Certainly, you know a fat cat or dog. You may even have one. I can’t lie…my own dog, Jade, is prettttty overweight. I wish she weren’t. But she lives at home with my parents hours away and I can’t control what she is eating and if she is exercising or not. But she’s not the only fat dog I know. The truth is that obesity is a problem in America these days and it’s not just a problem with humans. Recent studies are saying that around 1/3 of house pets in America these days are technically obese.

So you’re probably curious about why so many pets are overweight, right? Well, it turns out that they are overweight for the same reasons that humans are. They aren’t getting enough exercise. They are eating more. They’re getting older and putting on weight because of that. If you take a human who has all of these issues already…they’re not going to make it any easier on their pet. Why would an owner take their pet out for walks/exercise if they don’t exercise themselves?

But this is all a problem for pets for the same reason that it is a problem for humans. Being overweight causes tons of health problems. Many animals are developing diabetes, can’t stand to be in the heat, worse immune systems, and plenty of other problems, too.

I think that people often times forget that their pets deserve to be healthy, too. When we take them into our homes as pet, we are basically taking control. They can really only eat whatever we give them, so we need to be fair and make sure that they get good food put into their bodies. We also have to make sure we take our pets out for walks. After all, if you really love your pet, why would you want it living like that?

(photo from: photobucket.com)