by Alexandra Bastedo at www.abcanimalsanctary.co.uk
An obese animal is potentially an unhealthy animal so if your pet is fat you would be well-advised to put it on a diet before any problems occur like heart, thyroid or diabetes.
The first thing to do is to take a good look at what you are feeding your pet. What is the meat content? Many commercial brands only contain 4 per cent of the meat advertised. The small print may list sugar (often called caramel), additives and colourants as well. Naturediet for dogs and Denes for cats and dogs do foods without sugar but strangely some of the better brands can still have sugar so you must look or start doing your own cooking. You can always add bulk with some oatbran or wheatgerm. Also do not overfeed. It is unlikely in the wild that your pet would be having two huge meals a day. Also the amount of carbohydrate it would have access to in the wild would be mainly- if not entirely= from the grain in the stomach of its prey.
Also remember exercise. Walk the dog more or make the cat go outside a bit more. Combined with the correct diet the animal should soon regain its normal size.
Alexandra Bastedo is the author of “The Healthy Cat and “The Healthy Dog” books which are recommended by vets. A few signed copies are available on www.abcanimalsanctuary.co.uk
Alexandra is the founder of the ABC Animal Sanctuary which has over 150 animals. If you would like to adopt one of these animals and to come and visit then please contact her through the website.
copyright A.L. Bastedo
