Cats and Bladder Stones (The Feniska Base) Guest Post

 FROM CAT AND DOG CHAT WITH CAREN: As many of you know about a year and a half ago or so our Roary had bladder stone surgery.    Thankfully,  at this time, all is well. When I was contacted by Andrej from Feniska asking if I would feature their Kickstarter campaign for their new product, which will benefit cats by monitoring their toilet visits, I agreed to. Because it hit so close to home I  told him I did not need to receive payment for this guest post. Please read this important information. Thank you!

From Worrying Sick for Her Own Cat to Vowing to Never Let Another Cat Go Through the Same Experience as Her Django

For many of us, our cats are more than just pets—they’re family. That’s why it’s so heartbreaking when they suffer in silence, hiding their pain like the secretive little furballs they are. This is exactly what happened to Sonita, co-founder of Feniska, and her beloved cat Django.

Django

Django developed bladder stones, a painful condition that went undetected until it was almost too late. Like many cats, he didn’t show any obvious signs until the condition had become severe. Watching him suffer, Sonita felt helpless and heartbroken. It was a life-changing moment that led her to vow: that no other cat parent should have to go through the same experience.

Sonita and Django

Determined to find a way to monitor cats’ health more effectively, Sonita created the Feniska Base. This smart device keeps track of your cat’s toilet visits and weight, warning early about potential health issues. It’s designed to be a simple but powerful tool for cat parents who want to stay one step ahead of any problems their cats might face.

Sonita building prototype

Why the Feniska Base Is a Lifesaver

We all know how sneaky our little furballs can be. They can hide in the tiniest places, and unfortunately, they’re just as good at hiding their health problems. That’s where the Feniska Base comes in. If your kitty is making more trips to the litter box than usual or losing weight, the Feniska Base will alert you via your smartphone. It’s like having a mini vet at home!

This tracker isn’t just about convenience; it’s about peace of mind. Protecting our babies and saving expensive vet treatment costs. For Sonita, it means that Django’s suffering wasn’t in vain. It means she’s helping other cat parents avoid the same heartache she felt. And for all the cat parents out there, it’s a way to keep your fur babies healthy—because we know they deserve nothing less!

Django sitting on prototype

Join Us on Our Mission

We’re thrilled to launch the Feniska Base on Kickstarter this November! Be the first to receive an exclusive discount, plus additional savings for reserving the Feniska Base early. It’s our way of saying thank you for helping us keep more cats safe and sound. Whether you’re a cat mom, dad, or admirer of our furry friends, we’d love for you to join our campaign. Let’s join paws to make sure no cat has to suffer in silence. Together, we can create a world where every purr and every playful leap is a sign of a happy, healthy kitty.

 

Click here to secure your discount: https://feniska.com/pages/feniska-kickstarter-prelaunch

We Missed World Veterinary Day 2020!!!

Cody and I are appalled that we missed World Veterinary Day (which we didn't find out until now, falls on the LAST SATURDAY IN APRIL).

While we are grateful for ALL that Veterinarians and their staffs do, this year probably more than ANY YEAR we are extremely grateful for all that our Veterinary practice (DePorre Veterinary Hospital) is doing to help keep our pets safe and healthy while we remain on Corona Virus lockdown.

From "virtual text chats", through the Anipanion app ("telemedicine"), to curbside appointments, to still handling phone calls and questions with caring, professionalism and love. WE ARE GRATEFUL FOR ALL they are doing to keep our pets healthy while utilizing SAFE actions to do so.

FROM AVMA.ORG: The theme of World Veterinary Day 2020, which falls on April 25, is “Environmental protection for improving animal and human health.”

The WVA created World Veterinary Day in 2000 as an annual celebration of the veterinary profession, taking place on the last Saturday of April. Starting last year, the WVA has partnered with Health for Animals, the global animal medicines association, on the World Veterinary Day Award, which honors one WVA member’s activities related to the theme.

Details about World Veterinary Day and the World Veterinary Day Award are available at the World Veterinary Association website.

This Kitty Cat Loves his Scruffy Paws Nutrition Daily Multi Health Bites! #sponsored

Scruffy Paws Nutrition  has sponsored this post, but all opinions are my own.

