
YOUR PET'S WEIGHT
Preventative Care
Speak to anyone working in the veterinary profession and they will tell you that obesity is an increasing problem in our pets. However, with proper understanding and advice it is more than possible to keep your pet at a healthy weight.
Having an obese pet can lead to the following problems:
Increased risk of diabetes
Shortened life expectancy (up to 2.5 years)
Increased pain and lameness in an arthritic animal
High blood pressure
Heart and respiratory disease
Cranial cruciate ligament injury
Kidney disease
Many forms of cancer
You can come in to our practices within opening hours to weigh your pet on our scales and get advice on diet and exercise from our trained staff. Sometimes it is difficult to know if your pet is overweight, especially since so many of the animals that you see are NOT at their ideal weights. As a quick guide you should be able to feel your dog or cats ribs easily under your fingers.
With the development of good quality pet foods, the quantity of food needed to keep our pets at a healthy weight is often overestimated by owners and the food companies (beware the amounts
quoted on packaging!).