Have you ever stopped to consider how many treats, snacks and extra calories you give to your Pet? We all know that overweight and obesity are increasing in humans, and the same is true for our Pet cats and dogs. We should be worried because obesity has serious health risks and can shorten lives. There are many reasons why our Pets are overweight; some are associated with similar changes in our own sedentary lives. What might shock you is how many calories are in all those little tidbits we give each day. For some, we seem to forget that these are calories too – and they are not insignificant!
I recently did some calculations that you might find surprising, but help put things into perspective and give you pause for thought before you drop that next piece of leftovers into your Pet’s mouth. Take the typical 10 lb cat. If you gave her just 1 ounce of cheese, that represents a whopping 50% of the calories that she needs every day! The slice of deli ham that she appears to crave so much represents 20% of the calories she needs. How about your dog? For a typical 20 lb dog, 1 hot dog is 22% of the calories he needs, and that spoon of peanut butter you might use to help “the medicines go down “is 14% of the calories! The 8 oz. bag of potato chips… forget it. One bag provides 186% of the calories! So with just a few examples you can see just how easy those small things we give each day add up to lots of unnecessary calories.
How about some solutions? Always remember that you can treat your Pet, but it does not have to be food. New toys, hugs, pats and grooming are all treats that make them feel special too. Keep the additional calories in treats and snacks to less than 10% of the calories per day, and always investigate and find the lowest calories you can.
