Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Pudgy Pugs and Fat Cats

Hi all,

I've been asked to post a sponsored post on behalf of VioVet (based in the UK) about the troubling obesity issue in pets.

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As the UK has been confirmed as the fattest nation in Europe, it is unsurprising that our pets also struggle with their weight. It has even been predicted that by 2020 over half of the pets in the UK will be obese and there is soon to be a pet stair lift on the shelves.

 People laugh at overweight pets even more so than they do at people and, granted sometimes it can be amusing to see an overfed Dachshund or pug, like Dennis Quaid’s ‘Pudgy’, waddling along (their legs are short enough as it is) it simply isn’t fair to the animals to allow them to become so unhealthy.


Dennis Quaid and 'Pudgy'
It is not just dogs that get overweight. Indeed, last year, my cat Bobby put on a bit of weight after having to be on a special diet to manage his urinary tract disease. Luckily, helpfully, once he had recovered, I discovered that there are other special diets to aid management of animals prone to obesity and who are overweight. I began by using Hill’s w/d. One of my main concerns was the possibility of Bobby continuing to lose weight past the point of the ideal weight but the maintenance of the ideal weight is one of the key features that Hill’s includes.

 Bobby says 'NOM'

Unfortunately, as Bobby is so fussy, after about two months he decided he was bored of this food and refused to eat it so I had no choice but to search out another. So then I bought Purina OM which claims to do the exact same thing and I have had no problems with it at all.

Some people prefer not to change their pet’s diets if they know their pet’s food tastes are fussy, in which case the best thing to do would be to make sure they get the exercise they need. For indoor cats this means making sure to have a lot of play-time and toys. With dogs you can really get involved and dog toys are a great way to do so.

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And in conclusion, here is a handsome photo of me!

Look! Up in the air! It's a BIRDIE!

29 comments:

Andrea and the Celestial Kitties said...

I've had pudgy, even fat kitties in my life, it actually surprises me that my two are at such good weights! They do that themselves, they're allowed to free feed and apparently don't over do it.
Birdie! Cool! You're adorable by the way!

Unknown said...

I really enjoy your post. Thanks for speaking about such important case.

Kjelle Bus aka Charlie Rascal said...

GREAT post !
It´s important to talk about Pudgy Pugs and Fat Cats , because as you say it´s a growing problem all over the world.

Tama-Chan, Benny, Vidock, Violette, Ollie, Heloise, Momo, Ryu said...

The problem, of course, is when you have a multi-cat household that includes one who is quite pudgy and one who is very slim even though he eats twice as much as anyone else. If someone comes up with a solution for this, let us know!

Purrs,
The Chans

Old Kitty said...

Oh I get really upset when I see obese pets as I know it's not their fault! Oh dear! Good post and very sensible advice! Take care
x

Mariodacat said...

M says we have the same problem here in the states. In fact, she claims I'm, ummmm, pudgy. She's been measuring my food for over a year now and I don't seem to lose any weight. M also plays with me several times a day, but she says I'm lazy cuz I get bored easily. I am also a picky eater. I'll be seeing the vet soon and she'll check out a weight reduction food and see if that helps. Good tips pal - M says now if I'd only cooperate!

Clarissa said...

Mom said Puff is more than just "pudgy". We all eat the same food (except Fred) and some of us are a lot heavier than others. Go figure...

And yes, you are adorable, Rumbles!

BeadedTail said...

We're a little pudgy but we're working on getting our svelte figures back. We'd like to chase birdies with you Rumbles!

Cathy Keisha said...

I only have eyes for the photo of you and am "heavily weighing" the offer to come live with you and receive those amazing cuddles you have waiting for me. BTW, I'm the purrfect weight.

Hannah and Lucy said...

Remember Rumbles that most of the fat cats in the UK are the bankers and NOT the felines.
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
ps we aren't fat cats and we aren't bankers either!

The Whiskeratti said...

Yes, that is a wonderfully handsome face!