Hi my furiends!! It's Cody and I would like to take this time to tell you about a really cool product that my new furiends at Scruffy Paws Nutrition suggested that I try. 

Meet the Daily Multi Health bites multivitamins that are "designed to keep cats of ALL AGES in peak condition!"

"These tasty bites contains over 20 balanced nutrients you can't find in most supplements and foods."

Photo taken from the Scruffy Paws Nutrition website
if you can't read the bag
you can check out the nutritional information here

Mom has often wondered if I am getting the sufficient amount of nutrients from my food, especially since I am a senior kitty. She didn't quite know where to turn for something that would supplement my diet, so when the people from Scruffy Paws Nutrition contacted her, she decided to give these a go.

Now, I will tell you I haven't been taking these long enough to see if they are making a difference, but I was quite intrigued when Mom opened up the package.

Mom says they are a little bit "stinky" when you open the package ( more often than not that is the case with vitamins, vitamins for humans are oftentimes stinky too!). Some kitties might be a little put off by that but I certainly wasn't! Mom is also happy that she is giving me a supplement that is GOOD FOR ME! I LOVED the taste and I LOVED the cute fish shape:

I gobbled my vitamin right up with NO PROBLEM!!! (be sure to ONLY GIVE ONE SUPPLEMENT DAILY! THESE ARE NOT TREATS!!)

In the unlikely event YOUR kitty (or kitties) is put off by the vitamin smell, the people at Scruffy Paws Nutrition shared some handy tips on how to administer the vitamins:

• Present the chew in a pill pocket or a gel cap, then administer to your cat
• Cut up/Crumble the chew, and mix into your cats wet/dry food
• Put the chew into any kind of soft treat, or inside a piece of tuna or chicken
• Mix and dilute the chew in water, then mix the water into your cats wet or dry food

The Daily Multi Health Bites are the first in class Health Bite chews that are designed to fill the 'Nutritional Gap' found in the modern, overly-processed feline diet. Whether your cat eats wet or dry, the Scruffy Paws Daily Multi Health Bites will support your kittys health and vitalize his or her body!

The Scruffy Paws Story meowed STRAIGHT from their mouth!

"When we began on this journey, we were just a group of down-to-earth cat lovers fed up with the lack of healthy, nutritional supplements for our feline friends. Now we’re feline-feeding superheros, making the nine lives of your cat better by the day. (Or something like that...)Not so long ago, we spent our days scouring pet store shelves. Pale and exhausted, we read labels, over and over, looking for products that had both the nutrients we needed to address our cat’s ailments and an explanation about WHY they work."

Their Values:

Each of their supplements is formulated by either leading veterinarians, holistic experts, feline nutritionists or world leading PhD’s .

(They have supplements for kidneys, "hip 'n joint" and UT Wellness.

As well as some other cool stuff too!)

Using their teams wealth of experience alongside the latest scientific research, they carefully select each individual active ingredient.

 You can read more about them here!

Now for Some Fun!!

Are these people the BEST or WHAT?

They make great products, they understand the needs of kitties (especially senior kitties like ME!)

 and I can tell they GENUINELY LOVE KITTIES!

THEIR PRODUCTS ARE DELIVERED

RIGHT TO YOUR DOOR!

 Can't beat that! I am so certain you will be happy with their products

 that my new furiends have provided a special discount code just for MY readers!

The 10% off discount code is CATCHAT10

and it will be active for 30 DAYS!!

Head on over to the Scruffy Paws Nutrition website and give them a try!

 You can also like Scruffy Paws Nutrition on Facebook

 and Follow Scruffy Paws Nutrition  on Instagram ! 

if you want to, tell them that your pal Cody sent you!!! Here's to continued good health my furiends!

Love, Cody

Microbiome and Its Relationship to Pet Health:Written by: Dr. Ryan Honaker, Director of Microbiology at NomNomNow

This is a sponsored post written by Dr.Ryan Honaker, Director of Microbiology at NomNomNow

In our world, there are life forms so small that we can’t see them with our naked eyes. We need a microscope to see them. These miniscule beings are called microorganisms and include things like bacteria, viruses and fungi. They live everywhere -- from lakes to soil to animals -- in massive communities made up of billions or trillions of individuals.

