In the 1950s, in the UK, less than 1% of the population were clinically obese. Now, almost 30% of British citizens can be classified as obese. Shockingly and in a very bad sign for the future, more than 25% of 10-year-old children are also obese. How did the world get into this terrible obesity …
The definition for obesity if different for cats and people. Surprisingly for domestic cats ‘obesity’ is defined as ‘greater than 15% above an ideal weight’. Not much above an ideal weight which is why a lot of domestic cats fall into the obese category. Obesity is the ‘most prevalent nutritional problem in pets in …
The question in the title is current as according to VCA Hospitals in the United States, almost 60% of domestic cats in that country are overweight. There is a domestic cat overweight problem in the UK as well. A domestic cat is considered overweight when they weigh 10-20% more than their ideal body weight, …
It is been hammered into us over recent years by the news media: there is a pet obesity epidemic in the UK and USA. I’ve seen various data on the percentage of cats (my area of operation) that are obese as stated by veterinarians and it’s around 50% both in the UK and USA. …
Twice as many dogs are overweight in America than 10 years ago and it’s worse for cats. Banfield Pet Hospital, a chain of hospitals in America, is well positioned to collect data to allow them to analyze trends in the health of America’s companion animals. They’ve come up with a startling conclusion which is …
The following health problems are linked to cat obesity. The information comes from a study by Hand et al 2000 as published in The Welfare of Cats and excellent reference book on domestic and feral cats edited by Irene Rochlitz and authored by a range of experts. Feline lower urinary tract disease Fatty infiltration …
In my opinion, there are three reasons why there is a current so-called “cat obesity epidemic”. The three reasons are (a) uncontrolled feeding (b) dry cat food and (c) normalizing obesity.
Veterinarians in North America are failing their cat patients because they don’t want to address head on the sensitive subject of cat obesity with their clients for fear of offending them. There are other reasons one of which might be that veterinarians are often tied to pet food manufacturers such as Hills whose main product is dry cat food. This restrains the vet’s ability to discuss diet.
