How to tell if a pet cat is obese?
2022-04-29
Nowadays, people generally think that thin is beautiful, but in pets, it is "fat is beautiful", thinking that pets are cute only if they are round. As a result, many pet cats weigh more than 5kg, and some even go straight to 10 or 15kg. Some people even have a mentality of "grandma raising grandchildren" when they raise pet cats, and always feel that their cats are too thin...
But pet cat obesity is not a good thing, and it brings a series of health risks.
How to judge whether a pet cat is fat or thin, and whether it needs to lose weight?
1. What type of obesity does pet cat belong to?
When it comes to human obesity, there are generally two types of obesity: pear-shaped obesity and apple-shaped obesity. The main difference is where the fat accumulates.
Pet cat is obese, which one is it?
For obese pet cats, the fat is mainly concentrated in the trunk (especially the abdomen), not the limbs, which is apple-shaped obesity.
When we judge whether a pet cat is obese, we also start from the pet cat's torso.
2. How to identify whether pet cats are obese?
The healthy weight of pet cats varies by breed and length, so body weight is generally not used to measure the health of pet cats. Instead, the World Small Animal Veterinary Society BCS (Body Condition Score) is used to determine if a cat is overweight.
Before the system judges, two questions can be used to predict:
1. Can you easily feel the ribs of your pet cat? If it takes force to reach, the cat's BCS should be above 5.
2. Can you see the "waistline" of pet cats? If you can't see it, the BCS of a pet cat is usually above 5. With the answers to these two questions, let's take a systematic look at which body type it belongs to:
1~2 points, extremely thin
➤ When looking down, you can see that the pet cat has an obvious "waist line", and the coccyx and pelvis are prominent. This is a very obvious hourglass shape.
➤ Viewed from the side, the cat's body is a right-angled triangle of 30°-60°-90°. Ribs can be seen clearly.
➤ Stroking the cat's back, the lumbar spine is prominent, and there is little fat between the epidermis and bone.
This condition is uncommon in pet cats and is generally seen only in stray cats.
3~4 points, thin
➤ The "waistline" and slightly protruding pelvis are still visible from above. The overall shape is hourglass.
➤ Viewed from the side, the abdomen is reduced. There are no visible ribs, only a slight touch.
➤ To touch the back, there is little fat between the skin and the bones.
In addition to stray cats, this condition also occurs in malnourished pet cats.
5 points, perfect catwalk body shape
➤ The waistline is not obvious, and the torso is generally oval.
➤ A well-proportioned body, no belly fat, only a small amount of fat. Ribs are not visible but palpable.
➤ Touch the back, the muscles around the tailbone are full, and there is a small amount of fat between the skin and bones.
7~8 points, slightly obese
➤ Seen from above, the pet cat has a "spindle shape" as a whole, with the middle of the body protruding.
➤ From the side, you can see a little sagging belly. There is noticeable shaking when running.
➤ It takes a little force to reach the cat's ribs. The hair on the back may be a little greasy, and you may even see a small amount of dander.
8~9 points, this is a ball
➤ The middle of the body is noticeably wider and looks like a football.
➤ Viewed from the side, the stomach is sagging and shaking is visible when walking.
➤ The tailbone is difficult to reach when stroking and may be difficult to groom at ordinary times.
If your cat's body condition score is above 5, then the happy nutritional supplement time may be far away from the kitten.
Sometimes it may be cute to look at a round pet cat, but a body shape like "obesity" can actually bring a lot of health problems to pet cats. Especially elderly cats and pet cats with urinary system problems must pay attention to weight control!
3. Weight loss for pet cats
For pet cats, weight loss actually mainly depends on the cat's perseverance.
Before deciding to "weight loss" for a pet cat, it is best to take the pet cat to the hospital for a check-up to make sure that the pet cat has no health risks before starting to lose weight.
How to control calories
Diet first: To give cats weight loss, ICR (Intermittent Calorie Restriction) can be used.
Intermittent caloric restriction (ICR) = 75% of maintenance energy requirement (MER) for the first two weeks and 100% of the MER for the second two weeks for 6 months.
For example, for a 6.5kg cat, the recommended feeding amount of a certain brand is 100g/day. To achieve the purpose of losing weight, it is necessary to limit the daily calorie intake.
Then, using CCR (long-term caloric restriction), the weight loss effect of feeding 75g per day was almost the same as the weight loss effect of feeding 75g for two weeks and 100g for two weeks.
More importantly, don't give pet cat treats, don't think you should add a can when it's cold, don't think you should reward a whole cat bar after brushing your teeth, these are high calorie!
