# Half Of All American Dogs And Cats Are Overweight **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 23, 2011, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390 "2011-02-23T22:22:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 6:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/21 "2011-02-24T18:10:39Z")
food is love. that is the attitude that applies to pets and children. a porky nation. ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/22 "2011-02-24T18:14:12Z")
> [@SeaDragonTattoo](#): > > Have you considered feeding a canned food diet? Cats are obligate carnivores, they really don’t process kibble (dry food) very well, and it invariably makes them fat unless they are a very fastidious self-regulator. At the shelter where I work, we have a “fat camp” room where the cats who live in that room get canned food only. They all lose weight, and when they get adopted we stress very strongly to the adopters that the cat should remain on canned food. Even the cheap stuff, that still has grains in it, does better than kibble. > Something else people don’t do, and that pet food manufacturers make difficult to do, is actually measure the amount of calories per cup or can of food and feed accordingly. A young active cat should consume anywhere from 250-350 kcal per day, depending on weight. Your veterinarian - if you push - can calculate what your cat or dog should be consuming daily. The tricky part is finding how many calories the food you’re feeding has in it. Many premium foods have the kcal per cup/can listed on the package, but it can be hard to discover on grocery store foods. The manufacturers website often has it if you dig around in there far enough. Interesting. I’ve never heard that dry food was fattening before. My vet gave me a measuring cup with a Sharpie mark where I should fill it up to. So that’s not the problem. > [@horsetech](#): > > - using treat-dispensing balls - also takes the food focus off of you somewhat, makes meal-time go slower, gives them something to do (you do have to be patient since it takes some cats longer than others to figure it out; go for one that has big holes and allows you to adjust the difficulty as the cat learns) I tried that once. Tikva completely ingnored them. You think it would work if I got another brand? > [@](#): > > - increasing general enrichment (think changing around locations of toys and scratching posts, playing with shoelaces/laser pointers/feather toys, cat grass, catnip, etc.) and exercise - a tired cat is a well-behaved cat, and exercise inhibits appetite I’ve been wondering about this- who has an adult that that plays for ten minutes? In my experiance cats will chase the string around a couple of times, then retreat under the furniture and wait for it to come by. So you’re standing there waving the cat wands, and the cat is maybe moving a paw or two. More excercise for the human than the cat. > [@](#): > > - finally, do not reward the behavior by feeding the cat early! when you do that, the cat is training you to give in to his commands Is it too late to start now? She has my whole family trained- if I ignore her for a while, they come over and ask me to for God’s sake go see what the cat wants so she’ll shut up and they can have some peace. I’ve started feeding her when I wake up instead of evenings, so she can’t pressure me into giving her food. But she still whines and yowls and howls for my attention anyway. Sigh, that cat. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 6:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/23 "2011-02-24T18:39:54Z")
I’m flabbergasted at the people who are saying that 15 pounds is an overweight cat. My cat is 22 pounds!!! So he’s probably downright obese… except my vet’s verdict is that he’s big boned. It wouldn’t hurt for him to slim down, but it’s been unsuccessful so far because I wasn’t the only one feeding him until recently. He has a way of making it seem like he’s dying from hunger even though I saw him gulp down his dish not five seconds before. I think the main thing is, he’s very unmotivated to exercise. It might be better to get him another cat to play with (and to groom him in those hard to reach places) but I’m scared I’ll end up with two fat cats to feed. ---
**Author:** ![Vihaga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b4bc9f/32.png) [@Vihaga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Vihaga)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/24 "2011-02-24T18:59:21Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > LOL > > I’ve never seen a dog that wasn’t food obsessed and I’ve never seen a dog that didn’t care about food. 😃 She was downright skinny when she was younger; now that she’s almost middle aged she’s not quite as thin, but she will still eat a couple of biscuits, then wander off, while the butterball Sheltie will gork down whatever he can get. ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/25 "2011-02-24T19:02:50Z")
That makes sence. We have two cats from the same litter (born 07/07/07!) one is thin, the other is fat. So I can personally say I agree with this assessment. I dunno what it is, but the big one will just GRAZE as long as there’s food left. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/26 "2011-02-24T19:21:41Z")
