Living in a college town such as ours, you’ve probably heard of the “freshman fifteen” — the 15-pound weight gain experienced by many first-year college students.
Perhaps you’ve also heard of the “Covid 19” — a new term for the pandemic weight gain that many of us have been battling.
Our pets’ health often mirrors our own — has that weight gain affected more than just the humans in your household?
The way that dogs and cats gain weight is similar to people. It’s the old “calories-in-calories-out” adage.
If animals take in more calories than they burn, they will gain weight. If they are burning more calories than they are taking in, they will lose weight.
Of course, many factors affect this, including inherent metabolic rate, thyroid conditions, medications, age, and reproductive status, among others.
Dogs and cats (and other pets) come in all shapes and sizes, even among the same breed. For this reason, veterinarians don’t use weight in pounds to determine whether your pet is overweight.
To figure out whether your dog or cat is at the ideal weight, I employ the 9-point Body Condition Score (BCS) scale, where 1 is emaciated, and 9 is morbidly obese.
You can find excellent illustrations of this scale online — my favorite is the Purina chart as seen here: https://www.purinaproplanvets.com/media/1209/body_condition_chart.pdf.
In my exam rooms, I’ll often notice that two pets from the same household are of wildly different body condition scores.
“But I’m feeding the exact same thing!” the owner might tell me.
This difference may be explained by inherent metabolic status — we all have that friend who can eat anything she wants and never gain a pound of weight. But it may also belie a medical condition that is affecting the metabolic needs of one or both pets.
We commonly see hypothyroidism in dogs, which is an under-active thyroid gland. This can lead to weight gain (often despite a lower appetite), low energy level, and a poor hair coat.
Cats experience the opposite problem: hyperthyroidism — an over-active thyroid gland, which leads to weight loss, muscle loss, restlessness, gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting, and even cardiac abnormalities.
Both of these hormonal conditions will affect weight and metabolic rate.
Age can also affect metabolic needs — a growing pup needs a surprising amount of food to keep up with their rapid growth in the first year. A sedentary senior dog may need quite a lot less to maintain the same weight.
Reproductive status — whether Fluffy is spayed, neutered, or still intact — will also affect how many calories are being used by the body in normal daily activities.
Some medications will cause weight loss or gain. For example, steroids (used for skin disease, immune disorders, and cancers) will often lead to increased appetite and weight gain.
Like us, dogs, cats, and other pets all need cardiovascular exercise to stay trim and healthy. Their caloric needs will vary depending on whether they are sedentary, active, or — like my 2-year-old Australian shepherd — hyperactive to the point of levitation and energy sublimation.
So how much should you feed your pet? The answer depends on all of the factors above, in addition to the type of food you are feeding.
Not all foods are created equal. Many diets, especially kibble, are calorie-dense and pack more punch for the paunch.
To determine the appropriate amount of kibble and wet food to feed, you’ll need to look closely at your pet food bag/cans and calculate the exact number of Kcal (calories) that you are currently feeding. Don’t forget to include treats and table scraps, if given.
It all adds up surprisingly quickly.
Then you will need to determine how many calories your pet should be taking in. The official equation for determining caloric needs is based on resting energy rate, multiplying health factors, and requires a scientific calculator, so I often turn to the more user-friendly nutrition calculators found online.
For dogs, visit: https://petnutritionalliance.org/dog.php.
For cats, visit: https://petnutritionalliance.org/cat.php.
If you do the math and discover that you are overfeeding your pet, make a plan to reduce calories and increase exercise.
Implement the plan slowly — especially with cats; we don’t ever want to induce rapid/extreme weight loss, as this can lead to liver issues.
Work with your vet to develop a safe and effective plan to keep Fluffy at her fittest. She’ll thank you by living a longer, and healthier, life.
Dr. Hilary Quinn is a small animal veterinarian in Santa Barbara. She owns and operates Wilder Animal Hospital, and shares her own home with three humans (her husband and two kids) as well as two rowdy dogs, a very calm kitty, two fish, and six chickens. Contact her at news@noozhawk.com.