60% of cats in the U.S. are obese, according to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention.
As body fat increases, so does the risk for:
Shortened life expectancy
Diabetes mellitus
Reduced mobility
Arthritis
Increased physical injury
Respiratory disease
Hepatic Lipidosis
Kidney disease
Cancer
Bladder stones
Waltham has produced a Feline Body Mass Index (FBMI) formula that uses the circumference of your cat’s rib cage and the length of the lower back leg to determine FBMI. An online calculator can be found here.
This chart shows how your results rate:
Obesity in cats is serious. There are several things you can do to help your cat get to a healthy weight:
Diet - switch to foods with less carbs, fillers, ash. Feed higher protein canned foods, less dry.
Feed More Often - feed 4 times a day versus two - cat's stomach's are smaller than most species so if only fed 1-2 times a day, your cat may be gorging on the food, stretching the stomach to an unnatural size.
Separate Bowls - if you have a multi-cat home, feed them apart so they are not scarfing down too much food to ensure resources.
Increase Activity with: More play time, harness/leash walking, new cat furniture, scratching posts