Is Your Pet Fat?
We have talked about pet diet and weight problems on this blog before, however, I wanted to take a minute to revisit the topic and show you what we are talking about when evaluating your pet’s weight. In general, when your veterinarian assesses your pet’s weight, they are taking into consideration age, breed and what we call “body condition”. Body condition takes into consideration the padding/thickness of fat on your dog and our ability to palpate boney prominences, muscle mass, body contours and sometimes abdominal organs. Based on these parameters your pet will be given a body condition score based on a scale of 1-5 or 1-9, depending on which scale your veterinarian prefers.
These pictures are used by most veterinarians to help show owners what each “score” looks like and why. On the 1-5 scale a score of 3 is ‘ideal’ while on the 1-9 scale 4-5 is ideal. I prefer the 1-9 scale as is allows for some more subtle differences and does not jump form ideal to obese as fast. Have a look at each scoring system and see where you think your pet is. Most pet owners are very surprised find that their pet is actually obese. If your pet is far from ideal, consider contacting your veterinarian regarding weight loss options. A diet can be specifically calculated for your pet using your current food or you can change to one specific for weight loss.
You can see the 9-point scale at Purina.com.
--Dr. Hamilton
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Dr. Hamilton is an oncology resident at Michigan State's Animal Cancer Care Clinic and a regular contributor to Wag Reflex.
rich on July 09, 2009 at 04:50 PM
Is there a 9 point scale for cats?
Also how do you exercise an indoor cat? Guess part of that is food availability, should dry food be available at all times. She only eats a little at a time but multiple times a day.
kentuckyliz on July 09, 2009 at 05:26 PM
My tomcat is fat, but he uses eating at the dish to dominate over the two queens. I don't even think he's hungry very much. If one of the queens starts eating the kibble, he butts in and takes over.
Yeah, common dish demand feeding isn't the best strategy, but my schedule and whereabouts are too incompatible to juggle individual diets in separate dishes and referee the kitties to make sure they only eat from their own dish on a feeding schedule.
He's just going to have to deal. He's a lovable idiot and I wish he weren't so stupid. He's just such a man. But he helps in team defense and these cats are surviving a long time because how they defend and protect each other. If he dies first, that might change the safety conditions for the whole pride.
Pabarge on July 09, 2009 at 06:39 PM
My dog has Cushings. What now?
Kim on July 10, 2009 at 12:05 AM
I had a 25 pound cat - huge! My vet had me change one thing and one thing only - wet food with the first ingredient as some form of "meat". Up until this time he had been eating solely dry food. Dexter has lost 2 pound over the course of many months (the weight loss is slow, but healthy).
Apparently, being carnivores, they are better able to metabolize/digest meat-based wet food. All my cats now look sleeker.
jimmyNashville on July 10, 2009 at 07:40 AM
It says a lot about a society where obesity is a sign of poverty and that so many people of us have the luxury to get stressed over out pet's weight.
Throw in rabid "Do something!" outrage on behalf of the perceived plight of other people we don't even know and it's a sure sign of society's impending doom.
jimmyNashville on July 10, 2009 at 07:41 AM
dang... should've proofed that...
Rich on July 10, 2009 at 11:00 AM
JimmyNashville:
my cat is probably just at the top end of #3 but she is only a couple of years old and is my daughter's. If there is something simple to do that would keep her healthy then fine but she is just a cat.
arthritis on September 10, 2009 at 06:47 AM
My pet is not fat but healthy but I am still thinking to reduce his weight....
camera bag on September 21, 2009 at 03:13 AM
Thanks doctor for the helpful post.your post clarify me different areas where i am wrong in concern of my pets health.Thank you again for the post.
How to Lose Weight Fast and Easy on November 19, 2009 at 05:55 AM
My dog tends to jump back and forth between 3 and 4 ("ideal" and "over weight"). It all depends on how much time I have to give him the exercise he deserves. Summers he's a lean boy, but during the winter he tends to put on some pounds.
joesen on December 14, 2010 at 09:33 PM
Body condition takes into consideration the padding/thickness of fat on your dog and our ability to palpate boney prominences, muscle mass, body contours and sometimes abdominal organs. Based on these parameters your pet will be given a body condition score based on a scale of 1-5 or 1-9, depending on which scale your veterinarian prefers.