From fat cats to podgy pugs, our 2.7m obese pets

DO you have to drag your dog around the park rather than walk it? When your cat sees a mouse, does it turn over and go back to sleep?

If so, you may be one of the millions of pet owners contributing to an animal obesity crisis.

Over the past year a million cat owners and 1.7million with dogs have been warned by vets that their pet is overweight, researchers said yesterday.

One in eight dog owners, or 12 per cent, now has an overweight animal, up from 8 per cent only two years ago.

Some breeds are heavily prone to obesity. The report said three-quarters of pug owners have an overweight dog, as do two-thirds of those with boxers.

Obesity among household animals is now so severe that many owners risk injury if they try to pick up their pet, the report said. Weight gain can also lead to diabetes, heart and breathing problems.

The findings from surveys carried out for Direct Line Pet Insurance suggest over-indulgence of animals has come to mirror the way millions of parents tolerate obesity among their children.

The report said owners overfeed their pets or hand out unlimited treats as a way of showing love, a habit that can damage both the animal and its owner.

They also tend to ignore advice from vets, with many preferring to think the vet is exaggerating the degree of obesity or the risk to the animal’s health.

The research, based on surveys of 2,000 people by Opinium and more than 100 vets by Pure Profile, said vets estimate that the number of overweight pets being taken to surgeries has gone up by nearly half over the past year.

Findings suggest that two million dog owners have sustained minor injuries such as bruising or muscle strain from handling overweight animals in that time. More than half of vets have concerns about hurting themselves when treating heavy animals.

Some owners have even suffered broken bones or spinal injuries from trying to carry an overweight animal. The report added that two in five vets had invested in lifting equipment for their surgeries to help with obese animals.

More than half of owners admit they give their animal too much food or too many treats as a demonstration of affection for it. In addition, half think vets are overly cautious about obesity in pets, and nearly as many said you can feed a pet more if you give it high quality food. Vets said nearly a third of owners do not believe animal obesity is serious and one in six do not accept that animals can be medically obese.

Eva Sandra-Bennett of Direct Line said: ‘Dogs and cats being overweight is a serious issue as it can affect joints and cause diabetes, heart and breathing problems. While it may be horrible to hear from a vet that a pet is overweight, owners should pay attention as addressing the problem quickly will reduce the risk of future health problems.

‘Measuring out food can help avoid over-feeding and while those puppy dog eyes may be hard to resist for scraps and treats, giving in may do more harm than good.’