Ozempic (weight loss drug) for pets and humans might cause blindness

Just four days ago I cautioned that there was an over-zealous approach to monetising Ozempic and Wegovy (same drug, different name) as a weight loss drug. The big Pharma companies want to monetize these drugs bigtime and they can see a lot of money in the obese cat and dog market for these products.

Ozempic is not a wonder drug for losing weight in people and cats as touted. Image: MikeB

These drugs have proved effective in suppressing appetite in people causing weight loss so why not do the same with cats and dogs?

Well, here is one reason: today's article in The Times newspaper "Blindness fears over weight drug Ozempic".

The Times refers to a new study which concluded that the drug may cause people to go blind. 

The Harvard researchers found that people taking semaglutide (Ozempic by a different name) were, in the words of the Times journalist, "significantly more likely to develop a rare and irreversible eye condition."

That I condition is called non-arteritic anterior ischaemic optic neuropathy, which results in sudden blindness in one eye. Usually it doesn't cause pain or discomfort and patients only notice one ey blindness on waking up. Shocking.

Ozempic was originally created to treat diabetic patients because it reduces weight and excessive weight can cause Type II diabetes. It is these patients who were found to be four times more likely to be diagnosed with this eye condition. People given the drug for obesity were seven times more likely to develop vision loss.

The study is published in JAMA Ophthalmology. It is the first study to identify that eye problems could be a side-effect of this popular new drug which is being rolled out in the NHS in the UK. Not any more I suspect.

I don't think that I need to go on. Researchers have found a very severe and side-effect to this wonder drug which has been touted as a massive solution to widespread obesity in people and cats in the UK and America. It isn't.

In an earlier post I said that humankind was emotionally lost if they have to rely on Ozempic to lose weight. The way to lose weight is to eat less. To rely on a drug is to go down a bad route because all drugs are poisons. A drug is worthwhile if the benefits outweigh the negatives. But there are always negatives, it just depends how bad they are.

This finding will put a huge dent in the monetisation of Ozempic and Wegovy and the good thing too because it might drive people to losing weight the natural way and in doing so they will probably feed their cats less as well because domestic cat obesity is the result of overfeeding and a lack of exercise. The two are always linked.

And I have always argued that if a cat caregiver is overweight they are likely to normalise being overweight and lose sight of an ideal weight resulting in not being able to assess their cat's weight accurately.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Ozempic tells us humans are becoming lost

In generalising as I must, humans in developed or advanced countries are becoming lost by which I mean behaviourally and emotionally. Humankind is drifting in the wrong direction. They've lost their sense of self discipline. Humans have lost their ability to deal with difficulties, deal with pain and suffering, deal with the kind of things that humans have to deal with in order to be successful and live life to the full. And to be healthy.

Ozempic face!! And body! This is a fantasy image of a person who took Ozempic to lose weight.

Ozempic® is cited as a wonder drug which suppresses a person's appetite which means they lose weight. It's a last desperate measure to tackle the obesity crisis among humans. Perhaps we should be giving it to domestic cats as well because they have an obesity crisis as a spin-off from the human crisis.

The huge popularity of Ozempic which will make billions of dollars for the manufacturers, is due to the simple fact that humankind nowadays has the inability to employ self-discipline to eat less. It's pretty much a simple as that.

Camilla Long, the Times journalist is very critical of humankind in her Sunday Times article. She criticises people for being unable to "countenance pain and suffering [which] has left us with Ozempic face and PTSD". Totally agree.

'Ozempic face' must refer to a gaunt face. Sharon Osbourne complained that she looked gaunt after taking Ozempic to lose weight. She regrets it.

It is called a game changing drug. A fantastic drug. Camilla Long is as disgusted as I am humankind. I must quote her.

"I can't think of a single product/medicine/panacea that defines our ephemeral world more - fill your life with disgusting junk food and then just wave a wand to make it go away."

There it is, nicely summarised by Camilla Long. Self-indulgent behaviour par excellence. Eat yourself into the grave but then take Ozempic to try and extend your lifespan. What about self-discipline? What about eating less? What about exercising a little bit? What about going for a walk in a wood or a forest to connect with nature?

