THE GROWING PROBLEM OF OBESITY IN PETS

The vets in our Championvet.com veterinary practices in Glasgow, Paisley and Grangemouth are reporting increasing levels of obesity in the pets crossing their consulting table. This applies to dogs, cats and rabbits. In common with the well-known epidemic of human obesity in the UK and other developed countries, the problem appears to be spiralling out of control, and owners do not appear to aware of the seriousness of the problem.  There has been an estimated 400% increase in obesity in pets over the past 25 years in the UK! Some studies suggest that up to 59% of dogs and 52% of cats are considered to be overweight by their vets.

 In fact many pet owners do not even recognise that their pet is overweight! It may be the case that as the population (of pets and humans!) becomes fatter, we are less likely to recognise it. Only 30% of dog owners with overweight dogs recognised that they were overweight!  However, in another study about two thirds of owners with overweight pets believed they could do something about it! And just like in humans, this can generally be avoided by correct feeding and reasonable exercise levels.