While giving Dizzy tummy rubs, her owner, Sam, sometimes wonders whether her tummy is not just a little too soft and puffy. Cats, much like humans, may suffer from weight problems. In fact, in his book Animal Clinic for Cats , Dr. Jim Humphries maintains that obesity is the most common nutritional disease in pets. With a choice of tasty food and treats and a relatively sedate lifestyle, indoor cats are particularly affected by this problem.
Excess fat can have a bad effect on the cat's overall health.
Overweight cats are prone to heart disease, arthritis, and a series of other health problems, and are often in poor shape. Some cats are very overweight and are considered obese. Obese cats find it difficult to move around and are often short of breath. Maintaining a healthy weight helps to the extend cats' life span and improve their quality of life. The Ideal Weight for a Cat Having settled that a cat is better off not being overweight, we now must decide what is the ideal weight for our cat.