Today is National Pet Obesity Awareness Day and since petobesity is becoming increasingly prevalent among pets in the United States, itis our goal to raise our client’s awareness so that we can treat this issuetogether. According to a 2015 study conducted by the Association for PetObesity Prevention, an estimated 53.8% of US dogs were overweight or obese andan estimated 58.2% of US cats were overweight or obese. Pet obesity can lead toOsteoarthritis, Type 2 Diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, ligamentinjuries and a decreased life expectancy by an average of 2.5 years.
The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention statistics showthat a large percentage of dog and cat owners think their pets are within anormal weight range, when in fact they may be overweight or obese. This cancertainly lead to pet obesity – so we want to help our pets and pet owners avoidthis if possible.
To combat this issue we might suggest a specific type offood, a controlled diet, increased exercise or perhaps all of the above! Wewill be happy to discuss this with you at your next visit. In the meantime, thebelow links to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention website might helpyou learn more about this growing problem as well:
http://petobesityprevention.org/pet-caloric-needs/
http://petobesityprevention.org/pet-weight-check/
http://petobesityprevention.org/ideal-weight-ranges/