Though some microbes are best known for their ability to make us sick -- for example, bacteria such as Streptococcus pneumonia can cause human pneumonia -- most of them are important for survival. The collection of such beneficial microorganisms within a specific habitat, whether that be your pet’s skin or the soil in your garden, is known as the “microbiota.”

Each member of the microbiota has its own instruction manual for making and maintaining life, called genes. Just as in us humans, this manual is comprised of genes that provide the code to dictate how microbes survive. Within the microbiota teeming in a specific environment, these genes are called the microbiome. The assemblage of genes in a microbiome is vast. In our gut, for instance, it outnumbers the number of human genes [1].

Scientists “read” these microbial genes like a book with sequencing techniques to identify the community in a given habitat. This helps us puzzle together what various types of microbes contribute to their environment, such as their roles in keeping us and our pets healthy.

Microbiomes have a wide impact on health

Microbes living in and on our pets can affect health in a variety of ways. In the gut, for example, bacteria assist with digestion [3]. Skin microbes may be important for preventing allergies [4]. Others, however, can make your pet sick or, in the case of bacteria living in their mouths, may affect the development of periodontal disease [5,6].

Although microbes with these extreme effects exist, most microbes are somewhere in between: some of them are slightly beneficial, some of them have no effect at all, and others are partially detrimental but not bad enough to make your pet sick.

This gets even more complicated when we think about how microbes affect each other and how their interactions may change the outcome with respect to health. For example, microbe X may help with food digestion only if microbe Y is absent. If microbe Y colonizes the gut, however, microbe X produces a toxin to kill microbe Y. The toxin may inadvertently cause inflammation of your pet’s intestinal walls -- an unpleasant side-effect of a microbial fight.

The gut microbiome’s relationship to overall health

Animal guts in particular are one place brimming with microorganisms. All animals -- including us, wild animals, domesticated livestock and our pets -- support an incredible number of intestinal microbes. In fact, current estimates suggest that the number of microbial cells in your gut is approximately equal to the number of human cells in your body [2].

Without these digestive tract-inhabiting microbes, our pets would be unable to digest all of their food. Researchers have also uncovered links to the gut microbiome that extend far beyond the gut. Your pet’s ability to fight infections, for instance, likely depends on a healthy microbiota facilitating how their immune system develops. Studies suggest that gut microbes may also send signals to the brain.

Conditions that affect gut health

The types of microbes living in your pet’s microbiota are carefully balanced. Imbalances, called “dysbiosis,” may play a role in the development of several conditions, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD)[7–10]), allergies [4,11], obesity [12], periodontal disease [5], and diabetes [13].

Myriad factors can cause these disruptions, including antibiotics, dietary changes, and stress [14–16]. Antibiotics, for example, have been essential for treating bacterial infections. But they also wreak havoc on the microbiota because they impact innocent microbial bystanders in addition to the one causing disease. Thus antibiotics can alter the abundance or presence of particular bacteria in the gut, thereby disrupting the normal function of the gut microbiota.

Other influences work similarly by upsetting the normal balance of microbiota. As more studies are conducted to identify the causes and consequences of disrupting the microbiota, scientists will be able to identify robust associations between changes in the microbiota and disease, and eventually identify effective treatments.

Changing the microbiota is often unavoidable. In order to prevent loss of beneficial gut microbes, scientists need to do all we can to improve our ability to return pets’ guts to a healthy, pre-disruption state.

Microbiome relationship to nutrition

Diet is a major driver of microbiome composition. Microbes in the gut help with digestion [3], which means that they eat what the animal they live in eats. Thus, diet and nutrition have a strong impact on the gut microbiota [17,18]. Can your pet eat specific foods or nutrients in order to maximize the number of beneficial microbes living in their guts? Can specific foods reduce the numbers of detrimental microbes or steer microbial interactions to have outcomes that are favorable for your pet’s health?

We cannot completely answer these questions until we conduct more research. But we do know that certain components of diet affect particular members of the gut microbiota in pets. For example, the amount of protein and carbohydrates that pets eat can steer the gut microbiota towards having more bacteria of the Firmicutes type [19]. Too much protein might negatively alter the gut microbiota and impact pet health [20]. Experiments with potato fiber in pet diets have also shown that this fiber source increased abundances of “good” gut bacteria [21,22].

