Obesity in the Feline Patient

Dr. Kari Mundschenk

Just For Cats Veterinary Hospital

True obesity in the feline patient occurs in roughly 25% of cats seen in practice today.  If we account for the primary age in which obesity occurs, the 5-11 year old cat, that number rises to 40-50% of all cases.  As in humans obesity can contribute to or increase a cat's risk of many diseases including cardiac/respiratory issues, musculoskeletal, lower urinary tract disease, anesthetic complications, skin conditions, impaired immune system and endocrine disorders.

The current thought on obesity believes that the number of obese patients has increased as we have brought our kitties indoors vs. outdoors.  Arguably, in many waays, this has increased longevity due to a decreased risk of trauma and other activities.  On the flip side, however, we are taking away the kitty's inherent eating behavior.  Rather than eating 8-10 small meals which they need to hunt down, today's kitties are essentially fed a buffet which requires no work to obtain.  In addition to the meal changes, exercise is not needed to eat so activity levels, in most cats, has also decreased.  Also, just as in humans, boredom plays a big role as kitties are often left alone for many hours at a time.  In addition to becoming indoors, there is also the push for neutering.  In multiple studies, it is shown that the daily energy requirement decreases by 25-30% within a couple of months of surgery.  Finally, a final cause of obesity in today's cat is the lack of awareness most owners have of how little food it actually takes to maintain a 10-15 pound kitty.  As with people, food is often linked to good feelings in the owners and the closeness they feel in response to their pet when feeding or giving treats. 

Does this mean we should turn out our cats, not neuter them and quit giving them food?  Certainly NOT!  It does mean that we need to make a few adjustments to prevent the problem in the first place.

As discussed last month, cats have evolved with a few unique dietary requirements, the primary one being their inability to utilize carbohydrates.  As obligate carnivores, they have a smaller stomach and shorter intestinal tract relative to their body size when compared to omnivores or herbivores.  Cats lack the enzyme glucokinase and have a lack of salivary and decreased amount of amylase, the enzyme required to break down ingested carbohydrates.  Cats get most of their energy from protein and fat.  They derive very little from carbohydrates and when fed in excess, body fat increases and in addition, many cats develop bloating, diarrhea and flatulence.

It is easier to prevent obesity than to treat it.  The prevalence of obesity increases after 2 years of age, plateaus until about 12 years and then declines thereafter.  At our hospital, we monitor not only weight, but also body condition score (on a scale of 5, with 3-3.5 being ideal).  Additionally, we also track percentage of weight gained (or lost).

It would seem that to lose weight or prevent weight gain, one would simply need to decrease the amount fed of a normal diet.  This could be deleterious due to a nutritional imbalance.  Most normal diets are too high in fat (makes them palatable), fat is an easy source of energy in manufacturing, there is less thermic energy (energy spent on digesting and absorbing food) formed in the digestion of fat, digestibility is inversely proportional to the amount fed and all nutrients are decreased when you feed less of a balanced diet.

In order to be successful with any weight loss program, 3 components must be in place:  diet, exercise and recheck visits.  At our hospital, we have clients fill out a dietary questionnaire or we will ask the questions in the exam room.  In the questionnaire, we will determine the food, quantity, feeding protocol, medications and other factors which may influence our recommendations.  We will then calculate out your cat's daily requirements based on its IDEAL weight.  We will then address the exercise issue.  This may be difficult because getting a cat to move can be a problem in itself.  Accessing Dr. Buffington's indoor cat initiative website can provide many ideas.  Additionally, we deal with many owners and gain ideas from them also.  Finally, recheck visits are necessary to monitor weight loss, address difficulties and make adjustments.  Initially, visits every 2 weeks are necessary and as weight loss becomes consistent, every 4-6 weeks.  As we approach the final goal, we will again make adjustments in the feeding protocol and will need to see your kitty every 2 weeks.  We ask owners to keep a food journal in order to monitor progress.

In the end, it is found that the success of weight loss comes back to the owner of the kitty.  Most of our complicated cases usually have 2 or more of the following factors:

We understand.  To that end, when deciding about a weight loss program, we will try our best to work with your household.  We are after the best medical outcome for your kitty.  With that in mind, we leave you with 2 questions to ponder:
 

               1. How sure are you that your cat will benefit from losing weight?
               2. How confident are you that you'll be able to stick with our recommendations in a weight loss program?

Your kitty's health depends on you.  Let's work together to create the best outcome for your pet.