This picture was posted on Cute Overload a few days ago, and I’ll admit, I’m confused. What exactly is cute about a cat this obese? He certainly has a handsome face, but from the neck down he’s looking more tragic than cute. This cat should probably be 1/3 as wide as he currently is.

Thankfully his family is putting him on a diet, but it begs the question – why, as a culture of cat lovers, do we still have positive associations with the image of the overweight cat, when the negative health consequences of being over weight are so well known?

Many cat owners recognize the risks of an overweight kitty, but others still hold it up as an ideal.

Where does this attitude come from?

The strange perception of fat cats being cute probably comes from a variety of sources.

• Is it the happy fat cat image that is portrayed in the media (Garfield et al)?
  
• Is it lack of education by veterinarians and organizations that adopt out cats (shelters, pet stores, breeders etc) to new owners?
  
• Do cat owners lack the ability or education to distinguish between muscle mass (healthy weight) and fat mass (unhealthy weight)? Or even between a cat looking “fat” because of dense fur, vs a cat being fat because it is carrying excess weight?
• Do people just fail to make the connection that obesity is a health issue that crosses species lines?
  
• Have pet food manufacturers provided misinformation about cat health and appropriate feeding?
• Are cat owners, unable to manage their cats weight, assuaging their guilt and negative feelings about this failure by attributing positive traits to obesity, thereby making it seem “not as bad”?

I believe all these are contributing factors to the “cute fat cat” perception.

Why should we care?

Even if we know that being obese is bad for our kitties, it’s much easier to ignore the very real dangers of obesity if we have a positive aesthetic association. We’re more likely to take our own cats’ weight less seriously and we’re less likely to discuss the inherent problems when the topic of fat cats comes up with other cat owners who may be less educated or aware.

So what can we do?

As a cat owner you can:

• monitor your cat’s weight,
• put your fat cats on a diet,
• discuss your experiences with dieting and health problems caused by feline obesity with other cat owners,
• contact cat food companies and demand that they put better feeding guidelines on cat food packages & provide accurate information about cat nutrition,
• learn to determine if your cats are at a healthy weight through observation,
• discuss weight concerns with your vet,
• don’t glorify obesity by sharing images without discussion or expression of concern.

As a shelter volunteer or worker you can:

• talk to the public and other volunteers about cat nutrition,
• talk to potential owners about the special needs of over weight cats,
• ensure that new owners of over weight cats are prepared to take the necessary steps to bring their new cat’s weight down,
• educate others about the dangers and health risks of feline obesity,
• show potential owners the consequences of obesity that some of the shelter cats are experiencing (poopy bottoms, mats, arthritis, daily medical treatment required for diabetic cats etc)
• correct misconceptions that fluffy, cobby or large cats are “fat”,
• correct misconceptions that fat cats are “big boned” or “muscular”.

As a veterinarian you can:

• make sure your clients understand the dangers of feline obesity,
• determine your patient’s ideal weight so that their owners have a baseline,
• teach your clients how to use their hands and eyes to determine if their cat’s weight is changing,
• teach your clients how to use their bathroom scale to weight their cat,
• provide feeding guidelines based on what your clients are feeding, and make recommendations on switching to a more appropriate diet if necessary,
• make sure your clients understand the seriousness of obesity and how important it is to be persistent in reaching and maintaining ideal weight,
• promote the benefits of a healthy cat.

We live in a society that has a tendency to glorify unhealthy extremes and ignore the underlying dangers of things we consider aesthetically pleasing. Changing cultural attitudes isn’t easy, but we can start by changing our own and promoting the beauty that comes with good health.

Related posts:

1. Feeding chart by body weight
2. Declawing – don’t choose to stay ignorant
3. 5 New Year’s Resolutions for you and your kitty
4. Nutro Recalls Dry Cat Food
5. Choosing the right cat litter

Tags: cat owners, cute, education, fun, Health, Nutrition, obesity, perception

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 18th, 2009 at 12:14 am and is filed under Cat Care, Nutrition, Opinion, Responsible ownership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.