Keeping Our Pets Happy And Healthy

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• The Obesity Epidemic Is Affecting Our Pets, Too

  Just like in the human population, there are serious concerns about obesity in our pets. But as pet owners, it can be hard to know which food to choose, and how much to feed our companions.

  Dr. Sandi Sawchuk is a professor of veterinary medicine at the UW-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine. She says that there is a positive new development for pet owners who want to have a much better idea of what their pets are eating. Pet food manufacturers are now required to provide useable nutrition information on the label. For food, it will be in measurements like a cup or a portion of one, and for treats, it will be by number of pieces. Currently, while there is information provided, it is often in terms of kilocalories per kilogram of food, which is not very easy to interpret.

  Sawchuk cautions that just because the information will be more readily available doesn’t mean that the pet obesity problem will quickly be resolved. She points out that “it’s been required for a long time to put the calorie content on human food and that has not changed our level of obesity.” You have to read the label, but also know what the right caloric intake is for your particular pet, based on age, activity level, and other factors. Sawchuk recommends having your veterinarian calculate the right amount for your pet.

  According to the Pet Obesity Prevention web site, which Sawchuk says she consults daily, 58.3% of pet cats in the U.S. are obese, and the same is true for 52.2% of our pet dogs. Sawchuk cautions that even with a medically determined calorie plan, cats in particular can be difficult. She shares that two feline diets with the same total calories can have very different effects on a cat depending on the proportions of nutrients and ingredients. For instance, some cats will start losing weight on a high protein, low fat, low carbohydrate diet, also called the “Catkins” diet, even if the calorie count is the same. This is because it affects their metabolism in a different way.

  In balancing actual pet food and treats, Sawchuk says that at least 90 percent of a pet’s diet should come from a well-balanced pet food. But some of the treats that are available do have functional uses as well. She mentions Greenies Dental Treats as being approved by the Veterinary Oral Health Council for cleaning tartar and plaque off of the teeth.

  Some foods that are thought of treats probably shouldn’t be. Canned tuna, for example, has been linked to a rate of oral squamous cell carcinoma five times higher than in the general feline population. Sawchuk says that “if you’d asked me just a couple of weeks ago about canned human tuna, I would have probably said ‘a flake or two now and then, not a big deal.’” Any concern would have been a lack of balance as a complete food, not as a treat. But now research is showing the link with this serious type oral cancer. The connection is not clear, although it could be mercury or other chemicals in the fish that the cats are observing. To be safe, Sawchuk recommends not giving tuna to your cats, and perhaps even avoiding tuna flavored food mixes.

  Sawchuk reiterates that it’s important to take obesity seriously with our pets, because it can really affect their health. “Just like in humans it’s linked to so many things: diabetes, joint disease, even living less, 15 percent less.”