Obesity
Pets, just like people, can sometimes be prone to
putting on a few pounds. Particularly as they get
into middle age, dogs and cats metabolism can slow
down, meaning that they, just like you or I, need to
eat more healthily or do more exercise to maintain a
healthy body weight. However, unlike people, pets do
not generally have any control over what they eat
and it is you as an owner who controls what goes
into the food bowl!
Checking if your pet is overweight is not always simple. The weight gain can
occur over months or even years and so it is not always noticeable to you as an
owner. If you are concerned that your pet is overweight please make an
appointment with one of our nurses who run a free weight management clinic.
Sometimes your vet may tell you your pet is overweight in a routine
consultation; please do not be offended by this, we have your animals best
interests at heart just as you do, and will be pleased to offer you help and
guidance to get your animal to a healthy bodyweight.
Being overweight can make your pet much more prone to developing certain illness
and it can make others much worse. Obesity is known to play a part in causing in
diseases such as diabetes, pancreatitis and certain types of tumours. It also
makes controlling diseases such as arthritis, heart disease, bone and joint
disease much more difficult.
There are some simple things you can do at home to help prevent your pet from
becoming overweight such as feeding the correct amount of a good quality diet
such as Hills Science Plan ®, giving you pet the right amount of exercise for
its life-stage, not feeding excessive amounts of titbits and treats and not
allowing your pet to finish the scraps of your own meal. If your pet is already
overweight simply introducing these measures may not be enough to allow you pet
to lose weight. We would advise you to make an appointment for our Weight
Management Nurse to discuss how we can best diet your dog. This often involves
changing onto a special diet called Hills R/D ® which will mean you pet stays
full whilst receiving fewer calories. This is an ideal diet to allow your pet to
lose weight and free regular checks with our nurses means that we give you as
much help as you need to ensure your pets’ diet remains on track.
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