For the last 10 years, I have paid much more attention to the type and amount of food our pets eat. I have found that feeding the right ingredients and amount has a big effect on their health. Feeding too much food by not measuring or leaving food out all day may allow some dogs and cats to become obese. Obese pets have more trouble getting around, can’t breathe as well and the extra weight can be really hard on their heart, lungs, back and joints.
Measuring out food and feeding lower calorie food can help maintain or reduce weight. Obese cats should be switched to canned food to lose weight. Half the amount of dry dog food can be moistened with water and will swell up to the same amount … but with fewer calories! Green beans can be added to a smaller amount of dry food to also decrease calories.
Exercise can help the body burn more calories daily by increasing muscle size and metabolism. Just a 30-minute walk, three to five days a week, can help you and your dog lose weight and feel better.
In my book, “Feed Your Pet to Avoid the Vet,” I wrote about pets talking about their weight gain. This is how I imagined the pet’s conversations would go:
• Spot, who used to chase cars before surgery to repair a broken leg, tells Brownie to run out to the front fence more often to burn calories. Spot now just patrols the perimeter of his yard, but has found daily exercise and less dry food helped him lose weight. His owners learned some valuable ways to reduce the calories by feeding low-carb, healthy human food ingredients such as carrots, green beans and pieces of hot dogs instead of dog biscuits. Spot loves the variety of healthy “treats” and he feels less hungry.
• Scout, the golden, admits he lays much too close to the bowl full of kibble daily and really can’t stop eating just a bit … every few minutes. He says, “I hate to think how many cups a day I really eat. My owners never measure the amount, they just use a scoop!” He added, “When I became older, the arthritis in my back and hips started to act up. I became less active, started eating more and my weight started to climb.” He continued, “My owners took me to the vet for a blood test to make sure my thyroid level was OK. The blood test showed I had a good level of thyroid hormone in my blood. Doggone it, I was hoping it was low so I could just take a pill to lose weight, like the ads for humans I see on TV.”
• Rascal admits he also used to burn more calories when he hunted and was more active, but his new owners don’t like to hunt and his new
backyard is really tiny. So now Rascal lies around and eats more from habit and boredom than need.
• Fluffy the cat chimes in,” I know I’m addicted to dry crunchy food they leave out for me. I always feel hungry, even right after eating.” She reminisces, “When I lived on a ranch and hunted for mice, I felt much better.” She admits that her daily exercise routine these days involves finding a warm spot of sunlight to lie in. “I used to hunt for hours, but I just don’t feel like hunting anymore. Since I gained weight, my back and hips hurt a bit and it’s harder to jump up to my comfy window ledge.” In the past year, she admits to gaining 3 1/2 pounds. “My owners and my vet mentioned it might not be too good for me, but I don’t have the will power or energy to change.” She finishes by saying, “Sleeping in the sun is so comfortable, and the dry food bowl is easy to get to and always full!”
• Honey, the spoiled 19-pound Persian, tells Fluffy, “I agree with you that it is hard to quit eating that crunchy treat, but my vet told my owners that dry food and weight gain caused my diabetes. Now I need shots every single day, and I have to eat this prescription food that tastes awful. If I were you, I would cut down on the dry food, and eat more canned food and meat that my owners feed me because I just hate the taste of the prescription diet. My vet said that canned food and meat is better for cats than dry food.”
Preventing obesity and keeping off the pounds can be important for your pet’s health. Measure their food and feed according to their size and activity level. Avoid high-carb biscuits or treats (try a baby carrot or piece of a turkey hot dog) and feed lower calorie food. Switch cats to canned food and consider a thyroid test for those dogs that just won’t lose weight. Plan a daily walk or play time. Fewer calories and more activity will help shed those dangerous pounds.
Greg Martinez, DVM, has worked at Gilroy Veterinary Hospital with Dennis Harrigan, DVM, for more than 30 years, and with Marc Van Every, DVM, for three years. Over the last 10 years, he has become very interested in the natural role of nutrition in treating chronic medical problems and to prevent future ones.