Examining gut bacteria by “reading” their DNA sequences has now become much more affordable, paving the way for more studies to test particular dietary components for their effects on gut microbiota and overall health. Pet parents can now have their pets’ gut microbiome characterized in order to improve overall health.

If you’d like to learn more about the microbiome and how it relates to pets’ health. Head over to https://www.nomnomnow.com/learn/pet-microbiome.

References Cited

1. Qin J, Li R, Raes J, Arumugam M, Burgdorf KS, Manichanh C, et al. A human gut microbial gene catalogue established by metagenomic sequencing. Nature. 2010;464: 59–65. doi:10.1038/nature08821
2. Sender R, Fuchs S, Milo R. Are We Really Vastly Outnumbered? Revisiting the Ratio of Bacterial to Host Cells in Humans. Cell. 2016;164: 337–340. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2016.01.013
3. Flint HJ, Scott KP, Duncan SH, Louis P, Forano E. Microbial degradation of complex carbohydrates in the gut. Gut Microbes. 2012;3: 289–306. doi:10.4161/gmic.19897
4. Rodrigues Hoffmann A, Patterson AP, Diesel A, Lawhon SD, Ly HJ, Elkins Stephenson C, et al. The skin microbiome in healthy and allergic dogs. PLoS One. 2014;9: e83197. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0083197
5. Davis EM. Gene Sequence Analyses of the Healthy Oral Microbiome in Humans and Companion Animals. J Vet Dent. 2016;33: 97–107. doi:10.1177/0898756416657239
6. Adler CJ, Malik R, Browne GV, Norris JM. Diet may influence the oral microbiome composition in cats. Microbiome. 2016;4: 23. doi:10.1186/s40168-016-0169-y
7. Suchodolski JS, Dowd SE, Wilke V, Steiner JM, Jergens AE. 16S rRNA gene pyrosequencing reveals bacterial dysbiosis in the duodenum of dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. PLoS One. 2012;7: e39333. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039333
8. Kalenyak K, Isaiah A, Heilmann RM, Suchodolski JS, Burgener IA. Comparison of the intestinal mucosal microbiota in dogs diagnosed with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease and dogs with food-responsive diarrhea before and after treatment. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2018;94. doi:10.1093/femsec/fix173
9. Vázquez-Baeza Y, Hyde ER, Suchodolski JS, Knight R. Dog and human inflammatory bowel disease rely on overlapping yet distinct dysbiosis networks. Nat Microbiol. 2016;1: 16177. doi:10.1038/nmicrobiol.2016.177
10. Minamoto Y, Otoni CC, Steelman SM, Büyükleblebici O, Steiner JM, Jergens AE, et al. Alteration of the fecal microbiota and serum metabolite profiles in dogs with idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. Gut Microbes. 2015;6: 33–47. doi:10.1080/19490976.2014.997612
11. Craig JM. Atopic dermatitis and the intestinal microbiota in humans and dogs. Vet Med Sci. 2016;2: 95–105. doi:10.1002/vms3.24
12. Handl S, German AJ, Holden SL, Dowd SE, Steiner JM, Heilmann RM, et al. Faecal microbiota in lean and obese dogs. FEMS Microbiol Ecol. 2013;84: 332–343. doi:10.1111/1574-6941.12067
13. Bell ET, Suchodolski JS, Isaiah A, Fleeman LM, Cook AK, Steiner JM, et al. Faecal microbiota of cats with insulin-treated diabetes mellitus. PLoS One. 2014;9: e108729. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0108729
14. Myers SP. The causes of intestinal dysbiosis: a review. Altern Med Rev. 2004;9: 180–197. Available: http://anaturalhealingcenter.com/documents/Thorne/articles/intestinal_dysbiosis9-2.pdf
15. Estaki M, Quin C, Gibson DL. Diet and dysbiosis. In: Nibali L, Henderson B, editors. The Human Microbiota and Chronic Disease. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2016. pp. 443–465. doi:10.1002/9781118982907.ch29
16. Curtis M. An introduction to microbial dysbiosis. In: Nibali L, Henderson B, editors. The Human Microbiota and Chronic Disease. Hoboken, NJ, USA: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2016. pp. 37–54. doi:10.1002/9781118982907.ch2
17. Turnbaugh PJ, Ridaura VK, Faith JJ, Rey FE, Knight R, Gordon JI. The effect of diet on the human gut microbiome: a metagenomic analysis in humanized gnotobiotic mice. Sci Transl Med. 2009;1: 6ra14. doi:10.1126/scitranslmed.3000322
18. Winglee K, Fodor AA. Intrinsic association between diet and the gut microbiome: current evidence. Nutr Diet Suppl. 2015;7: 69–76. doi:10.2147/NDS.S62362
19. Li Q, Lauber CL, Czarnecki-Maulden G, Pan Y, Hannah SS. Effects of the Dietary Protein and Carbohydrate Ratio on Gut Microbiomes in Dogs of Different Body Conditions. MBio. 2017;8. doi:10.1128/mBio.01703-16
20. Pinna C, Vecchiato CG, Zaghini G, Grandi M, Nannoni E, Stefanelli C, et al. In vitro influence of dietary protein and fructooligosaccharides on metabolism of canine fecal microbiota. BMC Vet Res. 2016;12: 53. doi:10.1186/s12917-016-0672-1
21. Panasevich MR, Kerr KR, Dilger RN, Fahey GC Jr, Guérin-Deremaux L, Lynch GL, et al. Modulation of the faecal microbiome of healthy adult dogs by inclusion of potato fibre in the diet. Br J Nutr. 2015;113: 125–133. doi:10.1017/S0007114514003274
22. Panasevich MR, Rossoni Serao MC, de Godoy MRC, Swanson KS, Guérin-Deremaux L, Lynch GL, et al. Potato fiber as a dietary fiber source in dog foods. J Anim Sci. 2013;91: 5344–5352. doi:10.2527/jas.2013-6842

