Obese Cats are more vulnerable to the dangerous diseases if the weight is not brought under control. Like people, cats do carry those extra pounds and this places extra weight on all the organs of their body. Every cat owner should be aware of the health risks that come directly due to the overweight. Controlling those extra pounds and helping your cat reduce the weight will greatly help in preventing any of the dangerous diseases in cats.
Let us look into the health conditions which are more likely to occur due to those extra pounds in the overweight felines.
Lameness and Arthritis
This is the most common disease that occurs in obese cats. Compared to normal cats, obese cats are 90% more at risk to arthritis. The reason behind this difference is the increased force on joints that the extra weight may cause, such as when cat climbs a higher place or jumps down. The pressure exerted on the joints is more during such situations and thus may cause more wear and tear of the cartilage. Moreover, studies also have shown that overweight cats may develop abnormal cartilage.
Diabetes
The other most common health condition that the obese cat may develop is diabetes mellitus, also known as sugar diabetes. A study states that obese cats are 3-5 times more susceptible to diabetes compared to their counterparts. Obesity causes an increase in the secretion of insulin in response to the increased glucose level in the overweight cats. Additionally, insulin is produced more due to greater amount of tissue present in an overweight cat. When the requirement for the insulin exceeds the amount of insulin produced in the body, diabetes mellitus occurs. Furthermore, when the necessity of insulin increases for the longer period of time, diabetes sets in as the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin can actually burn out.
Skin Issues
Compared to cats of optimal weight, obese cats are more likely to face non-allergic skin conditions. Feline acne and dry, flaky skin are the two most common skin complications that are seen in overweight cats. Skin conditions actually happens in obese cats as they are not able to groom themselves properly resulting in scaly, dry skin and matted fur.
Liver Disease
Liver is a store house of fat and when a cat is obese, the organ has more amount of fat buildup. This condition is known as hepatitis lipidiosis in medical terms, and this is the most common condition in overweight cats. This condition weighs on the proper functioning of the liver, thus hampering normal liver function. Well, this in turn can be life threatening if an obese cat for any reason does not eat, loses weight rapidly or otherwise is stressed.
Increased Surgical Risk
When performing surgery in obese cats, veterinary surgeons take extra care while anesthetizing and performing surgery on them. The increased fat in the tissues make surgery more difficult and time consuming. Particularly, it is harder to locate and get at what the surgeons are looking for performing the surgery. The fat obstructs the surgical area and this makes the surgery technically more difficult and the procedure will become longer, and this again increases the risk of anesthesia.
Providing proper diet, controlling preventable diseases and protecting cats from these health risks is essential for every cat owner. It is you who have to active and responsible to provide the quality life for your furbaby.
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