Fat Cats and Dogs Need Better Diet-US Reports (Laughter Alert)

Reuters ^ | September 8, 2003 | Maggie Fox

[w_over_w]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Overweight Americans and Europeans are overfeeding their pets, too -- and putting their health at risk, according to a report issued on Monday.

The report, from the National Research Council (news - web sites), finds that one-quarter of the dogs and cats in the western world are obese. As with humans, this puts them at risk of diabetes, heart disease and other health problems.

The 400-page report is aimed at scientists, pet food makers and veterinarians, but provides advice for pet owners.

It updates recommendations last made in the mid-1980s by the National Research Council, one of the independent National Academies of Science.

For instance, cats and dogs make their own vitamin C, it says, and do not need it added to food. But cats and dogs in the wild need high levels of fat, it added.

The report confirms that cats are carnivores, and need meat products in their diet, whereas dogs can get along fine on balanced vegetarian diets. The best balance of protein and carbohydrates is also different for cats than for dogs.

Cat owners who worry about their pets' finicky eating habits are reassured that felines do tend to be pickier than dogs about what they eat. The report notes that in the wild, cats will catch and eat eight to 12 small animals or birds every day.

Feeding of cats should reflect this -- with 12 to 20 very small meals being offered through the day, the report says.

"Any dog owner, on the other hand, knows that his or her dog can eat its 24-hour energy need in just a few minutes at a single meal," the report reads.

"It is reported that a male Labrador once ate 10 percent of its body weight of a canned dog food."

Both species needs to be offered plenty of fresh water and cat owners need to take special care to encourage their pets to drink, the report says.

"About 30 percent to 40 percent of dogs and cats will overeat and be overweight or even obese if allowed to eat as much as they want at all times during the day," the report adds.

It advises feeding overweight pets a little less at each meal, or offering low-calorie or less-tasty food.

The report advises on how to tell if a dog is too fat -- if the ribs cannot be felt, it is probably overweight. Cats should have a slight waist but no roundness of the belly.

The report, partly available on the Internet at http:/national-academies.org/petdoor, also details daily calorie recommendations and essential vitamin and mineral requirements for dogs and cats, as well as how to tell if a pet is deficient.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

Your cat must not get out much. My indoor/outdoor guy loves to eat mice and chipmunks, and leaves the guts up on the porch.....

[MEG33]

The beloved kitty I just lost to cancer was not impressed with tuna but loved to lick the plate ,I found out, of anything sweet!

[Allegra]

She can act like she's starving!

My nine-year-old calico (Clinton crotch-chomper pictured on a post above) has the "starving act" down to a fine art. She's up for the Kitty Oscars with that one. She even has this breathy, weak meow she does that sounds as if she's drawing her last breath. It cracks me up when she launches into the Starving Cat Act.

[MEG33]

Gee..I kinda wish ours could play Camille like that.Our cat is LOUD!

[Maigrey]

The one that likes cheesy tuna has gotten out twice for 2 months each, and equates food with.... food. He's neurotic about empty food dishes with going hungry. He'll eat just about anything when we got him back, but now that it's been 6 weeks, he's getting picky. (for a month, he was on the catkins diet, in an effort to bulk him back up. He lost 8lbs while he was out, which is 50% of his body weight.)

[w_over_w]

You Dog owners are ducking this article . . . what's your exucuse for this!

[dawn53]

Our 4 year old calico has a fetish for hamburger rolls.

She eats a couple cans of cat food per day, but if we leave a bag of hamburger rolls on the counter overnight, she will drag them off to some corner of the house, tear through the bag and eat one.

She only does this with hamburger rolls, but if you were to hand her a piece of a roll, she wouldn't take it.

She has to do the "drag the bag off the counter, take it to a corner, rip it open" trick before she'll eat one.

Just plain weird!

[Sunshine Sister]

The bottom cat has just got to be a stuffed animal. I can't believe my eyes!

[EuroFrog]

Ok, I got one of them too, I have an overweight Lab. I dont think he even has ribs. I attempted to put him on diet food. He liked it well enough but it make him crap 4+ times a day. I live on the 3rd floor in Govt housing so I have to not only walk him the extra times but have to clean it up immediately after him.

He certainly didnt lose any weight but I did from all the extra walking!

[Allegra]

Molly is partly feral and she likes our theory that food is a way to soften her up. She's a plump bashful sweeheart.

I love that ginger color on her belly contrasted with her tabby coloring. She's a pretty girl.

[w_over_w]

He certainly didnt lose any weight but I did from all the extra walking!

[Lady Jag]

I told Molly how you said she's pretty and now she's hiding behind the scheflera. That ginger coloring on her belly is a gift if she lets you pet it. Her hair is extremely dense all over but petting her pretty tummy is like petting a warm breeze; there's nothing softer.

[EuroFrog]

You were just waiting for an opportunity to use that one werent you!

[w_over_w]

Don't bother me I'm eating . . .

[GovernmentShrinker]

Actually recent veterinary research on cats has shown that the primary cause of "overnutrition" (the euphemism for obesity) is the high carbohydrate content of virtually all commercial cat foods. It recommends that cats eat a diet very high in protein and fat, and cut way down on the carbs.

[Lady Jag]

It's not just diet. Your pets need personal trainers and your it.

[Lady Jag]

Exercise is as important as diet.

[w_over_w]

Exercise is as important as diet.

Absolutely! Here's another example of a well-disciplined cat doing its exercise.

[AmericaUnited]

We need to to pass a national law, forbidding old people from stealing and eating the food intended for their pets, to resolve this crisis.

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

It's all Bush's fault.