our pets being overweight. Just like in people, obesity in pets has serious impacts on orthopedic conditions and increases the risks of serious diseases like diabetes or liver failure.
Establishing what is a healthy weight is not exactly easy for dogs and cats. In dogs you should be able to feel their ribs right behind their shoulder blades with gentle pressure. Cats should have a similar feel through the ribcage and a bit of a waist visible from above and a nice abdominal tuck from the side. The swinging saddlebags on the underside of your cat are not extra skin. It’s extra body fat. Most people have a distorted view of what a healthy body fat percentage is for their pets and many are surprised by how overweight their dog or cat may be.
There is no magical formula to weight loss for our pets except that they need to burn more calories than they consume, but there are healthy ways to achieve their goals. The initial challenge is figuring out what your pet’s ideal calorie intake should be for healthy weight loss. Commercially available foods have widely varying calorie density, so one cup of one brand could have twenty percent more calories than one cup of an another. You can look online to what the calorie content of your pet’s food is per cup and how many calories he should be getting for his ideal weight. Initially you should strive for losing three to five percent of body weight per month. If your pet is not making any progress, then you should have him evaluated by your veterinarian to make sure there are no underlying health conditions like hypothyroidism that interfere with weight loss.
Exercise is an equally essential component to weight loss in pets and unfortunately most people are approaching exercise in their pets the wrong way. The quality of leash walks with your dog need to change. Most are leisurely strolls with a multitude of sniff and pee breaks thrown in for good measure. The goal is to burn calories and increase metabolism, so a brisk walk with a defined start and finish are essential. You can take five minutes to smell the fire hydrants after your walk as a cool down and a reward for a job well done.
Your cat will have some sort of predatory behavior you can reward with a feather, laser pointer or toy mouse. Cats also are very food motivated and there are great toys they can push around to work for their food throughout the day. However, don’t add treats into the daily calorie intake since this is negating the benefit of the exercise. Over time these will become routine for you and your pets and you may even derive some benefits from walking the dog every day.
Questions for Dr. Gary Thompson can be emailed to askthevet@theblade.com or mailed to The Blade, Attn. Ask the Vet, 541 N. Superior St. Toledo, OH., 43660. Dr. Thompson regrets that he cannot answer individual letters.
First Published May 3, 2021, 1:00 p.m.
