Twelve million UK pets are being fed too many fatty treats, including takeaways, cheese, crisps and cakes, often on a daily basis, which is fuelling the UK pet obesity epidemic. That is the finding of the biggest national pet health report conducted by leading veterinary charity, PDSA.
What is even more concerning, according to the animal health and welfare charity, is that 50% of owners say they think treats make their pet happy with just 2% confessing to feeling any guilt about feeding naughty treats. And with just one cube of cheese given to a medium sized dog the equivalent of us eating four shortbread biscuits, half a margherita pizza, or one and a half burgers, PDSA is urging owners to give their companions’ diets a health MOT to prevent long-term, life-threatening illness for the nation’s pets.
In response to these worrying statistics, PDSA is launching its annual search to find the UK’s most overweight pets with the worst diets and help them slim down and get fit as part of its pet slimming competition, Pet Fit Club. People can enter at www.pdsa.org.uk/petfitclub.
Dogs, just over six million of them, are fed the greatest amount of junk food with 90% of dog owners admitting that cheese, toast, crisps, biscuits, takeaways, cakes and other fatty treats form part of their doggy’s diets. Cats have the second worst meal plans with 43% being given fatty treats (over five million). Rabbits have the least amount of junk foods (26%) but even so, this still equates to over 430,000 bunnies eating a diet that includes toast, biscuits, cake, cheese and crisps - a far cry from the hay, fresh greens and rabbit nuggets that they should consume.
The groundbreaking PDSA Animal Wellbeing (PAW) Report, the largest of its kind ever to assess and measure the health and welfare standards of dogs, cats and rabbits, was produced in conjunction with YouGov and involved 11,000 pet owners. The Report lifts the lid on all aspects of pet wellbeing, and when it comes to what our pets are eating, millions of pets are set to develop obesity related, life-threatening illnesses if their diets don’t improve.
29% of owners admit to feeding treats, often on a daily basis, which suggests pet waistlines are set to continue to expand. Dog obesity levels are now higher than human obesity figures. Data from the Department of Health show that a quarter of Brits are now overweight. But dog obesity is much higher and currently stands at around 35% (one-in-three), which is a rise of 14% over the past four years.