Of course, in addition to dieting, play with your pet cat for 10 minutes more every day, or feed it with a leak feeder, so that the chubby pet cat has a healthy body!
But pet cat obesity is not a good thing, and it brings a series of health risks.
How to judge whether a pet cat is fat or thin, and whether it needs to lose weight?
1. What type of obesity does pet cat belong to?
When it comes to human obesity, there are generally two types of obesity: pear-shaped obesity and apple-shaped obesity. The main difference is where the fat accumulates.
Pet cat is obese, which one is it?
For obese pet cats, the fat is mainly concentrated in the trunk (especially the abdomen), not the limbs, which is apple-shaped obesity.
When we judge whether a pet cat is obese, we also start from the pet cat's torso.
2. How to identify whether pet cats are obese?
The healthy weight of pet cats varies by breed and length, so body weight is generally not used to measure the health of pet cats. Instead, the World Small Animal Veterinary Society BCS (Body Condition Score) is used to determine if a cat is overweight.
Before the system judges, two questions can be used to predict:
1. Can you easily feel the ribs of your pet cat? If it takes force to reach, the cat's BCS should be above 5.
2. Can you see the "waistline" of pet cats? If you can't see it, the BCS of a pet cat is usually above 5. With the answers to these two questions, let's take a systematic look at which body type it belongs to:
1~2 points, extremely thin
➤ When looking down, you can see that the pet cat has an obvious "waist line", and the coccyx and pelvis are prominent. This is a very obvious hourglass shape.
➤ Viewed from the side, the cat's body is a right-angled triangle of 30°-60°-90°. Ribs can be seen clearly.
➤ Stroking the cat's back, the lumbar spine is prominent, and there is little fat between the epidermis and bone.
This condition is uncommon in pet cats and is generally seen only in stray cats.
3~4 points, thin
➤ The "waistline" and slightly protruding pelvis are still visible from above. The overall shape is hourglass.
➤ Viewed from the side, the abdomen is reduced. There are no visible ribs, only a slight touch.
➤ To touch the back, there is little fat between the skin and the bones.
In addition to stray cats, this condition also occurs in malnourished pet cats.
5 points, perfect catwalk body shape
➤ The waistline is not obvious, and the torso is generally oval.
➤ A well-proportioned body, no belly fat, only a small amount of fat. Ribs are not visible but palpable.
➤ Touch the back, the muscles around the tailbone are full, and there is a small amount of fat between the skin and bones.
7~8 points, slightly obese
➤ Seen from above, the pet cat has a "spindle shape" as a whole, with the middle of the body protruding.
➤ From the side, you can see a little sagging belly. There is noticeable shaking when running.
➤ It takes a little force to reach the cat's ribs. The hair on the back may be a little greasy, and you may even see a small amount of dander.
8~9 points, this is a ball
➤ The middle of the body is noticeably wider and looks like a football.
➤ Viewed from the side, the stomach is sagging and shaking is visible when walking.
➤ The tailbone is difficult to reach when stroking and may be difficult to groom at ordinary times.
If your cat's body condition score is above 5, then the happy nutritional supplement time may be far away from the kitten.
Sometimes it may be cute to look at a round pet cat, but a body shape like "obesity" can actually bring a lot of health problems to pet cats. Especially elderly cats and pet cats with urinary system problems must pay attention to weight control!
3. Weight loss for pet cats
For pet cats, weight loss actually mainly depends on the cat's perseverance.
Before deciding to "weight loss" for a pet cat, it is best to take the pet cat to the hospital for a check-up to make sure that the pet cat has no health risks before starting to lose weight.
How to control calories
Diet first: To give cats weight loss, ICR (Intermittent Calorie Restriction) can be used.
Intermittent caloric restriction (ICR) = 75% of maintenance energy requirement (MER) for the first two weeks and 100% of the MER for the second two weeks for 6 months.
For example, for a 6.5kg cat, the recommended feeding amount of a certain brand is 100g/day. To achieve the purpose of losing weight, it is necessary to limit the daily calorie intake.
Then, using CCR (long-term caloric restriction), the weight loss effect of feeding 75g per day was almost the same as the weight loss effect of feeding 75g for two weeks and 100g for two weeks.
More importantly, don't give pet cat treats, don't think you should add a can when it's cold, don't think you should reward a whole cat bar after brushing your teeth, these are high calorie!
Of course, in addition to dieting, play with your pet cat for 10 minutes more every day, or feed it with a leak feeder, so that the chubby pet cat has a healthy body!