Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Big Pets Get Bigger - How big is your pet?

Big Pets Get Bigger
The “fat pet gap” continues to widen according to the latest survey conducted by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention. The fifth annual veterinary survey found 53% of adult dogs and 55% of cats are classified as overweight or obese by their veterinarian. That equals 88.4 million pets that are too heavy. Perhaps even worse was the finding that the number of obese pets, those at least 30% above normal weight or a body condition score of 5, continues to grow despite 93.4% of surveyed pet owners identifying pet obesity as a problem. The study found 24.9% of all cats were classified as obese and 21.4% of all dogs were obese in 2011. That’s up from 2010 when 21.6% of cats and 20.6% of dogs were found to be obese. Treats continue to be a major contributor to weight gain in pets – 93% of all dog and cat owners say they give treats; 95% gave a commercial treat with 26% reporting they gave their pet treats three or more times a day.