According to veterinary surveys, more than half of our pooches and kitties are overweight. That puts them at higher risks for arthritis, diabetes, kidney and heart disease, high blood pressure and cancer.
So, what’s the best way to begin slimming down? Calculate your pet’s optimum caloric intake. If you don’t know how many calories your pet needs, how do you know how much to feed them? Do you read the bag for clues? Don’t trust it! Those feeding guidelines are typically for active, adult, unaltered pets. Here’s an easy formula to calculate your pet’s daily caloric needs. Don’t worry…it’s not calculus! Scales and calculators ready…
Now that you have that magic figure, you can better gauge your pet’s food intake. If Fifi or Fido is already a little overweight, use the weight they SHOULD BE to calculate their calories. In other words, my 16-pound cat should be 13 pounds. I’ll use that figure to calculate her daily calories.
Here are links to wet & dry dog & cat food calories provided by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention —
Dry Dog Food
Dry Cat Food
Wet Dog Food
Wet Cat Food
Using your new calculations, you can now feed your pets properly. It’s important to measure out each meal so that if you’re feeding twice per day, split up the meals evenly to reach your calorie count for the day. Free-feeding and grazing only makes your pet fat! Take the extra step to keep her healthy and slim for a long life.
BONUS: Think how much you’ll be saving when food is properly measured out for each meal.
Stay tuned for an upcoming post that talks about all the HEALTHY foods you can add to your pet’s bowl…