Did you know that approximately 54.0% of cats in the United States are classified as overweight and 55.6% of dogs are also overweight? To make matters worse, 20% are obese (these statistics were taken from the 2010 Pet Obesity Study). It is a shocking statistic, considering that being overweight is a major problem in the United States for people, and now we see that it overflows into the lives of our pets. What causes this growing problem of unhealthy pets?
There are many causes, but the primary cause is the owner's negligence of what is a healthy pet diet. Popular feeding methods for pets are putting large amounts of food in a bowl so that the pet has constant access to food, or feeding pets too many times during the day, with the combination of unhealthy food. Now let's face it, owners feed pets this way because it's the easy way out. It is no different than fetching fast food for dinner. Americans are slowly falling into the trap of taking the quick and easy exit.
There are many benefits of obtaining an automatic pet feeder. To outline some very quickly, you can choose how many times you want to feed your pet per day, how much is each serving, and some models even let your cat or dog learn to feed on their own! This might seem to thwart the purpose, as your pet would get as much food as they wanted, but don't worry, most automatic pet feeders like this only dispense a few pellets at a time. Pets are usually just as persistent and settle for less food than they normally stuffed themselves with. Thanks for reading, and I hope you take steps to help your pet or other pets from the increasing health risks for them.
No comments:
Post a Comment