Let me paint you a picture: I logged onto Facebook at the end of a long day and noticed that I had been tagged in a video that displayed an overweight cat on the main screen. The post from a friend stated “I thought you would like this. It is hilarious!” Curiosity got the better of me and I hit the play button. What I watched made me sad and frustrated. The video was of an extremely overweight cat that had gotten so large he could no longer clean himself. The owner of the cat was brushing his back with a comb while the overweight cat furiously licked and groomed his front feet. When the comb stops moving the pet stops licking, and when the comb starts again the cat start vigorously cleaning again, then repeats. The comments below the video are all about how this cat is hilarious, and how funny the video is. While all I saw was a poor cat who was so overweight that when he was brushed the only way he could respond to the need to groom himself was to aggressively clean the only place he could reach. Where everyone else saw humor I saw neglect.
Daily I talk to clients about how their furry friends have become overweight and need to start shedding the pounds, and during every conversation I struggle to explain that being overweight isn’t a minor problem, but a major disease. Yes, that is right I called it a disease, because Fluffy and Fido’s plump belly may be cute to you, but it is also deadly. Obesity in our dogs and cats can cause diabetes, liver disease, heart disease, stroke, and difficulty breathing. It can affect the bones, joints, digestive organs, and the lower urinary tract. It also shortens a pet’s life span on average by two and a half years. The good news it obesity is 100 percent preventable, and 100 percent curable. Most of the time all it takes is a little self-control on our part.
I tell you all of these things because I want you to take a serious look at your pet, or listen to your Veterinarian or technicians if they tell you this has become an issue. We don’t tell you that your pet needs to lose weight for our benefit. We tell you because we see your pet’s weight trending up and we are worried that next year when we see you again for Fido’s year wellness appointment he will have developed diabetes, he won’t be able to breath properly anymore because of all the extra weight, or he has developed arthritis and the excess weight on his joints is causing unwanted and unnecessary pain. We want your pet to be with you for a long time which is why we offer a weight loss program to help you every step of the way. We offer it because we care about Fluffy, Cuddles, and Fido, and we want them to have the best quality of life possible.
For more information on what you can do to help your pet get back to a healthy weight visit: www.funkstownvet.com/services/fit-club-weight-loss-program/