Fat Cats and Obese Dogs

Tuesday, 22 February 2011 | by Pat's Picks

Talk about loyalty. American pets are packing on the pounds at a rate almost in step with their owners says the Wall Street Journal. A new study estimates that half of the country’s pets are overweight or obese. The same factors feeding the country’s human obesity epidemic—too much food and too little exercise—are to blame.

Kidney failure, cancer and diabetes are just some of the myriad health problems that can arise when a pet is overweight. What’s more, new research shows that animals who are fed less live significantly longer lives. Several products are aimed at quelling the growing problem, including a Weight Watchers-type program for the four-footed set.

Vets say one of the biggest problems is that owners can’t recognize when their animals are too fat. For those in denial, the Journal has some context: “A fluffy, domestic short-haired cat weighing 15 pounds is comparable to a 254-pound man who is 5-foot-9; a 90-pound female Labrador retriever is roughly equivalent to a 186-pound woman who is 5-foot, 4-inches tall.”