London - Doting owners are often blamed when pets put on a few pounds.
But experts say that in many cases, obese dogs and cats are “emotional eaters”. They consume more than they need simply to cope with boredom or stress.
“There is a ton of evidence in humans, and animals like rodents, that stress-induced eating is a very real thing and contributes to obesity, so we should be looking at it in pet animals,” said Dr Franklin McMillan.
“If this is a major factor in our pets, then the standard approach, simply yanking away their food, is very misguided and potentially harmful.
“The indicators show that obesity is rising in humans and in pets. How much is attributable to emotional factors – that is the great unknown.”
Research suggests putting an “emotional eater” cat or dog on a diet could worsen its condition by taking away its “coping mechanism”.
Dr McMillan, a vet at the Western University of Health Sciences in California, said owners should try to address pets’ underlying emotional problems.
The research, published in the Journal of Veterinary Behaviour, found that half of dogs and a quarter of cats were obese.
Labradors, cairn terriers, Scottish terriers, Cavalier King Charles spaniels and cocker spaniels, along with domestic shorthair cats, were the breeds most likely to seek solace in their food bowls.
Dogs that lived in houses where there were no other dogs were the most likely to be obese, while cats in a home with just one or two cats were also most likely to suffer. - Daily Mail