> [@Grapefruit](#): > > I’m flabbergasted at the people who are saying that 15 pounds is an overweight cat. My cat is 22 pounds!!! So he’s probably downright obese… except my vet’s verdict is that he’s big boned. It wouldn’t hurt for him to slim down, but it’s been unsuccessful so far because I wasn’t the only one feeding him until recently. He has a way of making it seem like he’s dying from hunger even though I saw him gulp down his dish not five seconds before. I think the main thing is, he’s very unmotivated to exercise. It might be better to get him another cat to play with (and to groom him in those hard to reach places) but I’m scared I’ll end up with two fat cats to feed. It varies a lot. Our cat is 7lbs. She’s neither over or under weight. She’s just a small cat. She eats only dry food, and has no interest in either canned food or human food. I do have some trouble picturing a 22 lb housecat that is not overweight, but if your vet says he’s OK, then he probably is. He must be huge. We used to have a cat that I thought was rather large and a bit chunky, and he was only 12 lbs. ---
**Author:** ![MissTake](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misstake/32/3189_2.png) [@MissTake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MissTake)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/27 "2011-02-24T19:35:34Z")
Lucy was perfect in weight when we brought her home - 8 lbs. She will not eat any table food or raw meat. Her foster human said she was not picky. Bull puckey. She will eat NutroMax canned, some Science Diet canned, and the extra gravy Fancy Feast. The only hard food she would eat is Royal Canin Selective 31 (for finicky cats). Then we brought home the terrors and gave them kitten food. Lucy _LOVES_ kitten food. She has gained 2 pounds in the 4 months or so the terrors have been here. The terrors, on the other hand, _loves_ Lucy’s food, despite it being harsh on their tummies. So Lucy is porking up and the kittens were dealing with rancid stomachs. A few weeks ago I switched them all to Solid Gold Katz n Flocken, but rather than putting specific mounts in each bowl, I just put 1/3 cup in each as they never stay at their own bowls. They also each get their own 3oz can of food in the morning. Lucy gets a can of adult, the terrors get 1/2 adult 1/2 kitten. They seem to stay away from Lucy’s bowl if it smells the same. Lucy has already slimmed down a tad, and the terrors’ fur has become so soft and shiny. They also aren’t as smelly. ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/28 "2011-02-24T20:21:54Z")
> [@Markxxx](#): > > LOL > > I’ve never seen a dog that wasn’t food obsessed and I’ve never seen a dog that didn’t care about food. 😃 > [@Vihaga](#): > > She was downright skinny when she was younger; now that she’s almost middle aged she’s not quite as thin, but she will still eat a couple of biscuits, then wander off, while the butterball Sheltie will gork down whatever he can get. Other than the names you’ve described my house! Kaia eats rarely. She always has food in her bowl because she will eat a bite or two and wander off. Mealtime for her is the topping off of her food because I never put more than one meals worth in the bowl. She is tiny and I can always feel her ribs. When it gets to the point that she hasn’t eaten in a couple of days I’ll mix some pumpkin into her food for a couple of days which entices her to eat a little more. Training Mojo to not eat out of her dish was my greatest accomplishment. I still can’t get him to leave food alone on my desk but her bowl is off limits. He will eat anything and everything not nailed down. The day we forgot to put the new bags of food into the closet until filled their food containers was… epic. I buy food in 40lb bags and I swear he ate a quarter of it and was groaning on the floor when I found him. He’s been consistently sliding up the scale - 1kg a year according to the vet. We’ve been more diligent with serving sizes since his last visit and my FIL has been away so the constant treat dispenser is turned off for now so I think he’s down to at least last years weight. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/29 "2011-02-24T20:37:55Z")
> [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > That makes sence. We have two cats from the same litter (born 07/07/07!) one is thin, the other is fat. I have two kitties from the same litter, too - one thin, one fat. Diego is thin, has boundless energy and doesn’t seem that interested in food. Serafina is plump and lazy, she obsesses over food. They both eat Royal Canin green pea and venison (Diego has stomach issues and requires special food, they both eat it). I put a measured serving in their 2 bowls twice a day. I tried doing a strict measurement, but it was difficult to feed them separately and Serafina is a huge pest about food. When she didn’t have food available all the time, she binged and then yacked it up. I figure she eats out of both bowls and Diego just doesn’t eat as much. I tried to give them the wet version of the food and Serafina REFUSED to eat it (went nearly 2 days without eating at all). Diego was totally on board with the wet food plan (he loved it) but the vet said if Sera wasn’t eating, I should switch back to the dry version. ---
