Over half the cats and dogs in U.S. are too fat

Combat the fat with portion control and stop with the “people food.”

It’s hard to resist that face. You’re eating supper. Your dog is sitting so nicely, just asking for a bite.

Just about every pet owner has been there, slipping the dog a little treat under the table. 

It’s a bad idea, according to a pet obesity advocacy group. A study by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention finds that 59 percent of cats and 54 percent of dogs in the U.S. are overweight or obese.

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“Honestly in our practice, two-thirds of the animals that we see come in are overweight to obese,” Doug Kratt from the Central Animal Hospital in Onalaska, Wis. “Obesce would be defined as anything 30 percent or more overweight.”

So, that “little treat” is a big deal, according to Kratt.

“A part of your pizza, that’s 100 calories,” he explained. “Just a little bit of your hamburger, that’s another couple hundred calories. 

“It doesn’t take very much people food to make up 20-50 percent of the calories your pet should be getting.”

Beyond that, even feeding your pet needs to be portion controlled. Owners shouldn’t just keep the bowl full for when their pet wants to eat.

Keeping them on a schedule and sticking with the recommended amount is very important.

“What I see probably most often is people not portioning how much their pets get – using a measuring cup and measuring appropriately,” Kratt said.

If your pet doesn’t eat when it’s feeding time, take the bowl away. When it’s time to feed them again, put the bowl out and the proper allotment of food once again (not double because it didn’t eat last time). Eventually, your pet should begin eating and on your schedule.

If that’s not the case, you may have to think about switching foods. If your pet usually was eating that food before and suddenly has stopped, contact your vet immediately.