The return of pet weight watchers

Last week I mentioned that our nurse clinicians have the capacity and time to restart their expert clinics. I am extremely grateful, because I have seen the benefit so many times, and it has been horrid to be prevented by the pandemic from supporting pets in our preferred manner.

Rosie the cat is one of our shining examples.

Rosie is an adorable tortoiseshell cat, whose personality verges towards the lazy side of life.

At Christmas time three years ago Rosie came in to see our vet,

Ali, for her vaccine. Her weight was a shock to everyone. As a young adult, she had been a trim 5.4kg, but now in middle age, she had become dangerously overweight at 7.5kg.

She had become reluctant to play, and barely moved apart from to visit the toilet. Ali used the body condition scoring system that indicated that she was 40 percent overweight.

Back then we had the option to refer Rosie’s problems to our nurse clinician, Lisa.

Rosie’s owner said: “We are so very grateful for all the advice that Lisa gave us. It has made a huge difference. We just hadn’t realised the fat content of some of the treats that we were giving her.

“Now we check the fat content of any treats, and weigh her food out carefully every day.

“Rosie is the only one in the family who has reached her target weight! She still has her rosette celebrating her success.”

Within three months Rosie had become more active and was grooming herself better. Over the next 12 months, under Lisa’s supervision, Rosie returned to 5.5kg.

We are delighted to be able to offer our weight management clinics once again now.

Overweight pets and their owners get one to one advice and support from our highly trained nurses, free of charge.

We create a personalised plan on how to lose those excess pounds, taking into consideration issues such as appetite, other pets in the household, and mobility problems.