Why don't cats and dogs have any willpower these days?

[Ronald Brak]

When I was a kid you hardly ever saw a really fat dog or cat. If you did you'd tell all your friends about it because it was so unusual and life was dull back then. But nowadays I'm always seeing fat round cats that look like tribbles with teeth and dogs that look like they're being breed to serve as a replacments for pork products. What's going on? Why have pets let themselves go these days? Have they no will power? Or rather, have they no won't power? I mean surely it can't take much willpower to refuse to eat another bowl of dog or cat food. That stuff tastes foul. I find it hard to force more than a single tin. But I guess we can't blame the pets. It all comes back to us. Are our fat pets an indication that our culture's entire attitude towards food has changed?

[Nicolas]

Pets let themselves go?

How about pet owners stuffing them up like thanksgiving turkeys? Giving them food that makes them multiple times more fat than when giving them food with less fat or food with legs that run away from the cat? Or giving them a huge and continuous supply of food (cats are hunters, part of their instinct is to eat when available, thoug hthey have more self control than dogs on this)

A pet wants a certain amount of energy every day (as does a human). If you give them food that has more fat for the same amount of calories, the pet will grow fatter. It can't eat less or it will be hungry. If it's less fat, it will require less energy to move itself around. Give your pet a limited supply of food that does contain some fat (pets and humans need fat!) but isn't extremely fat. It will not grow fat, it will not need a huge amount of food because it's got a light body to carry around and it will not have a huge amount of food to start the fat cycle on. Done.

I wouldn't point the finger to the pets. they just use natural instincts on an unnatural amount and composition of food.

I think a large deal of the problem is overly petting a pet ("oooh it asks for the food I'm giving, it MUST be very hungry, open another tin for it!"), being overly concerned and disconnected from the natural looks of a pet ("I can see the shoulders of that cat and where the ribs end, it's starving! Open 3 more tins"), and the much food = taking good care link (I stuff my pet, so I always have money and attention to feed it. Never mind its health"). Add more pets living a life where they can move around less (being inside a lot of time, not much free roaming hunting time) without adapting their food on that...


Cats are skinny. Dogs are not fat. Pets will initially react to food, always. Hunters will eat at least partially more than they need if food is available. Keep that in mind and you will save money and keep a sporty, healthy and happy pet. Don't mind what the neighbours say. You are not underfeeding your cat when you can see its shoulders. Look at the big cats and conclude for yourself.

[NEOWatcher]

...What's going on? Why have pets let themselves go these days? Have they no will power?...

Interesting...that might explain why animals are getting more careless when they are handling firearms.

Never, ever, ever, blame a pet owner for anything... it's not PC.

[JustAFriend]

Blaming the cat/dog is like blaming their 350lb kid, too...

Put the responsibility where it belongs.

[Ronald Brak]

That great dane who shot his owner certainly looks remorseful.

[hhEb09'1]

Interesting...that might explain why animals are getting more careless when they are handling firearms.

Never, ever, ever, blame a pet owner for anything... it's not PC.

You would not believe the mess my dog made of my taxes this year. Next year, instead of trusting a retriever, I'm going to go to an accountant.

[Gillianren]

My cat's an indoor kitty. If he gained substantial weight, it would be because he could not go outside to play. However, as long as there have been housepets, there have been fat housepets.

[Fazor]

My one dog seems fat, because she's soo fluffy (Sheltie, about 55lbs). My other dog I think is too skinny. Vet's say she's fine, a little on the skinny side but not bad. She's a boney little thing though.

But neither of them have willpower. Expecially the younger one (about 2 y/o). She'll do things that she knows she'll get in trouble for, but does them anyway. Like chew up my g/f's shoes. She knows it's wrong, because as soon as you walk into the room she'll run and hide, even before you find the shoe. But she does it anyway. Annoying, I tells ya.

[Kristophe]

One of my girlfriend's friends is obese. Let's call her Amanda. Amanda's parents are also obese, and Amanda's mother is an LP nurse who seems to think that makes her a specialist on all aspects of biology. So, according to that family, they're all obese due to genetics (and deepfrying everything while their exercise regime involves getting in and out of their car has nothing to do with it).

Their cat recently died of diabetes. It was also quite obese. I'm not sure the "bad genes" argument can extend that far. At the very least, it would open a pretty big can of worms.

[Ronald Brak]

Makes sense to me. Plenty of people in this world are genetically predisposed to get fat after eating lots of deep fried food. A quite astounding number really.

[NEOWatcher]

... At the very least, it would open a pretty big can of worms.

Packed in water or oil?

