Minnesota has the Fattest Dogs and Cats in the Country, Study Says

A study shows that Minnesota has the fattest cats and dogs in the entire country. Which I find ironic since Minneapolis-St. Paul was just named the fittest city in the country but...

There was a study done at 975 Banfield-branded veterinary centers in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. They discovered that 41% of our dogs and 46% of our cats are overweight or obese. Throughout the country, approximately one-third of cats and dogs are overweight or obese.

But why are our pets so fat? Is it because our winters last forever and no one wants to take walks in the cold and snow? That's not one of the reasons this vet cites.

Kirk Breuninger, a vet with the Banfield research team, spoke with the Washington Post and said that some reasons our pets get fat are because we give them too many treats, there has been a “'normalization' of bigger-than-ideal bodies," genetics, and people don't know what the best food is for their pet (Kirk says to talk to your vet about that).

Now before you say "but fat pets are cute!" are big vet bills cute? Because overweight or obese pets tend to have more medical problems and the vet bills will start to add up!

So maybe think about taking Fido a couple of extra blocks during his next walk? When it's warmer out of course...

Source: City Pages

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