**Author:** ![flatlined](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/eb9ed0/32.png) [@flatlined](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flatlined)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/30 "2011-02-25T03:26:37Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > Regardless of any purported nutritional changes due to cooking food, there is a good reason we cook raw meat - it has a tendency to harbor nasty pathogens like _Salmonella_, pathogenic strains of _E. coli_, _Campylobacter_, _Clostridium_, etc. [The same](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1140397/) is true of [commercial](http://www.wormsandgermsblog.com/2010/07/articles/animals/dogs/salmonella-recalls/) frozen pet food diets, which have the potential to make you and your pet sick. Just an FYI. (snips) You are probably right. I used to frequent some cat forums and the raw feeders said something about cats digestive tracts being so short that they can safely eat contaminated meat. I’ve never tried it myself, the worry about taurine was what put me off. > [@](#): > > _cough_ Yes, I am a vet student, and my pet and I are overweight. The cobbler’s children have no shoes. Looks at your user name. A vet student? Really? I would have never guessed 😃 Honestly, I’m glad you are researching food and diet. As was mentioned earlier, most vets don’t know much about that. My wonderful vet actually told me that the reason he recommended Science Diet (which I consider to be expensive crap) was because its what he learned in vet school many years ago. He also thought that cats got fat because they got canned food. When my old cat first got hyperthryoidism, which led to kidney failure and high blood pressure), I started looking at his diet. The improvements I saw by moving him off grocery store kibble and canned friskies to Wellness was incredible. While I thought that Innova had an awesome ingredient list, my cat wouldn’t eat it. My vet now recommends mostly canned food for all of his cat patients. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 3:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/31 "2011-02-25T03:38:25Z")
For the record, we’ve been feeding our dogs (all of whom are slender and healthy) a raw diet for years, and never had a problem (well, once a few years ago, when they got some regular dog food while we were out of town, one got diarrhea.) I haven’t bothered with the cat, because she turns her nose up at anything other than kitty kibble. ---
**Author:** ![horsetech](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/dec6dc/32.png) [@horsetech](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/horsetech)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/32 "2011-02-25T06:45:12Z")
Renee, I’m sorry if I came across as snippy. If your pets are healthy and you are aware of the risks, I am not going to argue or try to convert you. I just think it’s important for people to know the facts. There are a lot of misconceptions out there, and a lot of people get scary information from pet store employees, breeders, and other people who think that owning pets their whole lives makes them the next great nutrition expert. > [@Glory](#): > > I have two kitties from the same litter, too - one thin, one fat. Diego is thin, has boundless energy and doesn’t seem that interested in food. Serafina is plump and lazy, she obsesses over food. They both eat Royal Canin green pea and venison (Diego has stomach issues and requires special food, they both eat it). > > I put a measured serving in their 2 bowls twice a day. I tried doing a strict measurement, but it was difficult to feed them separately and Serafina is a huge pest about food. When she didn’t have food available all the time, she binged and then yacked it up. I figure she eats out of both bowls and Diego just doesn’t eat as much. > > I tried to give them the wet version of the food and Serafina REFUSED to eat it (went nearly 2 days without eating at all). Diego was totally on board with the wet food plan (he loved it) but the vet said if Sera wasn’t eating, I should switch back to the dry version. Forgive me if you’ve tried these already. What about giving Diego wet food and continuing the rationed dry food for Sera? You could also try feeding Diego on top of the dryer or somewhere high where Sera can’t jump, assuming she is more ground-bound than he is. > [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](#): > > I tried that once. Tikva completely ingnored them. You think it would work if I got another brand? It might; I have a low n for personal experience but both cats figured out how to eat their meals out of it. If she’s not hungry, she probably won’t be sufficiently motivated to work at figuring it out. The one I’ve used is called the Egg-Cersizer. It has three really big holes and is adjustable; if the holes are all the way open, the food practically pours out, but you can dial it down so they only get a couple kibble at a time. You can start by putting it next to or in her food bowl for a day or two, then taking the top off (it comes apart in halves) and feeding her meals out of the bottom for a few days, then putting it together and showing her how to use it. > [@](#): > > I’ve been wondering about this- who has an adult that that plays for ten minutes? In my experiance cats will chase the string around a couple of times, then retreat under the furniture and wait for it to come by. So you’re standing there waving the cat wands, and the cat is maybe moving a paw or two. More excercise for the human than the cat. True, playing requires that you motivate the cat, and some cats will be not be motivated for love or money, but cats iz weird and require experimentation to figure out what tweaks their prey drive. I was surprised once I found the exact game my cat likes. She didn’t respond to a laser pointer or anything but a plain linear (snake-like?) object with nothing on the end, but take a plain shoelace and you