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 naturally from overeating. The latter we have seen an growth in over the last few years. Are we purely overindulging our pets, or worse?

The medical conditions related to being overweight could consist of an undiscovered disease or metabolic problems such as an under-active thyroid. These are serious conditions therefore it is vital that you first seek the guidance of your vet before embarking on a correct diet regime. Any way it may be the unfortunate condition that your cat is naturally obese.

Health

Cats are not always necessarily active animals; having something of a prestige for laziness, particularly as they get older. Just like us, if they eat more fat than they burn off, they will put on weight. It is recommended that an midpoint cat needs about 20 to 30 fat per lb of body weight a day. Therefore if your cat weighs about 7lbs or just over 3kgs, it will need about 210 fat 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 merge of extra pounds here and there should not absolutely be a worry, but prolonged heaviness can cause more serious condition issues. It may be a huge shock to you, but these include:

Arthritis and rheumatism Heart and liver disease Respiratory problems Heat intolerance and excessive panting Diabetes Skin problems Poor rehearsal tolerance further stress to the limbs, joints and spine Cancer.

It may also work on you cat in other ways such as:

Problems during anesthesia and operations Post operative infections Decrease in natural immunity Slower medical times Shorter lifespan

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 rehearsal or play. Of policy if you are concerned about them before any of the above greatest signs show, there is a straightforward visual test to decide 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 decide that your cat is overweight, you must first confirm this with your vet and then seek their guidance if there is to be a correct diet plan to bond to. Never put your cat on a crash diet without getting the guidance of a pet condition care professional.

To help ensure that your cat keeps the weight at a favorable level, there are small 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 ready on the market. Try not to free-feed; only supply the measured whole 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 seeing for foods for which state meat - rather than cereals, - first on the ingredients list is preferable. These are, more often than not, prime pet foods, which will cost you more. Economy foods are less absolutely digestible and therefore go through the principles quicker so your cat will often eat more as a consequence, manufacture this a false economy. In the long run it's great to feed your cat a higher ability food than risk your cat becoming sick from a weight-related illness. Even if you have pet assurance 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 approved for her needs.

Try not to give food as love as this will finally damage your pet's condition and can absolutely 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.

Do I Need to Put My Pet Cat on a Diet?