You've probably heard about pets and owners that resemble each other. It probably comes as no surprise that one area of resemblance comes in body type: portly people often own plump pets.
Fifty-five percent of adult cats and 53 percent of dogs are overweight or obese, according to a survey of veterinarians by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP). That's more than 88 million cats and dogs.
"Owners are unaware their pet is overweight," APOP founder Dr. Ernie Ward said in a statement. "Twenty-two percent of dog owners and 15 percent of cat owners characterized their pet as normal weight when it was actually overweight or obese."
Educating pet owners is key to addressing the issue. According to the Tufts Obesity Clinic for Animals located on the campus of Tufts University in Massachusetts, obesity in cats and dogs is associated with a number of serious health problems including "diabetes, pancreatitis, hyperlipidemia (high fat levels in the blood), joint disease, skin disease and even a shorter lifespan."
The Tufts clinic specializes in creating tailored weight loss programs under the supervision of a board-certified veterinary nutritionist.
It's become common for pet specialty outlets to go beyond food and toys to offer services such as boarding, grooming, training and vet services. Adding weight loss programs seems like a natural extension in this space and perhaps in other channels such as drug that have been actively marketing prescription drug services for pets as well as their owners in recent years.