Cats And Dogs Obesity Charts printable pdf download

Obesity In Cats and Dogs

Obesity in dogs and cats is fast becoming a major problem in Britain’s pets. Up

to 1 in 3 household pets are overweight in the UK. Obesity can greatly increase

your pet’s risk of developing life threatening diseases.

Risk Factors

There are many reasons to why your pet may be overweight, here are a few of

the more common reasons.

 Excess feeding – this is the most common reason, as a pet owner, you have

control over how much your pet eats. Most feeds have recommended

guidelines but these are only guidelines. Each animal is individual and

requires different amounts.

 Snacking – It is very easy to overfeed your pet if you are give lots of treats,

remember to a 10kg dog, 25g of cheese is the same as us eating 2 large

muffins!

 Age – Older animals are less active and require fewer calories to maintain a

healthy weight.

 Breed – Some breeds are more prone to gain weight easier. Labradors,

cocker spaniels and mix breed cats are the common breeds but this is not an

excuse.

 Neutering – Unfortunately, one side effect of having your pet neutered is

they become more prone to put on weight, however there are many healthy

and fit neutered animals within our practice.

 Health Problems – There are a few health conditions that can cause an

increase in weight such as hypothyroidism in dogs, these are less common

but can be identified with testing.

How Do I Know If My Pet Is Overweight?

Vets identify overweight pets by using a Body Condition Score (BCS). It is a

scale from 0-9 (or 0-5) with 0 being extremely underweight to 9 being morbidly

obese.

With a healthy pet, you should be able to easily feel the ribs, spine and see a

waist. If you are having trouble feeling the ribs or seeing a waistline, then it is

likely that your pet is overweight.

Your pet’s weight is a great way of measuring progress with weight but you

using the BCS is the only way to tell if your pet is overweight. Please find a BCS

chart where you can assess your pet’s BCS.

Cats And Dogs Obesity Charts