Feline Bootcamp

  In September 2012, Skinny the cat weighed in at 41 pounds.  Today he is down to 34 pounds, 13 ounces. A total of 7 pounds, 3 ounces weight loss in 6 months. It is hard to tell by looking at him that he has lost 17% of his body weight.  He still has quite a way to go, but we are off to a great start!

I have received multiple questions and requests for help guiding individuals to their own pet's weight loss.  I have put together a 5-step plan for helping pets lose weight safely.  

Assess Health

Obesity is a systemic disease condition. Your pet, regardless of age, needs to have a full physical, metabolic and cardiac exam.  This can be accomplished with your regular veterinarian.  Specific samples needed from your cat include blood, urine and feces.

The tests should evaluate for and hopefully, exclude Diabetes Mellitus, thyroid disease, liver disease, kidney disease, urinary infection/ inflammation, heart disease, and blood pressure issues.

Once these tests have been conclusively completed and your pet is declared healthy with no chronic medical condition, your feline is ready to begin a weight reduction plan.

You should continue to have your pet assessed monthly during his/her weight loss plan.

    Nutritional planning

There are a plethora of pet foods to choose from these days.  As a consumer it can be very difficult to fully understand what you are feeding your pet.  The AAFCO (http://petfood.aafco.org) has some guidelines in place to help regulate how a pet food company formulates and shares information about its food.  These regulations only apply to what is printed on the food bag itself.  A company can claim just about anything in commercials and on websites.  It is imperative to discuss and choose a weight reduction food with your veterinarian.  Trying to do it yourself can result in frustration and failure of weight reduction in your pet.

There are some newer commercial pet foods available by prescription that utilize nutrigenomics (http://nutrigenomics.ucdavis.edu) to improve your pet’s healthy weight loss.

If fresh food is your goal, then utilize the expertise of a boarded veterinary nutritionist to formulate a healthy, balanced home-prepared food for your pet. (http://www.petdiets.com)

Remember, treats add calories.  If you must give treats, then calculate these calories into your pet’s weight loss plan.            

-Feed meals
If you aren’t already, start acclimating your pet to meals.  This gives you better control of food intake in a multiple pet household and also allows for better assessment of how much your pet is eating.
Cats can slide into liver disease if they consume only 75% of their daily caloric needs on a regular basis.  Because of this, weight reduction in felines must be done slowly and carefully.  For a severely obese cat, it is best to feed 4 meals a day.  This allows the stomach to shrink over time and greater satisfaction with small amounts of food.

 -Consider canned food
Most canned cat foods have more protein and water content.  The increased aromatics also attract felines to their food, not to mention the inherent effect the sound of the can opener has on our feline friends.

  -Change your cat’s water frequently
It is tremendously important that they have free access to fresh water 24 hours a day.  This helps flush the toxins as the pet begins to lose weight.  If your pet gets dehydrated, they may stop eating and can slide into liver failure before you know it.

    Get Active

It can be difficult to directly increase your cat’s activity level.  So do it indirectly.  If your cat is highly social and seeks interaction with you, move his food far away from the site of most social interactions.  This will facilitate more walking for the things he wants.  If your cat isn’t as social, but highly enjoys meals, move the food bowl to different areas of the house.  He may even follow your around a while waiting for your to place the food bowl on the floor.  Take advantage of this and walk around the house for a little while before rewarding him with his food. 

Use toys and designate play times to help your cat get moving.  Laser pointers, catnip toys, small jingle balls can all be utilized to help increase your pet’s activity.

Consider a cat tunnel for safe outdoor time (https://www.kittywalk.com)

   Environmental enrichment

Do you know what your cat is doing while you are at work?  Likely just hanging out on the couch.  To help influence your pet’s regular activity, consider adding a family member.  A two-cat household can be helpful in facilitating weight loss.  Once the social order is established, most cats will interact and play when left on their own.

There are also great stimulating DVDs available to improve stimulation of your feline friend while you are out of the house( http://petsittervideos.com).

 

Track the progress

Since cats need to lose weight slowly, it can be difficult to determine progress by visual assessment.  Consider purchasing a digital baby scale to help track progress with weekly weigh-ins (http://www.scalesgalore.com/babyscales.htm)

Write down the results of each weekly weigh-in.  Healthy weight loss in a feline friend is about 1 pound per 3-4 weeks.  Reassess and adjust your plan if you witness weight loss faster than this.  Remember: cats are not small dogs!  Felines must lose weight slowly to stay healthy.

I hope this helps:)

Brittney Barton, DVM, CVA

'Tis the Season......

Each and every year the same types of cases present to neighborhood and emergency animal hospitals across the country.  Sometimes accidents are just that, accidents.  But if those costly emergency pet visits can be avoided, well let's do it.

Here my top "Pet Parent Awareness" points for this holiday season.

Dangerous Decorations

Christmas trees

 Live Christmas trees have oils in them that when chewed, release and cause oral (mouth) and gastrointestinal (stomach and intestine) irritation.  This can lead to reluctance to eat, vomiting or diarrhea

Live Christmas tree water (if additives are used) can be very dangerous to both dogs and cats.  Some additives have aspirin or fertilizer in them.  In sufficient quantities, both of these chemicals can cause serious injury to your pet's internal organs.  Please avoid using additives for your live Christmas tree water.  You really only need to trim the end of the tree and/or scrape the bark that will submerge in the water to facilitate water retention and a longer lasting tree--says the National Christmas Tree Association (yes, there really is one).

