Health Tip: Is Your Pet a Healthy Weight?
Other news for:|
| ||Resources from
(HealthDay News) -- While we all love rewarding our pets with treats and occasional table scraps, it may not be a good idea if your dog or cat is overweight.
A pet that is 20 percent over ideal body weight is considered obese, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration says. Just as with people, a pet's metabolism can slow as the dog or cat ages, so you may need to adjust your pet's diet accordingly.
The FDA says you can determine if your pet is overweight by:
- Looking at the animal from above to determine if the pet has a definite waist. If you see a waist, the pet probably is not overweight.
- Running your hands along the animal's side to determine if you can easily feel the ribs. Or do you have to push hard to feel them?
- Seeing if the animal has a "tucked" abdomen, or a sagging stomach? Ideally, you don't want to easily grab a handful of fat on the stomach.
Copyright © 2018 . All rights reserved.
Resources from HONselect:
HONselect is the HON's medical search engine.
It retrieves scientific articles, images, conferences and web sites on the
The list of medical terms above are retrieved automatically from the article.
The text presented on this page is not a substitute for professional
medical advice. It is for your information only and may not represent your true
individual medical situation. Do not hesitate to consult your healthcare provider
if you have any questions or concerns. Do not use this information to diagnose or
treat a health problem or disease without consulting a qualified healthcare professional.
Be advised that HealthDay articles are derived from various sources
and may not reflect your own country regulations.
The Health On the Net Foundation does not endorse opinions,
products, or services that may appear in HealthDay articles.