Cat Health: National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day #Cat2VetDay #TakeYourCatToTheVetDay

From the American Association of Feline Practitioners
catfriendly.com 

 In our house we are firm believers in "wellness visits", (going to the Vet for check-ups when all is fine, and not waiting for an illness or a crisis to present itself), and keeping up with NECESSARY vaccines, (if applicable!)  Since Cody is a senior kitty we have wellness visits TWICE a year, (March and October) and any other time we deem necessary.

Wellness visits are important because they can often detect problems that could be cropping up. By catching a potential problem EARLY it can help avoid some costly vet bills! Preventative care is important for humans and dogs and it is equally as important for our CATS!!!  

 We are  blessed that we go to:

 DePorre Veterinary Hospital

here in Michigan

 which is a:

(For a list of Cat Friendly Practices in YOUR area, click here)

As I mentioned we are proud that our Vet is a Cat Friendly Practice. While Cody lives with a dog and LOVES his doggy brother, many cats that visit the Vet may not live with a dog or they just do not like dogs. The second we enter our veterinary practice we are taken to an examination room that is ONLY used for cats. They even have cat toys in the room! It makes for a more relaxed cat which enables you to have a MUCH better visit/examination.

Poor Cody, as luck would have it, look what appeared in our inbox this week and it's only August!!!!

Dear Caren,   We hope things are going well for you. Our records indicate that it's about time we see Cody for the following:   Total Health Plus (10/01/2019) 1-Year Rabies Vac. Feline (10/04/2019)   You can request an appointment by calling us at 248-646-1669  during normal business hours or by clicking the button below.

 We are happy that we get regular reminders from our Vet that arrive in a super timely manner so we can plan well in advance. Now, if you ask Cody, I think he would like them to be a wee bit LESS efficient!

FROM CODY: I thought that with everyone being so busy taking Dakota to the Vet a zillion times lately, that I was going to get a reprieve. No such luck!!

 Don't worry kitties, this photo is from my archives, I haven't been to the Vet recently ("knock on a bowl of kibble") and I guess going there truly isn't THAT bad.  I guess I DO sort of like "Dr.Smiley" but don't you dare tell him I said so!!! 

Happy National Take Your Cat to the Vet Day all!

