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Obesity
is the most common nutritional problem cats face. It is
becoming as serious a problem for cats in Western society as it is
for people. They run the risk of many of the same complications
as we do. The extra weight places stress on the musculo-skeletal
system predisposing your cat to arthritis. Other
complications include constipation, poor coat (often a
greasy coat with dandruff) and associated skin infections
because of the decreased ability to groom. Incidence of cancer
and overall resistance to disease rises and being overweight is a
noted risk factor for urinary tract disease such as urinary
obstruction. Overweight cats who suddenly go off food (say from
being unwell for another reason) can set up a potentially fatal
liver complication called hepatic lipidosis. A very common
complication of being overweight in cats is diabetes. We
can sometimes cure the diabetes (usually after treating
with insulin for a time) by getting the cat to lose weight.
Cats get fat for the same reasons people do, that is, too many calories
eaten and not
enough exercise.
The way for cat to lose weight is also the same as for people: eat
less and exercise more. For very big cats, we will usually cut out
dry food entirely (at least until they have lost weight to a normal
level) to
reduce the amount of calories and carbohydrates. There is one low carbohydrate dry food that is
currently only available as a prescription diet. We also recommend
introducing a regular exercise routine by having a set–time (say, when you get home from work) of 30
minutes activity of chasing toy mouse or laser pointer (or whatever
your cat likes and works for you). Big cats will usually sit down
after 2-3min….that’s okay, let them rest for a bit and then get them
moving again. Soon the length of the breaks reduces and the
exercise time increases. Once they have lost a bit of weight, they
naturally become more active and the weight loss becomes
self-fulfilling.
If you’d like
to track your cat’s weight loss progress, we can arrange regular
visits for ‘weigh-ins’ and even chart your cat’s progress.
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