October 13th 2021 is National Pet Obesity Awareness Day in many countries. To mark this occasion and to help raise awareness and solutions to this significant health issue for pets, JMICAWE Veterinary Nurse, Hayley Walters, has provided some information and practical tips to help deal with overweight pets:
Do you think your pet is overweight? Most owners don’t but did you know that over half of all UK dogs and 44% of UK cats are overweight or obese? Whilst many owners may love a cuddly cat or to show their love by being liberal with treats, there are serious health problems associated with obesity: heart disease, increased likelihood of arthritis, cystitis in cats, urinary incontinence in dogs, cruciate problems, high blood pressure, cancers, diabetes, heat stroke, and breathing difficulties which is especially problematic in the flat face breeds such as pugs and French bulldogs.
Despite the competence of the veterinary profession many vets and nurses are worried about offending pet owners. Discussing obesity can be awkward and many vets accidentally diminish the significance of obesity by saying “most pets need to lose a little weight” or “I’ve seen worse” in order to try and soften the blow to an owner. Minimising the potential severity of obesity undermines future weight loss, and therefore improved health success.
If a pet is overweight, then an owner must consider what is contributing to the problem. Is it a lack of exercise, are other family members being over generous with treats, is the pet allowed to finish the owner’s meal, are meals weighed out or is it more of a ‘keep the bowl full at all times’ situation? Weight loss is about improving health and decreasing disease so focusing on the pet’s quality of life, should be the goal. Whilst it is important not to become obsessed with chasing a number on weighing scales, it is a useful measure to see if a weight loss programme is working.
Most owners do not know that their pet is overweight or, more politely put, outside their recommended Body Condition Score (BCS). Animals are scored on a scale of 1-9. 1 is skeletal and 9 is obese. Animals should be around 4 or 5 on the BCS scale. Basically, we should not be able to see the ribs but feel them easily when stroking and, when the pet is viewed from above, they should nip in at the waist. Like an hourglass.
How do we achieve successful weight loss?
Speaking to your vet is a very good place to start and they may be recommending the following……
1. Evaluating your feeding habits is where most weight-loss programmes begin. Considering how much you feed your pet in terms of their actual food, treats, and human food is important. The whole family should be involved in this discussion as pet weight loss is a whole household affair.
2. Weighing, photographing, plus measuring neck, chest and waist is also a good starting point. Graphs that show weight loss help to incentivise. It is common for animals to not lose weight according to the scales but to lose centimeters around the waist, so ensure you measure as its important to stay motivated. Photographs are great for those ‘before and after’ shots too.
3. Calculate how much weight they need to lose. For every point the pet is above 5 on the BCS scale, they need to lose 10% of their body weight. So, an animal that is a 6/9 needs to lose 10%, a 7/9 needs to lose 20% etc. Eg. a 10kg animal scoring 7 out of 9 for its BCS would need to lose 20% of its body weight, therefore 2 kg, with a target weight of 8kg.
4. Reduce calorie intake. A 10% reduction in their own food initially is recommended. You are more likely to stick to the weight loss plan if you do not have to change too much at once. If no weight loss is seen after a fortnight, reduce by a further 10-15%. It is more likely that a cat will have to go on to special weight loss foods like ‘Satiety’ as they are more challenging than dogs to lose weight - especially cats in multi cat households or cats that go out. Keeping a food diary is motivating and proven to be successful in human behaviour change.
5. Swap treats for healthier snacks such as carrots or cucumber, or give from the pet’s daily food allowance. Treats should make up just 5% of the pet’s daily food intake. When giving treats try breaking them into smaller pieces as the animal doesn’t know what portion size they are getting but you still feel like you are treating your pet (or showing your love). Remember a cuddle, or grooming session, game of tugga, ball throwing, or chase the fishing rod mouse is also considered a treat by many pets.
6. Increase exercise. Some animals may need a gradual increase to avoid respiratory distress or aggravating arthritic joints or weakened muscles. More play behaviour with cats is advised – fishing rod toy pouncing sessions that ends with a scatter ball of pre-weighed food provides enrichment, mental stimulation, and natural hunting behaviours which require energy expenditure. These play sessions do not need to be long. Many owners expect cats to play for periods longer than a natural feline pattern. Cats prefer to play for a few minutes, several times each day than to play for one half-hour session. Play activity in cats needs to replicate hunting behavior, which involves many short, high-intensity bursts.
Dogs will benefit from longer or an increased number of walks per day. Remember that a 1-hour walk with the dog “plodding” along beside you burns fewer calories than a half-hour walk during which the dog is engaged in intense physical activity.
7. ‘Ban the bowl’. When we consider how dogs and cats behave naturally when finding food, we can see that they spend a good portion of their day finding food. Cats will hunt up to 20 times a day (not each hunt is successful) and dogs will travel to and scavenge around human rubbish areas for hours. Food should always be presented in a way that is either challenging to the pet or mimics more natural hunting or scavenging behaviours. Food ball dispensers or hiding small amounts of food at different levels for cats are just two examples of how to make feeding more stimulating, and scatter feeding, food trails, stuffed Kongs, or snuffle mats are just a few examples for dogs. This is not only good for their waistline but also their mental health as we expect our pets to do nothing 90% of the time. It also slows down the speed at which they consume their food which may help you feel less guilty at reducing portion sizes. Research shows that eating food is very pleasurable but also finding food is very pleasurable. Think of strawberry picking!8. Re weigh every 2 weeks initially then monthly. 1-2% weight loss per week is recommended. So, for a 10 kg dog that would be 0.1-0.2kg (100-200g) a week. Just remember pet weight loss involves human behaviour change –and the whole family HAS to be involved. It has been proven that weight loss programmes for children are more effective when the whole family is involved. Use a weight chart so that you can see the progress – this has proven to be incentivising in human behaviour change and weight loss.
Resources
- For veterinary professionals and owners there are more resources and the annual pet obesity survey https://petobesityprevention.org/
- Scoring body condition of cats and dogs (and other pets) is important in weight management https://www.royalcanin.co.uk/body-condition-score/