As Promised: Results from NomNomNow INSIGHTS: A Microbiome Testing Kit

Back on April 15th, 2019 we blogged about the new INSIGHTS Microbiome testing kit from NomNomNow. I promised that when we had the results we would feature them. We received the results a week or so ago and here you go! I will say they are beyond detailed, so much so that my feeble mind doesn't understand them. Maybe some of you who are much brighter than me can help me to decipher them? To see Cody's complete results click here.  NomNomNow has sponsored this post with product and monetary compensation, but all opinions are my own, read important disclaimers throughout this blog post.

Insights

Microbiome report

Cody

12 years old

11 lbs

The gut microbiome is the genetic material of microbes in your cat’s intestinal tract, and it contains an incredible variety of bacteria. The specific types and amounts that colonize your cat’s gut are affected by many factors, like diet, genetics, and environment. This means every pet has a unique gut microbiome!

Cody's

Composition

15

out of

17

scores are within the average range

Cody's

Diversity

0

out of

3

scores are within the average range

Summary

Diversity and composition

• Various factors impact the composition of the microbiome; however, diet is a major component and the most easily controlled1, 2.
• A higher diversity of gut microbes has been associated with better health in humans 3. Increasing diversity in a cat’s gut microbiome may be accomplished by feeding your cat a diet high in protein and low in carbohydrate4.
• Fiber that acts as a prebiotic (fructo-oligosaccharide) helps increase overall bacterial counts and species of Lactobacillus and Bacteroides while reducing levels of E. coli5.
• Be sure to include fiber in your cat’s diet, as current studies indicate it is beneficial6. Small amounts of vegetables like those found in NomNomNow will provide this food for intestinal bacteria.
• In studies of human populations, a diet that varies by seasonal availability of foods has been associated with increased diversity of gut microbes7–9, so periodically rotating diets may help increase diversity.
• Exercise may also help increase diversity in gut microbes10.

Gut Issues

• Gut problems, particularly diarrhea, may be improved by providing a prebiotic, probiotic, or synbiotic (a mix of probiotics and prebiotics) to promote growth of beneficial bacteria5,11,12.

• See informational guidelines below

Meet the bacteria living in Cody’s gut

• Firmicutes
• Actinobacteria
• Fusobacteria
• Bacteroidetes
• Proteobacteria

Microbiome diversity

• Richness
• Evenness
• Overall Gut Diversity Score

Meet the bacteria living in Cody’s gut

The bacteria listed below are regularly found in feline microbiomes, so we’ve provided some information to help you learn a bit about them. The bacteria are listed by their biological organization, known as their taxonomic grouping (e.g. phylum, family, or, the most specific, genus.) You can find a description of these groupings here.

Understanding of the functions of these groups as well as how to group them is a cutting-edge research field and is rapidly evolving, so we discuss the bacteria to the best-described level of organization available.

Where are these bacteria found? The digestive tract is composed of a variety of distinct regions from the stomach to the colon, each of which contains signature communities of bacteria that perform various tasks. The majority of bacteria in the digestive tract reside in the colon. These bacteria are more heavily represented in feces, although bacteria from other locations are also observed.

There is much more to Cody's report but I couldn't fit it all on the blog. If you want to read it and wish to help me decipher it  CLICK HERE )

Steps to Help Keep Pets Healthy as Part of a Health Plan for the New Year

FROM CAT CHAT WITH CAREN AND CODY AND DAKOTA'S DEN: The info in this blog post was sent to me as a press release.  The information is timely and important. I agreed to share it with all of you and I am also adding some thoughts and comments of my own. I was not compensated for sharing this information.

Steps to Help Keep Pets Healthy

 as Part of a Health Plan

for the New Year

Have you made a plan for your pet's health  for 2019? While many people set goals to get healthy in the new year, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) and Pet Food Institute (PFI) encourage pet owners to proactively review their pet’s health in 2019, as well.

“Just as you should consult your physician before embarking on a new fitness or nutrition regimen, you should consult with your pet’s veterinarian before making any changes to your pet’s diet or starting them on a new exercise program,” said Dr. John de Jong, president of AVMA.

