Overweight or obese animals are at risk for serious health consequences and their conditions should not be taken lightly. The extra weight can seriously impact the length and quality of an animal’s life and increases their risk for many health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, unnecessary strain to the bones, joints, and ligaments, and difficulty breathing.
Obesity is a nutritional disease that results from consuming more calories than the body needs. Current statistics show that in the U.S., over 50% of cats and dogs are overweight or obese. This means we are simply feeding them too much, and likely feeding them too much of the wrong food. The good news is it is fully within our reach to get our animals back to a healthy weight so that they can live a happy and pain-free life! (Read about canine weight-loss here.)
Identifying the Problem
For most cats, the obesity problem can be attributed to two factors: living indoors and being fed a biologically-inappropriate kibble. Typically, indoor cats do not exercise as much as cats that have access to the outdoors, and therefore do not burn as many calories in a day. Additionally, if we feed an indoor cat a diet that is exclusively or predominantly kibble, we are feeding a high carb diet to a low activity animal. This becomes an easy recipe for an overweight cat.
(See Flimflam Food: The Truth About Grain-Free Pet Food)
The Solution: Eliminate Kibble and Increase Exercise
Eating Right: Ditch the Kibble!
It’s important to note that all kibble has carbohydrates, regardless if it’s grain-free or not. Grain-free simply means that the carbohydrate of choice is potatoes, peas, or tapioca, and is still not appropriate for your cat, who is a strict carnivore.
Most kibble is around 25-35% carbohydrate, the lowest on the market is 13% carbohydrate. The carbohydrates that your cat would naturally ingest would not exceed more than 5%, and those carbohydrates would have been predigested in the guts of their prey.
Cats lack the ability to digest carbohydrates because they lack the enzyme, amylase, which s responsible for digesting carbohydrates. When we feed cats kibble, especially carbohydrate rich formulas such as Indoor or Weight loss formulas, those carbohydrates are not translated into energy but instead are stored as fat. “Indoor” and “Weight Loss” formulas tend to be higher in carbohydrates because carbs allow the “person” to feed a larger portion of food to their cat, and avoid feeling guilty about reduced amounts of food.
Using an Indoor or Weight Loss formula is actually counterproductive to helping your cat lose weight because of these excess carbs.
Additionally, because cats cannot process and utilize carbohydrates, Indoor and Weight loss formulas result in the loss of lean muscle mass because your cat is not consuming enough protein to maintain that muscle mass. Your cat’s body uses more calories maintaining muscle mass, than it does maintaining fat, so when muscle mass is lost, their metabolic rate goes down. If weight loss does occur on these types of formulas, it is typically short term.
Regardless of age or stage, indoor vs. outdoor, skinny or fat, all cats should be eating a diet that consists exclusively of raw or canned food, or some combination of the two. Protein is the appropriate form of energy for cats and when we provide them with a diet rich in fresh protein their bodies are able to attain their full potential and avoid chronic health conditions.
Exercise is Good for the Body and the Mind
Exercise is a very important aspect to living a healthy lifestyle. If your cat is not a good candidate for harness training and getting exercise outside, then it is really important that you provide them with exercise and stimulation from play. Indoor cats can be just as high maintenance as a dog because it is your responsibility to provide them with the exercise and stimuli that they need.
You should be aiming for 15 minutes of exercise, at least 2-3 times per day. There are many great toys that can get your cat moving, the Da Bird, Da Mouse, and laser pointers all provide your cat with “the chase” that is so good for their cardio and mental stimuli. If your cat is obese then you should start with shorter bursts of exercise lasting anywhere from 5-10 minutes, 2-3 times per day, and work your way towards longer stints of exercise. Another great way to get your cat moving is by throwing a small healthy treat up or down the stairs. This is a really fun activity that gets your cat moving and is really easy to do. Just be sure you know exactly how many calories are in the treats and deduct those calories from how much you feed that night.
By following these steps and fine tuning your cat’s weight loss regime to their personal needs, your cat is sure to lose weight. As your cat returns to their ideal weight you will see huge improvements in their quality of life!
Overweight and Obese Cats – Why You Should Act Now
in Cat Health, Diet & Digestive Health/by Natalie SoonthornswadOverweight or obese animals are at risk for serious health consequences and their conditions should not be taken lightly. The extra weight can seriously impact the length and quality of an animal’s life and increases their risk for many health conditions including diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, unnecessary strain to the bones, joints, and ligaments, and difficulty breathing.
Obesity is a nutritional disease that results from consuming more calories than the body needs. Current statistics show that in the U.S., over 50% of cats and dogs are overweight or obese. This means we are simply feeding them too much, and likely feeding them too much of the wrong food. The good news is it is fully within our reach to get our animals back to a healthy weight so that they can live a happy and pain-free life! (Read about canine weight-loss here.)
