Choosing the right diet for your fur baby is essential
Happy New Year! We are officially living in the year 2024; isn’t that crazy? I am sure some of us have been working on our resolutions for this new year, and I believe it would not be surprising if one of the most popular resolutions for many of us may be about weight loss or incorporating new workout plans.
You may not know this, but pet obesity is one of the most common health issues we find with pets, so I am going to challenge everyone to include our pets in these weight management plans for 2024.
Being overweight is known to predispose our cats and dogs to diseases like diabetes. It can negatively affect their quality of life as they mature (especially when arthritis occurs due to the extra weight on those joints), and it can also shorten their life spans. There are different scales we can use to figure out of our pets are at an ideal weight. These scales help us identify what is called the Body Condition Score or BCS.
The most popular ones use a scale of 1-9 or 1-5, where 1 represents emaciation (malnourishment) and the higher numbers indicate how much overweight the dog or cat may be.
If you search online, you will find that images associated with these guidelines to help you determine where your baby is on the BCS scale. Ideally, we want to feel their ribs when we gently touch the sides of their chest, and we also want to see a waistline from the side and from above.
Before we dive into weight management techniques, it is important to know that you should discuss any measures you plan to take with your veterinarian prior to starting a weight management protocol, because every pet has different needs, and these protocols need to be personalized. That being said, if your baby is overweight or obese, just as with humans, there are three basic things to consider: exercise, types of food/treats and food portion control. As a rule of thumb, whatever you have been doing so far will need to be adjusted, because continuing the same patterns and habits won’t give you different results. (Sounds pretty obvious, right?)
For weight loss, we commonly need to increase the amount of exercise that our pets get. Cats can be more challenging to exercise, but you can identify toys or activities that seem to stimulate them and use those to your advantage. Just make sure you have shorter, more frequent exercise sessions with your feline friends.
When it comes to food, many available commercial diets are not considered very healthy, but there are some excellent options out there. I would recommend consulting with your veterinarian on the best available options and slowly transitioning from your pet’s current food into a weight management option from a reputable company. If your baby is obese and needing extra help, there are actual prescription diets that can be authorized by your veterinarian.
Also, keep in mind that portion control is very important, and the packaging of the food you are feeding will let you know how much to feed per day.
When offering treats, consider healthier options like baby carrots, green beans, diced apples and cucumbers. Once again, remember portion control!
Needless to say, changes do not happen overnight, so please be patient and be consistent. After starting a strict weight management protocol, consider checking your pet’s weight at the 3-to-6-month mark to monitor progress.
While weight gain is usually caused by lifestyle-related factors, I need to note that there are other possible causes, including hypothyroidism, diabetes, and Cushing’s disease. There is a common thought that after a dog or cat is spayed or neutered, they will automatically gain weight. While this does happen with some pets, it is because their metabolism changes, and we must adjust their lifestyle accordingly to avoid them from gaining weight.
It is also worth noting that weight loss may be related to a medical condition or disease, including muscle wasting from aging, hyperthyroidism in cats, kidney disease (mostly with cats) and even different types of cancer. I mention this because if your baby is losing weight, and it is not on purpose, you need to consult with your veterinarian.
Whether our babies are more curvaceous or not, as parents we need to monitor them for trends in weight gain or weight loss to be able to identify any possible problems and to track the success of weight management efforts. This is yet another reason why it is vital to have our babies examined by the veterinarian every six to 12 months to determine if anything has changed and what may need to be done to help them out.
As always, thank you for reading my Woof column, and I am excited that we can welcome a new year together. I am looking forward to an outstanding and positive year in 2024 with all of our Dallas Voice readers. Until the next time, abrazos!
Dr. Josh owns Isla Veterinary Boutique Hospital, 14380 Marsh Lane, Ste. 110 in Addison. Call him at 972-738-1111 or visit IslaVet.com.