can get her moving faster than you’ve ever seen a fat cat waddle. With my ex-roomie’s cat, just having it out in the open didn’t help - he had to feel like he was ambushing it as it slinked behind the cat tree or around the corner. The other thing is that they do seem to be wired for short bouts of “hunting”, so multiple short (a couple minutes even) sessions throughout the evening when you’re home, plus maybe one or two in the morning before leaving, may work better than trying to get kitty to focus for very long. > [@](#): > > Is it too late to start now? She has my whole family trained- if I ignore her for a while, they come over and ask me to for God’s sake go see what the cat wants so she’ll shut up and they can have some peace. > I’ve started feeding her when I wake up instead of evenings, so she can’t pressure me into giving her food. But she still whines and yowls and howls for my attention anyway. Sigh, that cat. It’s never too late to train the cat; not sure about the family. 😛 Have you tried splitting her food up in to two or three smaller meals? What about environmental enrichment and personal attention - is it really hunger, or is she satisfied if you just pay attention to her? ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 3:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/33 "2011-02-25T15:46:19Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > Renee, I’m sorry if I came across as snippy. If your pets are healthy and you are aware of the risks, I am not going to argue or try to convert you. Oh, you didn’t, no worries. I wasn’t being defensive, I just personally think the scary salmonella thing is overblown for dogs. I worked as a vet tech for a year, and never saw a case of it, and my own dogs have never gotten it after 4 years of feeding raw meat. Have you seen many cases of salmonella poisoning? (Currently, we get all our meat from a local butcher who raises all his own animals, and it’s all free-range and grass fed. I feel it’s extremely safe, and I would be comfortable eating it raw myself were I so inclined. However, before we moved here we didn’t have access to anything but commercial meat, and that’s what they got. The stuff discounted for being too close to the sell by date, at that.) We’ve seen a huge improvement in our dogs after taking them off commercial pet food; they smell better, don’t shed as much, don’t poop much, and have better teeth. It would take a lot to convince me to go back to kibble. ---
**Author:** ![Renee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/renee/32/287_2.png) [@Renee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Renee)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/34 "2011-02-25T15:57:49Z")
Sorry to continue this hijack, but I did want to add one more thing. I feed the meat raw because I don’t see much point in taking the time to cook it. I don’t believe there is anything magical about raw meat, I just think commercial dog food is full of crap that I don’t want my dogs eating. ---
**Author:** ![Grapefruit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/73ab20/32.png) [@Grapefruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grapefruit)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/35 "2011-02-25T17:22:29Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > It varies a lot. Our cat is 7lbs. She’s neither over or under weight. She’s just a small cat. She eats only dry food, and has no interest in either canned food or human food. I do have some trouble picturing a 22 lb housecat that is not overweight, but if your vet says he’s OK, then he probably is. He must be huge. We used to have a cat that I thought was rather large and a bit chunky, and he was only 12 lbs. Well, he’s not exactly _underweight_, but my vet says he doesn’t need liposuction… yet. 😃 A while ago, a friend said her roommate had the fattest orange cat she’d ever seen, and that’s why they named him Garfield, but when I met him, turns out he’s all fluff. He looks big but when I pet him, I could feel his bones. My big orange cat, on the other hand, is all meat. No fluff forgiveness at all! My friend had to reevaluate what a “big cat” was after seeing mine. ETA: A lot of people here are suggesting wet/canned food rather than kibble, but I’ve always been told that kibble is better for their teeth and canned food will just rot their teeth eventually. Is that true? ---
**Author:** ![Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/malleus_incus_stapes/32/3293_2.png) [@Malleus\_Incus\_Stapes](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malleus_Incus_Stapes)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/36 "2011-02-25T20:59:54Z")
> [@horsetech](#): > > It’s never too late to train the cat; not sure about the family. 😛 Have you tried splitting her food up in to two or three smaller meals? What about environmental enrichment and personal attention - is it really hunger, or is she satisfied if you just pay attention to her? Probably attention (as my mother points out, when I’m not home she’s perfectly quite) but while she’s got me up there she figures she can get some food out of it, too. (She figured out how to get the lid off the plastic bin I keep her food in, with her nose. Which probably explains some of her chunkiness. I’ve started keeping heavy books on the top, which seems to work). ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/37 "2011-02-25T23:46:41Z")