There is a strong argument that eating less and exercising is far more effective than relying on Ozempic. And one day we will discover that Ozempic carries some horrible side effects. At the moment it is a wonder drug but every drug is a poison and I suspect that Ozempic is no different. Perhaps in 10 years time there'll be thousands of people with a chronic illness caused by Ozempic. Don't believe that any drug is a wonder drug.

Camilla Long complains that in every aspect of modern life people shy away from dealing with pain and suffering in order to achieve goals and live life successfully. It is a flabby, lost world.

And this discussion carries forward into the woke movement and snowflake teenagers and youngsters. The modern university student is a snowflake it seems to me. University has been dumbed down to make it much easier for students who been ill-prepared for university by their school classes. It's all dumbed down. Which means that young people are ill-prepared for the real world.

In the new world of modern parenting and schooling, nobody can fail. Failure is a word you can't use. This is the snowflake policy. Youngsters need to be toughened up. They need to face reality. They need to countenance pain and suffering in the words of Camilla Long. 

And the drug Ozempic is an example, a symptom, of the failure of humankind to face up to reality, get down and dirty, become self-disciplined, and organise their lives by taking the tough decisions.

Info about Ozempic which is not designed as weight loss drug

Ozempic® (semaglutide) is a prescription medicine used to treat type 2 diabetes. Here are some key points about it:

1. Blood Sugar Control: Ozempic® helps lower blood sugar levels by mimicking the action of a hormone called glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1). It stimulates insulin release from the pancreas and reduces glucose production in the liver.

2. Once-Weekly Injection: Ozempic® is administered as a once-weekly injection. It’s convenient for patients who prefer less frequent dosing.

3. Cardiovascular Benefits: Ozempic® has been shown to reduce the risk of major cardiovascular events such as stroke, heart attack, or death in adults with type 2 diabetes and known heart disease.

4. Weight Loss: While not specifically a weight loss drug, Ozempic® may help patients lose some weight due to its effects on appetite regulation.

5. Safety Considerations:

   • Do not share your Ozempic® pen with others.
   • Possible side effects include thyroid tumors, so monitor for symptoms like neck swelling or hoarseness.
   • Avoid Ozempic® if you have a history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) or Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN 2).

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Obesity link to 22 types of cancer in humans should concern cat caregivers

Although, unlike human medicine, where cancer is a reportable disease and long-term data are collected there are no comprehensive databases for cancer cases in pets which makes it difficult to talk meaningfully about a possible link between increased cancer rates in cats and increased obesity levels but I want to discuss that. That said, there are claims that cancer rates are rising but it is anecdotal.

And I want to discuss this topic because in the newspaper today there is an article based upon a study which concluded that obesity can increase the risk of more than 30 different types of cancer. This is not saying that obesity per se causes cancer but that obesity exacerbates the prevalence.

The research was led by a team at Lund University in Sweden. Fat cells send out signals that increase inflammation, make extra hormones and growth factors, which increases the risk of tumours.

We know that obesity in humans and in cats can have severe health impacts in other areas i.e. cause numerous other diseases. It is really important for cat caregivers to ensure that their cat maintains an ideal weight. It's so important to health.

But in this article I want to briefly touch on this study for humans. But let's say right away that human anatomy is very similar at a fundamental level to cat anatomy. I have always argued that the causes of illness in humans can often be the same causes of illness in cats. And therefore when I see a study about human health, I tend to think of the health of our cat companions and how we can ensure we protect it.

The study I'm referring to was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice. It concerned 4.1 million adults who were tracked over four decades.

The study confirmed established findings that obesity causes 13 types of cancer including bowel and breast cancer. However, the study identified a further 19 types of cancer associated with weight gain including cervical cancer and some skin cancers.

These forms of cancer make up 40% of all new cases in people affecting tens of thousands of UK citizens annually.

Until this study was published, it was thought that only 25% of cases were obesity-related.

Cancer is the leading cause of death in pets. As I said I can't correlate the rise in feline obesity which has been described as an obesity epidemic and a concomitant rise in cancer diagnoses but I think it is there.