Identifying the Problem
For most cats, the obesity problem can be attributed to two factors: living indoors and being fed a biologically-inappropriate kibble. Typically, indoor cats do not exercise as much as cats that have access to the outdoors, and therefore do not burn as many calories in a day. Additionally, if we feed an indoor cat a diet that is exclusively or predominantly kibble, we are feeding a high carb diet to a low activity animal. This becomes an easy recipe for an overweight cat.
(See Flimflam Food: The Truth About Grain-Free Pet Food)
The Solution: Eliminate Kibble and Increase Exercise
Eating Right: Ditch the Kibble!
It’s important to note that all kibble has carbohydrates, regardless if it’s grain-free or not. Grain-free simply means that the carbohydrate of choice is potatoes, peas, or tapioca, and is still not appropriate for your cat, who is a strict carnivore.
Most kibble is around 25-35% carbohydrate, the lowest on the market is 13% carbohydrate. The carbohydrates that your cat would naturally ingest would not exceed more than 5%, and those carbohydrates would have been predigested in the guts of their prey.
Cats lack the ability to digest carbohydrates because they lack the enzyme, amylase, which s responsible for digesting carbohydrates. When we feed cats kibble, especially carbohydrate rich formulas such as Indoor or Weight loss formulas, those carbohydrates are not translated into energy but instead are stored as fat. “Indoor” and “Weight Loss” formulas tend to be higher in carbohydrates because carbs allow the “person” to feed a larger portion of food to their cat, and avoid feeling guilty about reduced amounts of food.
Using an Indoor or Weight Loss formula is actually counterproductive to helping your cat lose weight because of these excess carbs.
Additionally, because cats cannot process and utilize carbohydrates, Indoor and Weight loss formulas result in the loss of lean muscle mass because your cat is not consuming enough protein to maintain that muscle mass. Your cat’s body uses more calories maintaining muscle mass, than it does maintaining fat, so when muscle mass is lost, their metabolic rate goes down. If weight loss does occur on these types of formulas, it is typically short term.
Regardless of age or stage, indoor vs. outdoor, skinny or fat, all cats should be eating a diet that consists exclusively of raw or canned food, or some combination of the two. Protein is the appropriate form of energy for cats and when we provide them with a diet rich in fresh protein their bodies are able to attain their full potential and avoid chronic health conditions.
Exercise is Good for the Body and the Mind
Exercise is a very important aspect to living a healthy lifestyle. If your cat is not a good candidate for harness training and getting exercise outside, then it is really important that you provide them with exercise and stimulation from play. Indoor cats can be just as high maintenance as a dog because it is your responsibility to provide them with the exercise and stimuli that they need.
You should be aiming for 15 minutes of exercise, at least 2-3 times per day. There are many great toys that can get your cat moving, the Da Bird, Da Mouse, and laser pointers all provide your cat with “the chase” that is so good for their cardio and mental stimuli. If your cat is obese then you should start with shorter bursts of exercise lasting anywhere from 5-10 minutes, 2-3 times per day, and work your way towards longer stints of exercise. Another great way to get your cat moving is by throwing a small healthy treat up or down the stairs. This is a really fun activity that gets your cat moving and is really easy to do. Just be sure you know exactly how many calories are in the treats and deduct those calories from how much you feed that night.
By following these steps and fine tuning your cat’s weight loss regime to their personal needs, your cat is sure to lose weight. As your cat returns to their ideal weight you will see huge improvements in their quality of life!
Transition Town Totnes and the Path to Sustainability
in Sustainability/by Natalie SoonthornswadTotnes in the United Kingdom is my dream town. Well, at least when it comes to sustainability it is. In terms of weather, I’ll take beautiful Lafayette over dreary ol’ England any day. But with a little work, we can make our community just as sustainable.
I had never heard of Totnes until recently, when I was listening to a TED Radio Hour about finite resources. It is one (and the first) of 350 towns and cities across the world participating in the Transition Town Movement. The Transition Town Movement is a model of sustainability created by Rob Hopkins. The purpose of this social movement is for communities to begin shifting away from their reliance on fossil fuels and to begin focusing on manufacturing and purchasing local goods and commodities in order to increase their resilience and insulate them from any negative effects of a rapidly changing global economic system. The people of Totnes have developed an Energy Descent Action Plan that provides a guide for their own town and others to reduce our dependency on fossil fuels and lower our carbon footprints.
So what does my sustainable dream town have to do with pet food and supplies? Well, to us, sustainability is the foundation of everything we do. We love living and working in Lafayette and we’re dedicated to constantly analyzing how our own actions impact our community. Because sustainability issues are quite complex, we continue to be a part of the Lafayette Green Business Program and look for ways to strengthen our commitment year after year. Check out our progress so far by reading our previous blog posts (links below).