> [@Grapefruit](#): > > ETA: A lot of people here are suggesting wet/canned food rather than kibble, but I’ve always been told that kibble is better for their teeth and canned food will just rot their teeth eventually. Is that true? It’s really not true. Dry food crumbles, and cats don’t “chew” it. They may bite a piece in half, but there’s no “scrubbing” action that could do any tooth cleaning. A prescription-only diet called t/d by Hill’s _does_ effectively keep teeth cleaner than regular kibble because of the way the pieces are structured (with the bits being extruded in a way that the kibble is adhered to itself in a linear structure that requires more biting to get it into smaller pieces, rather than regular kibble that’s put together more like a meatball with all the bits pushed together in every direction so it crumbles easily) the t/d is also much larger than regular kibble, making the cat have to bite into it to make the pieces small enough to swallow comfortably. If you really watch a cat eat regular kibble, they crunch it once and swallow - if that. You may hear an occasional crunch, but often they swallow it whole. I had a toothless cat who LOVED kibble. She had no trouble just swallowing the stuff after she had all her teeth extracted! So, unless you’re feeding an exclusive veterinarian-prescribed dental diet, most likely whatever canned or dry food you’re feeding will have the same effect on their teeth. There are some arguments that since canned food is lower in carbohydrates, there is less sugar-loving-plaque-causing bacteria in the mouth, and so the natural flora is less inclined to develop as much tartar. Even the t/d is no free pass, though, and they will still need dental cleanings, just not as often and only if it’s prescribed and fed exclusively after a thorough cleaning. Sometimes just smearing the enzymatic formula toothpaste onto pets’ teeth, without actually “brushing” them (which is nearly impossible most of the time), will do quite a bit of good, much more so than one food over another. ---
**Author:** ![SeaDragonTattoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/df705f/32.png) [@SeaDragonTattoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SeaDragonTattoo)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/38 "2011-02-25T23:53:10Z")
Also here is a [body condition chart for cats and dogs](http://vetmed.tamu.edu/services/nutrition/body-condition) from Texas A&M. ---
**Author:** ![Hanna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b3f665/32.png) [@Hanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hanna)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2011, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/39 "2011-02-26T00:37:59Z")
I have successfully put a cat on a diet. She lost weight and looks and feels (judging by her more playful behavior) much better. She’s lost about 5 lbs and it has taken over 2 years. What I did: 1. No more dry food. I feed grain -free Wellness canned. 2. Portion control. She gets about 2 oz. of dry food 2x a day. No free feeding! 3. I feed my three cats separately, in separate rooms with the doors closed. It has the added benefit of letting me know immediately when one of my cats isn’t eating. Once they got into the routine (took maybe 2 days), they go into their rooms as I dole out their plates of food. I buy small plates (saucers) at the thrift store for 25 cents to feed my cats. On SeaDragonTattoo’s chart, she was a 5 and now she’s thinner than a 4, but not quite as thin as a 3. My other two cats have never developed a weight problem, and now with the way I feed I’m confident they won’t. ---
**Author:** ![rhubarbarin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eb9ed0/32.png) [@rhubarbarin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rhubarbarin)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390/40 "2011-03-01T16:36:23Z")
> [@Renee](#): > > Sorry to continue this hijack, but I did want to add one more thing. I feed the meat raw because I don’t see much point in taking the time to cook it. I don’t believe there is anything magical about raw meat, I just think commercial dog food is full of crap that I don’t want my dogs eating. I do think feeding totally raw animals to carnivores is quite important. These days, every zoo and conservation society who cares for carnivores has come around to that viewpoint as well… after centuries of difficulty with the fat, diabetic, heart-diseased, often infertile animals raised and maintained on cooked/supplemented and processed diets. One particularly important thing, if you have cats, is that cooking meat destroys most of the taurine in it, and they will get very ill and even die without adequate amounts. Commercial foods are supplemented after cooking. Feeding a cat a home made diet with all the meat well-cooked could lead to serious problems (well-demonstrated in _Pottenger’s Cats_). Cooking also degrades certain amino acids and naturally occurring enzymes. We don’t fully understand which of these is important for the health of carnivores, but cooking flesh/bones/organs certainly changes them from the raw carcasses dogs and cats are still optimally designed to digest. Also for a true ‘raw diet’ bones are included (satisfying dogs and cats high needs for calcium and phosphorus) and cooked bones are brittle, prone to shattering into shards that can cause injury to the mouth and digestive tract. I feed raw bones every day and haven’t had a problem in 5 years. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/half-of-all-american-dogs-and-cats-are-overweight/572390.md?page=1)