Fat Cats!

Sometime back, I wrote about how some veterinarians in England were prescribing Ritalin for cats who had "personality" issues. A recent article in the London Times indicates that there are a lot of fat cats in England and that apparently the issue of obese cats is a "growing" problem. Here's an excerpt from that article:

"Fat cats in Britain are beginning to suffer the same diseases as their owners. A growing number are having type 2 diabetes diagnosed, as obesity and lack of exercise take their toll.

A pioneering study at the University of Edinburgh has found that one in every 230 cats in Britain is diabetic. Although there is no baseline for comparison, the evidence suggests that the rates of feline diabetes are rising rapidly. A study in America in the 1970s found only a fifth as many cases.

Professor Danielle Gunn-Moore, who led the study, said: "'The lifestyle of cats, just like their owners, is changing. They are tending to eat too much, gain weight and take less exercise. Unfortunately, just like people, cats will overeat if they are offered too much tasty food, particularly if they are bored and have little else to do.'"

“'While cats would naturally exercise outside, many cats are now house-bound — perhaps because they live in a flat or because their owners feel that it is too dangerous to let them out — so they have little to do all day but eat, sleep, and gain weight.'”

Diabetes in cats, as in people, is a serious, often fatal, condition and affected cats need daily insulin injections and a special diet. They also face an increased risk of pancreatitis, urinary tract infections and other problems."

I certainly don't want to leave the impression that this is just a humorous take on obese cats. I think that it speaks fairly eloquently to the fact that we humans don't take very good care of ourselves—or our animals.