{"id":974,"date":"2016-01-04T17:04:12","date_gmt":"2016-01-04T22:04:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/?p=974"},"modified":"2016-01-06T14:19:47","modified_gmt":"2016-01-06T19:19:47","slug":"feline-obesity-and-weight-management","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/news\/feline-obesity-and-weight-management","title":{"rendered":"Feline Obesity and Weight Management ( Dr. Blair)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1001 alignleft\" title=\"DrBlair\" src=\"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/DrBlair.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"290\" \/><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><strong>Did you know?<\/strong><br \/>\nThe average domestic cat should ideally weigh approximately 8 to 10 pounds.\u00a0 However, more than 50% of household cats in the US are obese or overweight.\u00a0 The feline obesity epidemic is a major concern among veterinarians today, and should be to anyone with a feline companion. As little as 2 pounds of excess body weight can put cats at an up to 3 times increased risk for development of Type II diabetes, heart disease, arthritis,\u00a0 joint injuries, urinary tract disease, and overall lower immune system function. Obese cats have a significantly shorter lifespan when compared to cats at an optimum weight.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why are so many household cats obese?<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright  wp-image-991\" title=\"image012\" src=\"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/image012.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"419\" height=\"814\" \/><\/strong><br \/>\nOur feline companions enjoy a life of leisure with all of their daily necessities provided by humans and have evolved to take advantage of a sedentary lifestyle. However, domestic cats are only a few generations from their wild counterparts with whom they share many genetic, physical, and behavioral components.\u00a0 Feeding behavior is highly similar to wild cats that consume 10 &#8211; 20 small meals throughout the day and night while spending many hours actively hunting.\u00a0 Domestic cats fed ad libitum (\u201cfree choice\u201d) also consume frequent small meals throughout the day, but need only to take a few steps to the food bowl to obtain them.\u00a0 Instinctive hunting behaviors remain but are exhibited as playing, stalking and bouts of \u201cfriskiness,\u201d and rarely last longer than an hour each day.<\/p>\n<p>Spaying\/Neutering is a common and highly recommended procedure that is integral to population control and significantly reduces behavioral problems in household cats.\u00a0 However, spayed and neutered cats have significantly lower (24-33%) daily energy requirements due to a decrease in their basal metabolic rate. But since their appetite is frequently unaffected it results in consumption of excess calories which are converted to fat. Male cats appear to be at a higher risk for obesity subsequent to castration when compared to spayed female cats.<\/p>\n<p>Lastly, most commercial cat foods are formulated to be highly palatable because, let\u2019s face it, you\u2019re going to buy more of the food your cats like!\u00a0 Fat has long been known to be the best way to enhance palatability, and is added to many commercial diets for this purpose.<\/p>\n<p>The evolution of the human-animal bond with our cats is wrought with good intentions.\u00a0 We provide our companions with all the luxuries they need, including an unlimited supply of their favorite foods.\u00a0 We\u2019ve done everything in our power to make our cats as happy as they make us, with one unintended consequence: a predisposition to obesity.<\/p>\n<p>Goals of Feline Weight Loss and Healthy Weight Management<\/p>\n<p>Healthy weight maintenance is the first step in safeguarding your cat\u2019s health.\u00a0 Together with advice from your veterinarian, follow these steps to design an individualized plan for your cat.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Determine the ideal body weight for your cat<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Dietary management<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Exercise<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Understand how to maintain the ideal body weight<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Step 1. Determine the ideal body weight for your cat<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Do this with the help of your veterinarian. This chart shows how your veterinarian calculates your cat\u2019s body condition score (BCS) on a scale of 1 (too thin) to 5 (obese).<br \/>\nHills Pet Food has a website with a helpful guide to assess if your cat is overweight:<br \/>\nhttp:\/\/petfit.hillspet.com.au\/Public\/CanIFeelMyPetsRibs.aspx<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 2: Dietary Management<\/strong><br \/>\nYour veterinarian can help you to determine the optimum diet for your cat\u2019s needs and determine how many kilocalories (kcal) per day to feed to maintain an ideal body weight.<br \/>\nCats should never be put on a diet without veterinary supervision<br \/>\nMany cats are finicky, but if a cat does not eat for 2 consecutive days it can develop life-threatening hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver syndrome)<br \/>\nFeed frequent small meals throughout the day.\u00a0 If this is not possible, feed a minimum of 2 meals per day.<br \/>\nRechecks are critical!<br \/>\nIdeally your cat should be weighed once a month to assess if your weight loss plan is working.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How long will it take?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Healthy weight loss in cats should not exceed 1 &#8211; 2% of their body weight per week. Most cats will achieve their ideal weight within 6 &#8211; 8 months.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Step 3: Exercise<\/strong><br \/>\nExercise is not natural for cats like it is in dogs. Cats do not have <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-989 alignright\" title=\"image015\" src=\"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/image015.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"200\" height=\"226\" \/>any instinctive desire to exercise because they spend most of their day actively hunting for food in the wild. Therefore, it is up to you to make sure your cat gets at least 15-20 minutes of exercise <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-990 alignleft\" title=\"image019\" src=\"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/image019.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"210\" height=\"207\" \/>each day. This can easily be accomplished using toys, laser pointers, and various other forms of environmental enrichment.<br \/>\nTreat balls are a great way to give your cat mental and physical stimulation.<\/p>\n<p><strong><strong><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-988 alignleft\" title=\"image014\" src=\"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/image014.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"256\" height=\"188\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/image014.png 361w, https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/image014-300x221.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 256px) 100vw, 256px\" \/><\/strong><\/strong>Step 4: Understand how to maintain the ideal body weight<\/strong><br \/>\nInvolve everyone in the household<br \/>\nKeep your cat active with playtimes and stimulation<br \/>\nRegular veterinary examinations and re-checks<br \/>\nConsult with your veterinarian as needed with any questions or concerns about your cat\u2019s health.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Cori Blair DVM<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; &nbsp; Did you know? The average domestic cat should ideally weigh approximately 8 to 10 pounds.\u00a0 However, more than 50% of household cats in the US are obese or overweight.\u00a0 The feline obesity epidemic is a major concern among veterinarians today, and should be to anyone with a feline companion. As little as 2 pounds of excess body weight can put cats at an up to 3 times increased risk for development of Type II diabetes, heart disease, arthritis,\u00a0 joint injuries, urinary tract disease, and overall lower immune system function. Obese cats have a significantly shorter lifespan when compared to cats at an optimum weight. Why are so many [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,17,5],"tags":[13,256,105,95,51,39,89,7,257,260,21,159,120,118,245,46,261,255,38,258,259],"class_list":["post-974","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-ocvh-specific","category-pet-health","tag-canine-health","tag-cat","tag-cat-disease","tag-cat-exercise","tag-cat-health","tag-cat-teeth","tag-fat-cat","tag-feline-health","tag-health","tag-neuter","tag-nj-veterinary","tag-npvh","tag-ocean-county-vet","tag-ocvh","tag-pet","tag-pet-diet","tag-pet-doet","tag-pet-health","tag-pet-teeth","tag-pet-weight","tag-spay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=974"}],"version-history":[{"count":17,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":984,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/974\/revisions\/984"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=974"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=974"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=974"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}