Then combine with the remaining ingredients and serve. If you're lying on the couch, it's tremendously painful if Joe lies on your chest. It gets hard to breathe. It's a testament to the affluence of our times that obesity has be come a frequent problem both for humans and their pets. The little Chihuahua that's as wide as it is tall and the cat that weighs 18 pounds and looks like a furry basketball may be cute to some, but they are not as healthy as they could be.
Excess weight carries many of the same negative effects for pets that it does for their owners.
As many as 40 percent to 50 percent of the pets that veterinarians see are overweight to some degree. This extra weight may cause immediate problems, such as difficulty breathing or exercise intolerance, or the effects may be more insidious. Over months or years, carrying excess weight can lead to heart failure or exaggerate arthritis and other old-age problems, or simply cause a pet to die sooner than it would otherwise. Obesity tends to develop gradually and owners may not notice it in early stages, but your pet's doctor can detect it during the yearly physical exam and help you correct the problem. There are several steps to reducing the weight of the obese pet.