This year, we’ve been looking even more critically at what we throw away, including assessing the effects of packaging and diverting more waste away from landfills by using Eco-Cycle’s CHaRM facility and Terracycle. Here’s a bit more about these great organizations:
Our next projects include:
All the steps we are implementing at the store, we are also doing in our own homes. We want to spread the word about these amazing companies and what we can all do to make this world a healthier place for future generations.
Stay tuned for future sustainability updates and let us know if you have any other ideas or suggestions to improve our collective sustainability. And check out the links below for more information on the Transition Town Movement – perhaps Lafayette could be next!
From Kibble to Raw: A Feline Food Journey
in Cat Health, Diet & Digestive Health/by Chelsea NiekelskiThis month we are featuring Meghan B, who successfully and happily transitioned her feline household onto a species-appropriate raw food diet. As Meghan says, the outcome is a “Cat Mom Win!” Read her challenges, tips, and ultimate success story.
Mya and Diego are my four-year-old purr-babies who came from the same litter. Despite their single origin, each is a unique individual with a differing personality and, as it turns out, gastrointestinal fortitude!
Both fur balls are 100% indoor cats and had been on a kibble (dry food), free-fed diet their entire lives. Previously, I’ve experimented with different proteins and limited-ingredient diet foods because Mya seemed to be particularly sensitive to chicken and salmon. Another concern of mine was the lack of water both cats would drink from their bowl. Instead, they prefer to meow (loudly!) in the sink until I turn on the faucet. Throughout my four years of being the proud cat mom I am, I had never heard of a raw food diet… until recently on a visit to The Happy Beast!
Why raw food you ask? For one, kibble is full of carbohydrates that can often lead to obesity. It lacks a sufficient amount of species-appropriate nutrients and has little to no water content. While I know that kibble may be cheaper and free-feeding my cats is convenient, I’d rather go a little out of my way for the overall health of my babies!
Mya has not thrown up once since switching to raw, which for me, is a huge Cat Mom win. Both of their coats are already softer and their stool is smaller/less frequent because their bodies are using all the essential nutrients from their food.
The process of switching my kibble-loving cats to raw-food felines was not the easiest, but I urge all of you that are trying to not give up! They were both set in their kibble-eating ways, although, Diego was much easier to transition than Mya. I started by shredding dehydrated food and mixing it in with some of their old kibble. Mind you, I had to try several types of dehydrated foods because Mya wouldn’t touch some or, alternatively, she would get sick. Next, I gave them only dry, dehydrated food for a few days before adding water to rehydrate the food. This was Mya’s first time eating “wet” food, because, unlike her brother, she would not touch canned food. After sticking to the rehydrated food for a couple of weeks, I then started to slowly introduce raw food. I began with duck raw food because they had been eating duck in both the kibble and dehydrated form. But Diego threw up and Mya wouldn’t touch it. I had stayed away from chicken for years because Mya would get sick every time she had anything chicken based, but I decided to try it in a raw form.
I put a spoonful of raw food under some of their dehydrated food. Diego loved it! Mya still wasn’t convinced. She would eat around the raw food. I kept trying this with Mya for a few days and started to mix the dehydrated food into the raw so that she had to try it. I would also add a tablespoon of water to it. It took a bit of time and persistence, but she finally started eating the whole bowl of food. Within a few days from that point, Mya was completely on a raw food diet! Victory!!! The overall transition took Mya about 1 1/2 months and Diego about 3 weeks.
Overall, I truly couldn’t be happier that my fur babies are now on a raw food diet. Despite the trials and tribulations to reach the outcome, it was all worth the effort. I’m looking forward to seeing continued health benefits for my kitties over the months and years to come!
If you’re working on transitioning your own kitties to a raw food diet, I highly recommend a few other blog posts from The Happy Beast:
Restricted Exercise? The Five Things That Helped Us Survive My Dog’s Injury Recovery
in Dog Health, Exercise, Products We Love/by Chelsea NiekelskiRestricting exercise is often a first line of healing for dogs with soft tissue injuries, but is also prescribed for dogs recovering from surgeries (including spay, neuter, and ACL repair) and broken bones. Your vet may recommend keeping your dog kenneled when you aren’t home, short leashed walks lasting 5-30 minutes, no running in the yard and no jumping on furniture.
For my super active Aussie-mix, restricted exercise sounds like torture, but we’ve made it four weeks and only have two to go!
These are the five things I brought home from The Happy Beast that are helping her heal faster and bust through the boredom.
FYDO Bagel Bed
I’m a total sucker when it comes to dogs on the furniture. The FYDO Bagel Bed is so plush and snuggly that my dog thinks it’s an appropriate substitute for sleeping on my bed.
