Fighting obesity in pets: Part I – Is my furkid overweight or obese?

“You look like you could shed a kilo or two!”

I stared at my veterinarian, highly offended and was about to give him a piece of my mind about his lack of tact, before I realised he was talking to my cat.

Many of us know that obesity is a problem in humans, but did you know our pets suffer from obesity, just like us? The Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) was set by an American veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward in 2005, with the aim of fighting pet obesity. According to their 2016 clinical survey, 53.9% of dogs and 58.9% of cats in America were classified as clinically overweight or obese. We don’t know the actual figures of pet obesity in Singapore, but it’s not hard to imagine that with our tendency to lead sedentary lifestyles in modern society, that the numbers would closely mimic those of the APOP survey

The disorders that result from the excess kilograms on your furry friends (dogs, cats and yes, even rabbits, guinea pigs and hamsters are not spared either!) are actually very similar to us humans, and include:

• Osteoarthritis
• Type 2 diabetes
• Respiratory and heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Chronic inflammation
• Many forms of cancer
• Shorter lifespans
• Reduced energy, increased lethargy

Is my dog or cat overweight?

Let’s face it, how many of us are willing to admit that our dog or cat is getting chubby? We are furkid owners ourselves, and experience first-hand how we see our cat through rose-coloured glasses (he is perfect to us!). However, because we see our furry pals everyday, we may not be good judges of their size and weight, and we may not notice them gaining the bulge on their bellies and bodies. Hence, we highly recommend that you ask your veterinarian to check if your cat or dog is overweight at your next routine veterinarian visit.

Meanwhile, if you are simply dying to find out if your cat or dog is overweight, there are many ways to measure this at home, so that you can figure out what the baseline is for your pet before starting a weight loss program, or to monitor over time.

Weighing your pet is only useful if you know what your pet should weigh. APOP provides the ideal weight (in pounds, though) for the most common dog and cat breeds. However, if your furkid doesn’t belong to any of those categories, or is a mixed breed, we highly recommend that you seek veterinary advice on your pets’ ideal weight, and then weigh your pet to monitor his progress.

A more useful method is body condition scoring (BCS), which is what veterinarians use to judge if your pet is too skinny, just right, or too pudgy for its size. Run your fingers gently over the sides of your dog’s or cat’s chest. Ideally, you should be able to easily feel the ribs, without having to press too firmly (too much fat cover), but should not be able to see the ribs outlined through the skin (too skinny!).

You can use the body condition scoring charts for dogs and cats below, which can also be found on the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) website. You should always check with your veterinarian if you are unsure!