Giving your pet the right balanced diet is one of the most important ways to ensure that it stays healthy.
Pet diet recommendations will depend on a variety of factors, such as:
- Species/breed
- Age of your pet
- Lifestyle
- Your pet’s health
- Weight of your pet and whether it needs support to gain/lose weight
- Whether it has vitamin/mineral deficiencies
When you register your pet with your vet, or take your pet in for his/her first health check, the vet will discuss its diet with you. They should give you any pet diet advice that you need.
Pet Obesity
More than 60% of vets say that obesity is the biggest health and welfare concern for UK pets. This is supported by figures released by the British Veterinary Association.
What will happen if my pet is obese?
Pet obesity can lead to life-long and life-threatening illnesses such as heart disease, breathing problems, diabetes and arthritis.
Just like humans, your pet’s weight management can have a huge impact on its health and wellbeing.
Causes of pet obesity
There are a number of contributory factors in pet obesity, including:
- Not following/understanding pet food feeding guidelines
- Feeding pets human food, which has a much higher calorific content than its pet equivalent
- Providing too many treats and snacks
- Lack of exercise
How do I know if my pet is overweight?
We do both visual and physical checks with your pet to establish whether it is overweight. Sometimes, it is not always obvious.