Apex Vets talks about maintaining a healthy weight for our pets
October 7, 2023
National Pet Obesity Awareness Day – Wednesday 11th of October
Obesity is seen when your pet has too much body fat and this can have a negative impact on their health, welfare, and quality of life.
In October, every year we recognize the importance of keeping our pets healthy and monitoring their weight.
Is your pet a bit plump?
Recently we have seen a rise in overweight pets- currently more than half of all domestic dogs and cats are clinically overweight. Sadly, a lot of owners have become used to seeing overweight pets and this can make it difficult for people to recognise what is a healthy weight for pets. Pet obesity can lead to serious health issues for animals such as diabetes, arthritis, cancer, high blood pressure, respiratory distress, and decreased life expectancy.
Obesity is caused by eating too much, not exercising enough, or a combination of both. We can prevent obesity in our pets by ensuring they maintain a healthy diet and giving them plenty of exercise. There are also some diseases which can cause obesity in our pets. If you are concerned about your pet’s weight, contact us on 01324 829989.
Have you heard of our Pet Fit Club?
In 2022, 59% of dogs and 61% of cats were classified as overweight or having obesity. Our nurses Gemma and Margaret are passionate about promoting healthy weights for our beloved pets and supporting owners in how to achieve this.
They will collaborate with you to assess their lifestyle and let you know the best way to help them lose some weight. The plan will be devised using both food management and introducing a bit of fun to their exercise.
We also have weight loss diets available to you from Virbac HPM, which are part of the loyalty card scheme, and we will work out a personalised feeding guide for you depending on their current weight, and target weight. We will tailor this as they lose weight.
