Home Care is the Best Care™

IS YOUR PET OVERWEIGHT?

Category: Cat Care, Dog Care, Dog Walking, Pet Health | Tags: Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Date: December 22nd, 2010

A study conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity and Prevention indicated that 45 % of dogs and 58 % of cats in the U.S. are overweight. How to Determine if Your Pet is Obese:

  1. Run your fingertips against the direction of the animal’s coat without applying pressure. If you can feel his ribs, your pet may be underweight. If you can’t feel your pet’s ribs:
  2. Run your fingertips in the direction of the coat, this time applying light pressure. If you can feel the ribs easily, your animal is at a healthy weight. If there is a layer of fat covering the animal’s ribs, this may be an indication that the dog or cat is obese.

Pets need to get regular exercise to maintain proper weight.

An overweight pet is not a healthy pet. Owners need to recognize that they are putting their pet’s health at risk by allowing that extra weight.

Obesity commonly leads to diabetes, heart problems, and arthritis. An overweight pet does not age well, either. Overweight pets are more prone to hip dysplasia, back and joint pain, and endocrine diseases. Extra weight also decreases a veterinarian’s ability to manage these conditions both medically and surgically. Keeping your pet at a healthy weight can literally add years to her life.

Why are more pets overweight? The answer is the same for pets as well as people: too many calories and not enough exercise.

So stop feeding your pet extra treats just because he or she is begging you, and give your pet the gift of exercise this Holiday Season!! 20% off your first month of dog walks! Call today (347-223-5116) for particulars and mention Code B-20-  this promotion expires 1/18/11.

We would never forget about your precious kitty! If your cat seems overweight and/or bored and needs exercise, we can come do daily or weekly pet visits while you are at work! 20% off first month of regular pet visits as well, expiration date 1/18/11.

No Comments »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URL

Leave a comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.