[Kristophe]

Packed in water or oil?

Soil, I would assume.

[tofu]

When I was a kid you hardly ever saw a really fat dog or cat.

It's possible there is some selective memory going on here. The term "fat cat" has been in common use for quite a long time. That tells me that fat, lazy cats have been a cliche for a long time. Maybe you just didn't see them.

At any rate, I saw something recently that I thought was pretty cool. This guy made an exercise machine for his cats. When the cats use the machine, they earn a reward in the form of food. It looks fairly easy to build.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=f5Fg6KFcOsU

[Ronald Brak]

It's possible there is some selective memory going on here. The term "fat cat" has been in common use for quite a long time. That tells me that fat, lazy cats have been a cliche for a long time. Maybe you just didn't see them.

Your right. We even had a TV show called Fatcat and Friends. I probably repressed this because I was jealous that Fatcat had friends and I didn't.

[SeanF]

This guy made an exercise machine for his cats. When the cats use the machine, they earn a reward in the form of food.

Am I the only one who finds this hilariously ironic?

[NEOWatcher]

Am I the only one who finds this hilariously ironic?

No; but I wasn't going to say anything because I knew people would start with the "weight loss isn't the only reason to exercize". I make enough smart remarks without fore-seeing the consequences.

[tofu]

I was jealous that Fatcat had friends and I didn't.

LOL!

[Torsten]

There is a cat that often scratches on my door wanting to be let in (a successful tactic), sleeps inside my house at its convenience, and eats food from a bowl that gets refilled. This is Angus. Previously Angus lived with a neighbour who passed away.

I declared the cat to be on a diet: "You fat feline, I'm sick of you coming in here like you own the place, expecting to be fed, and leaving without so much as a 'thank you'. You wanna eat? Kill that deer when it comes through the back yard! Get out!"

So yesterday I saw Angus lounging on the deck, with a furry dead thing beside it - a rabbit. It was devoured some time later. Not quite the deer, and a small rabbit at that, but still . . .

[mugaliens]

Are our fat pets an indication that our culture's entire attitude towards food has changed?

Excellent question.

However, since they're not rationally intelligent beings, your hypothesis is highly doubtful.

It's far more likely that they're exposed to the same or similar xenohormones we are, and that's affecting their metabolisms the same way it's affecting human metabolisms, resulting in lethargy and obesity.

I don't see nearly the obesity in other countries as I do in the US, and come to think of it (if memory serves me correctly), this probably holds true for animals as well as humans.

It would be an interesting study, seeing if obesity among humans throughout developed nations correllates with obesity of their animals (indicating poor feeding choices), or merely among certain regions (indicating a possible external cause for both humans and their pets).

[novaderrik]

well, pets do tend to take on the behaviors of their "owners".
if the humans in the house eat a lot and just lay around all day, then what is the pet gonna do?
i'm not the most physically active person that ever lived, but i do like to keep somewhat active. i had two Siamese cats- mother and daughter- for about 10 years. i always kept their food dish full of good cat food (Iams dry) and they ate how much they wanted whenever they wanted. they were both skinny their entire lives. of course, they spent a lot of time chasing each other around. one time, when i lived in a trailer house, they kept themselves occupied for 3 days torturing a mouse they had captured. when it die, they lost interest.. but that's another topic.. they were indoor cats, and never went outside.
for 3 years, i had a female German Shepherd that i raised from a pup. she was an outdoor dog that had an automatic feeder that dispensed as much Iams dry dog food as she cared to eat. she got to roam free about 12 hours of the day- the rest of the time in a 6X12 cage- and she kept active. she weighed about 75 pounds all grown up, and could run a good 35 mph (i clocked her with my car chasing her home one day when she jumped the fence and went exploring).
in either case- the dog or either cat- if they had just laid around, they would have no doubt gotten fat.

[Moose]

Single indoor cats are very prone to boredom and depression. They eat because the food is available and there's really nothing else to do. Combine that with the general lack of exercise and it's not hard for the cat to become obese.

It was a major factor in my choosing to adopt a pair this time around. They keep each other pretty busy. They play this game and have since they got here: one stalks, pounces and chases. The other runs. They take turns and seem to switch being "it" every day or so.

It's funny to see Kaylee when it's her turn to pounce. Zoe's almost twice her size and weight, but Kaylee's surprise tackles are right out of Aussie-rules. I've seen Zoe get utterly flattened more than once.

[Maksutov]

Re fat cats and dogs, I blame the owners, Morris, and certain cuisines/restaurants, in that order.

Specifically concerning the cats, many of them are quite thin. Then they get elected to Congress.