Tip: I turned all the furniture to face the wall so there’s no temptation for her to jump up. If you don’t want to lose access to your sofa and chairs, put heavy books on the cushions or block them with baby gates.
InClover’s Connectin
Connectin was developed as a joint support with glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, so it’s amazing for dogs with joint pain and arthritis. My dog has a soft tissue injury, so I chose Connectin for its anti-inflammatory and circulatory-stimulating properties. InClover’s clinical studies were done on volunteered animals who already showed joint problems (which I find to be more ethical than studies done by other companies where healthy animals were inflicted with joint pain as part of the study- yikes!) InClover’s studies “show significant relief in weight bearing discomfort and increase in mobility”.
Tip: Connectin is available in three different forms. My dog is taking a crunchy tablet dipped in peanut butter every morning. I saw noticeable improvement after 14 days.
CBDRX Hemp Oil
CBD is quickly gaining popularity for treating pain and inflammation and decreasing anxiety in animals. (Read our blog on how it works.) CBDRX grows their own organic hemp plants in southern Colorado and extracts the CBDs in their facility in Boulder.
Tip: You want to use the lowest effective dose- which their representative described to me as one drop less than what makes my dog sleepy. I started with four drops, and worked up to half of a dropper. When I went over that dose, she slept really hard. (CBD doesn’t have any psychoactive properties, so you don’t have to worry about your animal getting “high.”)
Clicker and Training Treats
Since my dog is getting limited physical exercise, I’m increasing her mental exercise! Check out these stationary games we’re playing this month. My dog loves clicker training, so I chose a few tricks that can be done without her standing up and moving around. She almost has “lick your lips” figured out and it’s so funny!
West Paw Brain Toys
West Paw’s Zogoflex are stuffable and more challenging than a traditional Kong. Load them up with canned dog food, peanut butter or treats and freeze for a longer lasting “puzzle.”
Tip: It’s extra important to watch calories since your dog is getting limited exercise. On days when your dog is getting a lot of treats, feed less food at meal times. You can also use a Zogoflex toy in place of a dog bowl, and make mealtime into playtime!
Brain Games for a Dog on “Crate Rest”
in Animal Behavior, Dog Health, Exercise/by Chelsea NiekelskiMy dog, Pi, has been prescribed 4-6 weeks of restricted exercise, meaning she has to be kenneled when I’m not home, no running in the yard and walks no longer than 10 minutes. Restricting exercise is often a first line of healing for dogs with soft tissue injuries, but is also prescribed for dogs recovering from surgeries (including spay, neuter, and ACL repair) and broken bones.
For my very active, Aussie-mix, who is accustomed to at least two hours of walking, running and agility practice each day, restricted exercise feels like torture. It’s hard to explain to your animal why you’ve taken their fun and routine away for the sake of healing. So, I’m pulling out old and new resources and looking at this as an opportunity to practice calming exercises and brain games.
Teach and Practice Tricks: Eye Contact, “Ears Up”, “Lick Lips”, and “Leave It”
Pi loves clicker training. If you’ve never tried it, check out this video for the how-to. Clicker training essentially allows you to “capture” a behavior and eventually put it to a command. Eye contact is an easy place to start. Sit in front of your dog and simply click (or say yes!) and treat anytime she makes eye contact with you. For dogs who know how the game works, increase the difficulty by choosing a new behavior to capture. You can click and treat to reward any behavior. We’re working on licking her lips and sneezing.
Practice “Settle”
“Settle” is one of my dog’s favorite games. When she’s healthy the game is actually quite active, beginning in a standing position and running across the room to end lying flat on a mat, repeated over and over. She also gets rewarded for any calm signals when she’s on the mat: shifting her weight to one side, licking her lips, dropping her ears back, resting her chin on the ground. I adapted this game by removing the run and just rewarding the calm signals. Get detailed instructions here.
Beginner’s Scent Work
Canine Nose Work is a sport where dogs learn to identify scents (birch, anise and clove) and search them out in different settings. This problem-solving activity is toted for building confidence and burning mental and physical energy. I adapted this tutorial to teach Pi the basics without requiring her to move around the room.
You’ll need four small boxes, a plastic tub with holes poked in the lid, and smelly, tasty treats.
In the tutorial, your dog waits in another room while you hide the plastic tub in a box. In our adapted version, I’m using only four boxes, because I will be the one moving from the other room to where my dog is.
In a separate room, where your dog can’t see what you’re doing, put a few treats in the plastic tub. Place the tub in one of the boxes, then bring the boxes into your dog’s room and place them on the floor in front of her. Let her smell each one and once she indicates that she’s found the box with treats (for Pi, this was a nose poke to the side of the box) open the tub and let her have her loot! Repeat the game 3-4 times each session and play a few times a day for an excellent brain workout!