Leia is a good weight and always quite active. Toby..not so much. He has a massive bone structure, so that helps, but he's also orange so he mostly sleeps.

da tabbies o trout towne said...

rumble: knot onlee is this a grate post but we hope with all R catness there iz KNOT a burd...a stooooooooooooooooopid burd....in yur air

whoa......

:)

Kat said...

We enjoyed this sweet postie xx

Brian's Home Blog said...

That was a great pot. But now I'm hungry.

Texas, a Cat in... Austin said...

I love the conclusion ;-)
My brother Milou had the same problem with urinary tract disease and the diet he was on was helping him gain weight (he's a big eater anyway).
Now he has lost some weight, but there are few options to change his diet.
Purrs

Furries said...

Rumbles, you're lucky to have Rumbleparents who keep you at a healthy weight.

My favorite source of info about managing feline diseases like obesity is Dr. Mark Peterson. He has two very informative articles on his blog about treating feline obesity. A lot of it is very "medical" but his bottom line is that "High-protein, low-carbohydrate, low-fat diets are ideal for weight loss in cats". Also, canned foods tend to be better than dry foods.

Two of his articles are here
and here.

To help maintain Raven's healthy weight, we feed higher protein, grain-free canned food. She does get to eat dry food, but I try to limit it.

Sweet Purrfections said...

Mom Paula has been very lucky with her kitties so far. All of them have been allowed "free feeding" of their crunchies and none have ever had a weight problem. We can't say the same about Mom Paula though. MOL

The Island Cats said...

Our mom tries to control what and how much we eat because she knows obesity can be such a problem for cats and dogs.

Gigi said...

It's really inneresting that you bringed this up because I have always such a skinny boy, totally uninterested in fudz except to survive, but since my "tutoring" six or seven weeks ago, food has gotten a LOT more interesting to me, and I mean a LOT. We're going to blog about this this week sometime ;-)

Unknown said...

We has no weight problems at our house. Except for Mommy. Us cats and dogs is given our wet foods at dinner time. In the morning Mommy gives the hairy slobbery sisters the left over tuna and wes gets a can of fancy feast (which usually half gets mixed into the doggies dinner. We gets high vitamin cat foods (one of 4 different brands) and we is both fit! So are the hairy slobbery sisters. Mommy never gives us more and if we eats it all, that's it. We also has lots of play times.
Life is good!
Kisses
Nellie (14 and the vet says me could be 6)

marley said...

*sigh* so many things gettin so big these days....here's a big fat THWOCK for you to blog about....

Callie (a.k.a. Trouble) said...

Although we are not overweight here, Mommie has us on a limited amount per day diet recommended by to vet so that we do not become overweight. I think that she just enjoys making someone else diet with her!

Fr. Tom Fish said...

Rumbles, you don't have to watch your waistline, we can see that. Besides, we thought we had the fattest pets here in the US. Our household is guilty as sin, especially our Anastasia who is now on a strict diet.

Hugs,
Tom


M Dawson said...

It may be a sponsored post but it is also important.

Weight gain and overweight pets are not a good idea and finding yourself with a fussy pet makes it a challenge, but as the post says, there are ways. Good quality food and exercise.

Thank you for a valuable post Rumble

meowmeowmans said...

Thanks for posting about such an important topic. Pet obesity is such a problem here, too!

Kızlık zarı said...

Life is like a river. Only we are floating away from this boat to another boat, but still in the river. So, we should accept change gladly. Nice article. I do agree with you.
Kızlık zarıKızlık zarı

Clarissa said...

Come visit us today and pick up your award!!!!

Ellen Whyte said...

It's not easy to stay slim, esp for handsome cats like yourself who attract so many fans.

By coincidence we wrote an article about Target and his diet plans last week (in the newspaper so it's not online). Now you can both be sleekly handsome!

Oorvi said...

An important issue, no doubt. I agree whole-heartedly that over-feeding the pets isn't a good idea at all. While some pets are good at telling their humans that they don't want to eat more, most allow themselves to be fed, only to please their humans.

You are just right - neither skinny nor pudgy :)

Licks n wags,
Oorvi