- Causes of excess weight in cats
- Proper nutrition for weight loss
- Increase in physical activity
- Consultation with a veterinarian and timely grooming
- How to maintain the achieved result?
- Conclusion
The problem of excess weight in animals is quite widespread, but not everyone understands its seriousness, causes of appearance, consequences, methods of prevention, etc. d. Let’s talk about that.
Causes of excess weight in cats
– inactive lifestyle;
– overfeeding, or feeding from the host’s table;
– a disease
The mistake of many owners is that they do not detect the problem of excess weight of their cat or kitten in time. To some extent, this is justified, because you see your cat every day, so you may not immediately notice a change in its weight, especially if it has long fur, which can hide extra grams, or even kilograms of the animal. However, this factor must be taken into account in order to avoid unexpected surprises.
Every living organism needs movement and cats are no exception. Does your pet lead a sedentary lifestyle? Then do not doubt that extra kilograms will not struggle for long to embrace your ponytail.
Overfeeding is also one of the main causes of weight gain in your pet. Feeding an animal from a person’s table often harms its body, which is not adapted to absorb some products.
Sometimes excess weight is a consequence, and not a cause, of a disease that needs to be detected in time. Excess weight is a signal that there are some problems with the cat’s health.
One way or another, all the causes and consequences of obesity in cats lead us to the fact that it is important to monitor the animal’s weight, prevent its appearance and fight it, if it has already appeared.
Proper nutrition for weight loss
Any caring owner should consider the nutrition of a cat that shows signs of being overweight. Sterilized animals need special attention in this matter, because they are more prone to overeating.
Diet is one of the main manipulations for weight loss, but we do not recommend forcing the animal to starve in order to speed up the weight loss process, because sudden weight loss will only harm the health of the cat. Try to gradually reduce the portions of food intake.
Pay attention to the products that cannot be given to cats, as well as those that are necessary and useful for them. As you already know, feeding the animal with food from the owner’s table can be harmful for it, because the cat’s body is not adapted to some of the components that these products have. For example, it is dangerous to give cats fatty foods, sweets, chocolate, bones and smoked meats. It is recommended to feed furry pets with special food for cats, balancing dry and wet food.
It is easy to calculate how much you need to feed your pet, because each package of food contains a dose for the animal, depending on its age and health. Try to feed the cat in small portions at least 5 times a day, because the cat’s digestive system is adapted to frequent and small portions of food intake.
Making and following a proper diet is an important step on the way to overcoming excess weight.
Increase in physical activity
An active lifestyle is something without which it is impossible to overcome excess fat and maintain a healthy animal weight. Create such a space for your Tail in the house so that he moves as much as possible, for example, you can put a bowl with water and food separately, or place a resting area and a eating area in different parts of the house or apartment. This will make the clumsy cat move more.
Do not forget that your cute furry friend is a predator by nature, who is used to hunting. Hunting for a cat is not only active recreation. The fact is that taurine is an important substance for the body of cats, which helps fat absorption, slows down the aging of the eyes and protects the cardiovascular system. According to the design of nature, the cat should receive taurine from used mice, so sometimes it is worth allowing the furry to remember its nature and hunt. In this way, you will “kill two birds with one stone”.
Well, of course, you should not forget that your pet is, in fact, the same small child who will not give up active entertainment. There are many games that can increase a cat’s physical activity. What are these brawlers capable of for the sake of one ball of thread.
Consultation with a veterinarian and timely grooming
Timely grooming and consulting a veterinarian are very relevant and important in finding out the cause of the problem, because, as already mentioned, obesity can be a signal of some serious disease that cannot be cured by the usual selection of proper nutrition and increased physical activity. If excess weight is not a symptom of any disease, it can be the cause of its appearance, namely problems with the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system and metabolic processes. All this also “hits” your pet’s mental state and shortens his life.
We advise you not to start treatment without consulting a specialist, as self-treatment can sometimes be more harmful than inaction. Any responsible groomer or veterinarian will give you useful advice and help you choose the right diet, taking into account the age, weight and health characteristics of the cat.
How to maintain the achieved result?
Getting rid of excess weight does not mean that you can stop following the life of your pet. It is important to continue to maintain the adjusted diet of the kitten, to monitor its physical development and nutrition.
Take into account the age, weight and health characteristics of your cat or cat. Veterinarian Dmytro Fursov advises feeding kittens, adult and sterilized cats and cats with different types of food. Kittens need to eat food that contributes to their physical development, it is important for sterilized cats to eat food that contains additives that improve metabolism, prevent obesity and the appearance of urolithiasis, so ordinary cat food is not suitable for them.
Regularly monitor the weight of the animal, weigh it at least once a week, undergo a medical examination on time and visit the groomer.
Do not spare your time to spend an active holiday with your pet. Physical activity is one of the most important ways to prevent or treat excess weight in both humans and animals. We assure you that no cat will refuse to spend time with its beloved owner.
Conclusions
A cat is a predator moved to domestic conditions, so these animals need a unique set of substances, trace elements, vitamins, as well as an active lifestyle. Beloved by their owners, wild and active in the past, animals have become accustomed to a “lazy” lifestyle. However, as it turned out, such “loves” are not to the liking of the health of domesticated predators. They are naturally accustomed to active and healthy food, therefore, first of all, you need to spare your time and even at home to arrange conditions as close as possible to natural ones.
Don’t forget that your cat’s life expectancy is largely in your hands.
We wish you and your Tails good health.