(FROM CAT CHAT WITH CAREN AND CODY and DAKOTA'S DEN: consulting with my Vet before changing Cody and Dakota's food in 2018 is something that I didn't do and I learned the hard way. Both of my "boys", (Primarily Dakota), reacted badly to the new food and were promptly pulled off of it. I learned the hard way and before I make any changes to their diet in 2019 I will consult with my Vet first!)

Published studies suggest that up to 59 percent of dogs and cats may be overweight, though there isn’t a single cause or cure. While overfeeding is a common cause of pets gaining weight, other factors such as endocrine disorders may affect your pet’s metabolism, including hypothyroidism or hyperadrenocorticism (Cushing’s Syndrome).

Your veterinarian can assess your pet’s ideal weight, caloric needs, and any contributing health issues. If your pet does need to lose weight, work with your veterinarian to develop a safe weight reduction plan.

“As we make a commitment to ourselves in the new year, it’s important to also consider ways we can support our four-legged family members,” said Dana Brooks, president and CEO of PFI. “Just a few simple steps can help support a pet’s well-being in 2019, such as keeping them at a healthy weight and providing a complete and balanced diet.”

Specific steps for unique challenges include:

• For the treat hound: Treats should be kept to no more than 10 percent of your pet’s daily calories. If your pup is in the habit of getting multiple treats throughout the day, review the amount of food provided at mealtimes with your veterinarian to ensure your pet is receiving the appropriate share of treats. Once the day’s ration of treats is gone, it’s gone.
  
• For the guzzlers: Eating too quickly can cause problems other than obesity. Slow feeder bowls and meal dispensing dog toys or puzzles require dogs to eat more slowly, engage mental effort and increase activity, which in turn burns calories.
  
• What’s yours is mine: In a multi-cat household, it may be necessary to have separate food areas for cats. You may put one cat’s food at a higher level out of reach from a heavier cat that may have difficulty reaching food that is accessible to the cat of appropriate weight. Baby gates, cat doors and cardboard boxes with appropriately sized entrances to admit some and block other cats can also be utilized. Discuss the use of automatic feeders, including those that are microchip or RFID tag scanning, with your veterinarian to ensure that the correct cat has access to the correct food. (FROM CAT CHAT WITH CAREN AND CODY and DAKOTA'S DEN-in a "bi-petual" household such as ours it is even more important to have a baby gate to prevent your dog and cat from eating food they should not be eating. Many people aren't aware but dogs that eat cat food and cats that eat dog food can become EXTREMELY ill.)
  
• Balance is key: Ensure your pet is receiving complete and balanced nutrition. Pets need a range of essential nutrients to provide energy, support body functions, such as vision and immunity, and promote healthy growth and bone structure for every life stage. When selecting food for your cat or dog, look for a pet food labeled as “complete and balanced” and for your pet’s life stage.
• Exercise and playtime: Pay attention to what activities, environments, or playmates (human or otherwise) engage your pets. Some pets are happy to go on long walks with their owner, while others that thrive in social settings may burn more calories engaging with a group.
  
   To exercise a cat, engage them with a feather, toys, or laser pointer, and try to get them running after a toy as they swat at it.

“Just like humans, overweight dogs and cats are more likely to get diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, skin conditions, liver disease and joint problems,” says Dr. de Jong. “Starting a diet and exercise regimen for both you and your pet in 2019 will result in improved health and perhaps a longer life for both of you.”

For more information on pet health, visit www.avma.org. For more information about U.S. pet food, please visit www.petfoodinstitute.org.

ABOUT AVMA

The AVMA, founded in 1863, is one of the oldest and largest veterinary medical organizations in the world. With more than 93,000-member veterinarians worldwide, members are engaged in a wide variety of professional activities and are dedicated to the art and science of veterinary medicine. Visit avma.org to learn more.

ABOUT PET FOOD INSTITUTE

Since 1958, the Pet Food Institute has been the voice of the U.S. pet food and treat makers. PFI is the industry’s representative before Congress and state legislatures, as well as state and federal agencies; public education and media relations resource; organizer of seminars and educational programs; and liaison with other organizations. PFI represents the companies that make 98 percent of U.S. dog and cat food and treat products, an industry with more than $27 billion in U.S. retail sales and $1.4 billion in exports in 2017. Visit petfoodinstitute.org to learn more.