Pet obesity is a real problem and the team at El Gato Veterinary Hospital wants to make sure your pet’s weight never starts affecting their health. Dr. Bibb and the entire team believe in wellness plans for your pets from their early days and throughout their entire life. In fact, we even have our own pudgy pet program!

We are offering a program to help your pet’s weight. The food included in this program is the Hill’s Metabolic Diet, which is available for dogs and cats in dry, wet and treats. Your appointment time, with a technician, includes taking your pet’s measurements, pictures and making a customized diet plan for your pet. The program includes weight checks every 2 weeks. With the program, we would like your pet to come in for a technician appointment every 6 weeks for re-assessment of diet plan, measurements, and pictures. At the end of the program, we recommend a physical exam and appointment time with the doctor.

According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, 53% of adult dogs and 55% of cats in the US are obese or overweight. 22% of dog owners and 15% of cat owners said their pet’s weight was normal when it was actually overweight or obese.

It’s important to work with your veterinarian on a diet plan for your pet, as well as an exercise plan to keep them happy and healthy. If your pet is overweight or obese, it can cause arthritis, diabetes, high blood pressure, kidney disease, certain cancers, heart and respiratory disease, and other problems.

We check your pet’s weight every single time they come into our office to make sure they are not heading down the wrong path towards obesity. Let’s work together to get your pets eating the right food, with the correct amounts, and be sure to manage their overall intake together.

Pet obesity is not just a cat and dog problem, it’s the number one health problem in pet birds. Most birds have food available all the time, so they don’t have to work for their dinner.

If you have any questions about pet obesity, please be sure to contact us immediately.