If you have an adult cat and have been in to see the veterinarian, chances are that you have been told your furry feline friend is overweight and could stand to go on a diet. In the USA, about 35% of adult cats are overweight or obese. And as our cats age, that prevalence goes up to about 45%! This can be due to a number of different factors, including lifestyle (indoor vs. outdoor), genetics, gender (male cats more so than females), and food (who doesn’t like to give their kitty extra treats throughout the day??).
So why does this matter? Many owners don’t seem to think the little extra cushion is too much to worry about - their cat is just “big-boned” or “fluffy” or keeping her “winter weight” throughout the year. While a couple pounds may not mean much for humans, for a cat who should only be 10 lbs, 1-2 lbs is akin to a 180 lb person being almost 20 lb-40 lbs overweight! This “little bit” of extra weight is actually quite a lot!
Aside from causing issues with mobility, obesity can predispose our cats to several health issues. The biggest concern we see is that being overweight predisposes cats to diabetes mellitus. They are prone to type 2 diabetes, which is directly correlated with obesity. Being overweight also predisposes them to arthritis, hepatic lipidosis (a life-threatening disease), diseases of the urinary tract, gastrointestinal tract and skin.
Thankfully, being overweight or obese is a preventable and treatable disease. In the next few chats we’ll be going over how to know if your cat is overweight, what food we should be feeding, and how to lose weight in a controlled and healthy way. As always, if you have any questions in regards to your cat’s health, please feel free to reach out to us! We’d love to help with your cat’s weight loss journey to a healthy slim body!