Is my pet overfed or underfed? How common is this issue?

Sadly, overweight pets are so common that those actually at a healthy body weight may appear too thin to many people. As a general rule of thumb, a dog or cat’s ribs should be easy to feel under a *thin* fat covering, but should not be visible or difficult to feel. Additionally, a dog or cat should have a visible “waistline” with a tuck up in their abdomen. Your veterinarian can assess the body condition scores of to provide a more objective measurement of your pet’s weight, but tools like the [PetCoach Healthy Pet Weight Calculator](https://www.petcoach.co/healthy-weight-calculator/) can also help to guide pet owners at home. Maintaining a healthy weight is crucial to a pet’s health, as obesity can lead to an increased risk of developing heart disease, diabetes and a number of other health conditions.

Hi Stella! I would be glad to answer your questions :-) Pets can be obese for a couple of reasons. One reason can be free-feeding, but it also be due to a lack of exercise, and feeding your pet lots of human food and treats. It's not recommended to feed your pet human food unless for a specific medical reason (i.e. boiled white meat chicken with no bones for GI upset) because it adds extra calories to their diet which they don't need. Also, many human foods are toxic to dogs and cats. It's not recommended to free fed dogs, they should get two meals a day. As for cats, cats tend to be grazers, some people do leave food out all day for them to eat their leisure. This is fine to do with cats who are a healthy weight, and you can switch to scheduled feeding if they are obese. It is true free feeding can lead to obesity, but you can manage this with cats by not leaving a huge amount of food out all the time. You can measure out their daily amount, and they can eat at their leisure. I think the direction of pet feeder technology is amazing, especially now that there are bowls that dispense not only dry food, but wet food and medication. The only problem I see with dispensing medication is that there's no guarantee the animal will take it. I think automatic feeders can be great for cats when the owner is away because they are more independent, but I think dogs should be fed by people since they have to be taken out for a walk anyway. Dogs need more attention than cats typically do, especially when owners are away.

Hi and thank you for using PetCoach! It is great that you are a pro now at giving your cat fluids! It is no easy task sometimes. You ask a great question but I do not believe there is data out there on how many owners give their dogs and cats fluids. However, there is definitely data out there on the efficacy on owner's perspective of giving subcutaneous fluids to cats and dogs. This link should take you to one study that may be helpful for you: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28948902 If you have a moment, we would greatly appreciate if you could mark this question as helpful or not helpful. This will allow us to improve our answers and efficiency for our owners and their pets!

This is such a tough situation, and unfortunately, not uncommon. How to intervene depends on how well you know the neighbor and how much you want to get involved. If you want to help, one option would be to arrange individual servings in ziploc bags or Tupperware labeled with the day and time - for example "Monday Dinner". Sometimes this can help folks with memory impairments remember what they should be feeding. If you are extremely concerned, you can contact your local authorities, but sadly, in a situation like this, often there is not much any government animal welfare group has the power to do until it gets worse.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Lucy. The side of bag offer basic feeding recommendations that try to account for the cats with the highest metabolism in that age bracket. Each food differs in calories per cup so it is difficult to make an accurate recommendation for her without this information. As far as assessing her weight, she needs only a thin covering over her ribs. You should be able to feel them through her skin. She should have a defined waist from the top and side views. I hope this information helps!

No. If the dogs are at a good weight and body condition score, you are feeding them the appropriate amount of calories. When pets become overweight or underweight, that is a sign that something needs to change. Please feel free to post any additional questions.

Bernie is very cute! From the photos he looks pretty normal but it is difficult to tell if a furry dog is a good weight or not without being able to put your hands on the pet. Run your fingers over Bernie’s rib cage. They should feel like the back of your own hand. If they feel more like the palm of your hand, he is probably carrying a little too much weight. If they feel more like running your fingers over your knuckles then he is likely too thin. Every pet has a different metabolism and all foods have different calorie content. When in doubt if his weight is good or not, have him checked out by his veterinarian. Congratulations on adding him to your family! I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.