Is it Cute or a Ticking Time Bomb?

by Christopher Forsythe, DVM

I see them all the time, those roly-poly rowdys romping around just a cute as can be: Labs and Goldens, Bassetts, Pugs, Cockers, and Dachshunds, plump as piglets but struggling to move. The owners say they can’t resist that pretty face, those big brown eyes staring up at them. Or their Cheshire cat, chubby as a Christmas goose, lying placidly in the wide windowsill, baking and broasting in the sunlight. Some kitties get so fat their bellies rub on the ground when they move. Obesity in dogs and cats is such a common yet severe problem that I want to devote this month’s column to the issue of overweight pets and what you can do to prevent your healthy pooch from becoming little more than a barking blob of blithering blubber!

Obesity is defined as the presence of body fat in sufficient excess to compromise normal physiologic function or predispose to metabolic, surgical, and/or mechanical problems. In other words, when your pooch or kitty gets so chubby that she needs medicine or surgery, it is time to start worrying! Every day I get a myriad of fabulous pets gallivanting through my door. Nary has a one come to see me specifically for a diet plan alone. It is worth noting, though, that about thirty percent of the pets who come in for some reason leave on a weight loss plan!

Do I look fat in this fur?

Since virtually no pet who has enchanted me has ever flat-out asked whether they need to take off those unwanted pounds and inches, I rely on the following body condition scoring system:

• 1=cachexic (wasted away, you can see all the ribs, more than 20 % underweight)
• 2=lean (10-20% underweight)
• 3=moderate
• 4=stout (20=40% overweight)
• 5=obese (more than 40 % overweight)

Overweight dogs are at risk of cardiovascular disease as well as musculoskeletal problems. Joint problems become significantly pronounced in overweight dogs and exacerbate pain and inflammation. The once agile Beagle who could leap and bound across any room becomes a frumpy old pet who really just wants to lie around for the next meal. Often an obese pet seems to gain weight despite a low appetite, and owners become worried about underlying diseases making Fido so sluggish. Fat cats (and I’m not talking about rich old men with cigars in their mouths driving fancy convertibles) risk developing endocrine diseases such as diabetes, skin problems, lameness, as well as liver and gall bladder disease when they pack too much onto their small frames.

Why have I become a chubby cherub?

The most common cause of weight gain in pets is excessive access to highly palatable groceries, combined with little to no exercise. Like we humans, pets love to munch on yummy things, and many pets are content sitting on a warm couch watching old reruns of Roseanne on television while their owners eat bon-bons.

Most veterinarians recognize that owners of plump pets fall into one of two categories: “mindless” for whom feeding the animal is an automatic chore, and “timeless” for whom feeding is a significant social, time-filling activity. Other causes of weight gain in pets include pregnancy, increased muscle mass, low thyroid disease and Cushing’s disease in dogs, and insulinoma, a tumor in the pancreas.

It is important not just to rush your pet down to the fat farm before you consider all the possible differentiating causes for a weight problem. Similar problems and diseases should be considered via a thorough history, physical examination, laboratory evaluation, and imaging.

Jenny Craig? Weight Watchers? Lipo?

Any of the many reduced-calorie diets currently available may be dispensed or prescribed. Supermarket brands make reduced calorie versions of their over-the-counter foods. Super-premium medical diets are another option to help trim down your pudgy pooch or corpulent kitty. Your veterinarian may prescribe Hill’s R/D (Reducing Diet) or Purina OM (Overweight Management) to help provide a proper balance of total nutrients while meeting the special dietary needs of the patient. Dietary fats contribute more than twice the available energy compared to carbs and proteins, so a low fat diet can be helpful in controlling calorie intake. I have had great success in practice with Purina OM canine and feline formula diets to slim down dogs and cats safely and hassle free. The food seems to be very palatable, which is especially nice with our finicky felines, and the desired weight loss of 2% of body weight per week is not too difficult for the pets to achieve.

The characteristics of weight loss diets are low fat, low calories, higher indigestible fiber, higher protein to calorie ration, and maintaining urine pH acidity at about 6.3. In short, we want to fill little Waldo’s belly until he’s satiated while at the same time letting him burn excess calories until he achieves an optimal body condition score of around three.

You need to become a weight conscious pet owner to maintain a healthy pet with an appropriate body condition score. If you fall into the mindless feeder type, you need to learn appropriate body condition scores and learn from your veterinarian what weight your pet should achieve. Then instill tough love for your pet by consistently reducing portions.

You timeless feeders need to allow your veterinarian to investigate the circumstances causing obesity and give you several concrete pieces of advice or demonstratable reasons supporting the need for the weight loss. Then you may need to get significant support and advice to achieve this, including ways to retain your desired relationship with your pet. Therapeutic suggestions include reasonable, functional weight loss goals rather than recommending poorly defined “optimal adult weight” for aesthetic reasons. As with men who suffer from the Adonis complex, we surely do not want to give our chubby Sheltie the “Lassie complex.”

Your veterinarian can help you assess your pet’s body condition score and will be very happy to get your pet started on a monitored weight loss regimen. With a little nutritional help, some exercise and activity, and the support or your veterinary staff , that slimmer healthier pet inside the “chubbola” you’ve come to love is only a controlled diet plan away.