Obesity is an excess of body fat large enough to harm health. It is one of the most frequent nutritional problems in pet cats and the main preventable risk factor for feline diabetes mellitus. The NAVLE rewards two skills: recognising the diseases obesity predisposes to, and designing a weight-loss plan that does not push an obese cat into hepatic lipidosis.
Key facts
Obesity at a glance- Species and system: cat; multisystemic (nutritional and metabolic).
- Definition (MSD): obese is more than 20% above ideal body weight; overweight is 10-20% above ideal.
- Cause: energy intake above energy expenditure. Neutering, indoor life, ad libitum feeding and middle age are the usual drivers; some drugs (corticosteroids, phenobarbital) and endocrine disease add to it.
- Feline-specific comorbidities (MSD): diabetes mellitus and hepatic lipidosis, plus osteoarthritis, lower urinary tract disease and higher anesthetic risk.
- Weight-loss rule: slow, supervised loss on a therapeutic diet. Never fast a cat.
- Zoonotic or reportable: no.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs and assessment
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 3 self-test questions and 5 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.