Christmas lights are beautiful, but for a curious puppy secretly chewing your tree, it can means a life-threatening electrical shock.  If you have a new puppy, a curious cat or an oral-fixation dog, you may want to put your tree in a room where access can be controlled and proper pet supervision can be provided.

Decorative Holiday Plants to AVOID:

Poinsettia

Poinsettias, Mistletoe, and Christmas Rose if eaten, will cause gastrointestinal (stomach and intestine) distress leading to drooling, vomiting, and diarrhea.  These conditions can lead to severe dehydration and even, possibly pancreatitis in both dogs and cats.

Lily

Lilies (all types) can cause life-threatening and permanent kidney damage.  Cats are most susceptible to this due to counter-surfing behavior and the tendency to nibble a little here and there.  You may not even notice that the plant has been chewed on.  If you have cats, it is best to admire this beautiful flower family at your office or some other location outside of the home, only.

Gifts

We all love to receive an intricately decorated gift that was created just for us.  The thing is our dogs and especially, cats just can't resist them either.  Cats LOVE string and all string-like things.  This can be yarn used to hang ornaments, tinsel "icicles" decorating your tree, to ribbons and bows and packages.  Dogs love balls and little plush stuffed figures.  They don't know that the balls are made of glass and that the stuffed figures aren't made to be torn up and eaten.  I mean, they are on the floor, right?
Foreign body removal surgeries (major abdominal surgery) rise during this time of year.  Without intensive, invasive, and costly surgery this type of injury to your pet could be fatal.

Holiday Guests

Now HOW can guests be a danger to your pets?!  Let me ask you a question,  have you ever seen your parents come to visit with the big plastic baggy of medications?  You know the one, the gallon size baggy with prescription medications, vitamins, topical creams, and who know what else?  This baggy will usually rest in your guests luggage (on the floor) or on the guest bedside table.  To your pet, it looks and sounds like a new crinkly, rattling toy.  This a HUGE recipe for disaster.
Please offer your guest a secure, elevated area to store any medication needed while traveling.

Don't Forget the Food

Many of us look forward to the holidays because of the family time, togetherness and all of that awesome special food-fare.  If you are cooking in the kitchen, please don't give in to those cute puppy dog eyes or passive aggressive calve and shin rubbing.  Ban the pets from the kitchen so you can work in peace and they can be safe.
Onions are HIGHLY toxic to pets

Macadamia nuts are HIGHLY toxic to pets.

Macadamia nuts

Raisins

Grapes/ Raisins must be AVOIDED at all costs.  Remember, most fruit cakes contain raisins!
     So, please don't wrap them up for gifts and leave them under the tree.  Little Fifi can smell the
     goodies and WILL eat it. Sometimes wrapping included.




Chocolate: the most dangerous type of chocolate is the baking chocolate.  If your pet consumes
     chocolate, don't hesitate to contact your veterinarian for guidance.  We can help you determine the
     level of emergency, but we will need to know:
     a) what kind of chocolate?
     b) how much was eaten?
     c) how much does your pet weight.?





Now that I have shared what can be dangerous, let me say that you are the expert on your pet.  You love them, you know them, and you know when and when NOT to trust them.  Use your best judgement and contact your veterinarian with any questions, guidance and needed clarification on how to keep your pets safe and happy this holiday season.


Merry Christmas!
Dr. B

Pet Obesity....Who is responsible?

Obesity, according to Webster is “….excessive body fat. It is usually caused by sedentary habits and a diet high in fat, alcohol, or total calories. Calories consumed but not used are stored as fat. Rare causes include glandular defects and excess steroids (see Cushing syndrome). Obesity raises the risk of heart disease and diabetes mellitus. Treatment, by reducing calorie intake and increasing exercise, is best undertaken with a doctor's advice.”

Obviously, the above definition of obesity refers to humans, not animals.  So, my question to you is…… how do pets become obese? 

There are a few metabolic disease conditions that will make a pet more likely to gain and retain weight.  Among these are hypothyroidism and hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s disease), just like humans.  Each of these conditions are coupled with highlighting clinical signs other than weight gain that usually prompt a visit to the vet’s office.  So I ask again, how does a pet become obese?

The answer is really quite easy.  A pet becomes obese because his or her owner feeds too much and doesn’t exercise their beloved pet enough. 

The most current statistics released on pet obesity state that OVER half of all pet dogs and cats are OBESE, not just overweight, but obese.  Obesity is a state of whole body inflammation.  Fat cells release the stress hormone, cortisol.  This cortisol increases free radical release and destruction of cells within the body.  Pets that are overweight have been found to live 2 years LESS than those kept within their healthy body weight.

So why do we insist on loving our pets with food, treats, and gourmet snacks?  Instead, I would like to invite you to think outside of the box.  Instead of buying or cooking your pet special snacks, set aside some special time and go for a walk, run, or swim.  There are so many pet-friendly businesses now that your pet can even run errands with you.

In the following months, I will outline the strategy for helping “Skinny” (the infamously obese cat) lose weight.  This is a VERY precarious situation and one that I, and my colleagues working with East Lake Pet Orphanage, take quite seriously. Wish us luck, and stay tuned!

Skinny weighs more than the average 4 year old child.

Skinny says, "Rub my belly!"