Also about 47% of dogs over the age of 10 develop cancer and for cats it is 32%. But this information comes from personal experience is not comprehensive data as they are estimates. The numbers could be higher.

Female cats are at a higher risk compared to males especially if they've not been sterilised. And the risk of developing mammary gland tumours increases with age with the highest incidence in cats between 10-14 years of age.

My suggestion would be that veterinary clinics need to create a comprehensive database on cancer in domestic cats and dogs. 

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

An important trick to eating less and achieving a good BMI

Although there are many factors in reducing your weight and achieving a good BMI, in this short post I want to address one particular issue. It's actually one particular moment.

Beat that desire to eat more. The desire will pass quickly if you deny it. And eventually you won't experience the feeling at all.

It's the moment when you finish eating. You have eaten quite a small meal because you are on a journey to losing some weight. You immediately feel like eating more. That feeling comes about because you enjoyed eating. You want to continue the enjoyment of eating.

This is the brain playing tricks. It's almost how addiction works. You like to do something and therefore you want to do more of it. Food gives you pleasure and therefore you want to do more eating to get more pleasure. Simple formula.

And so there's that one moment when you finish eating when you want to eat more and you go to the kitchen to get some more food. And you go on doing that perhaps until you are sated. Until you are full up.

But the trick is this: you should know that that feeling that you want to eat more only lasts for quite a short time. That's how the brain works. If you deny that desire to eat more, which is quite a difficult thing to do sometimes, within about 20 minutes the urge to eat more will have disappeared. You then have no desire to eat more and you will have beaten a major problem of losing weight.

It all turns on that split second and having enough self-discipline or commitment to tell the 'devil' to go away. Soon afterwards it will be history and you'll feel better. 

There is an added benefit. You'll have trained you stomach to want less. A time will come when the desire to eat more won't happen.

You will have a clear conscience that you did the right thing and that you are on the way to a good BMI and better health and therefore more happiness because there's nothing that makes older people more miserable than chronic ill-health and obesity is likely to cause ill-health in old age. 

It can be tackled. It can be beaten and in this article I address one small but vital trick, one tool in the toolbox to beat obesity.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

More and more Britons, especially the young and poor are overweight with dire consequences for the NHS (and cats!)

Intro: I believe that it is time for the British people and other Westerners to put aside the sensibilities of obese people and start to criticise them. I know it's difficult and I know it's troubling to do that in a woke world and we need to respect other people. I get all that but human obesity epidemic levels are having catastrophic effects on society and I would argue on our animal companions. 

I would argue quite strongly that obese people are less good cat care givers in general, and I stress "in general" (some are great), and they might be prone to normalising obesity in their cats and dogs. This I think is technically possible and is indeed quite likely. 

When people assess the weight of their cat and dog, if they get it wrong they tend to underestimate it. In other words, many cat and dog owners are incapable of recognising mild obesity in their cat or dog. They think that there cat and dog have correct weights when they haven't. Being obese yourself encourages this perception.

And the obesity epidemic is a much bigger problem than that. It is costing the NHS £19 billion a year in treating those who are too fat and the associated lost productivity costs the economy £15 billion annually. It is putting people out of work. But I believe obesity is a symptom of attitude. Obesity can be beaten with self-discipline and a good attitude. I touch on these matters below.

Note: there is an obesity epidemic among cats as well as people. People should take note of that. It indicates to me that there is a link between human obesity and feline obesity which supports my argument on this page that when people are obese they have difficulty in assessing their cat companion's obesity. It becomes normal. That's the critical point I wish to make.

"Consistent with previous studies, it has been observed that pet owners tend to normalize their pets’ body condition, leading to an underestimation in the case of overweight animals and an overestimation for underweight ones. What was once considered “overweight” now tends to be viewed as “about right”. This shift is further amplified by the influence of social media platforms, and a similar trend may be occurring in the context of pets, perpetuating the belief that overweight animals are the norm in today’s society." - study report: The Perception of the Body Condition of Cats and Dogs by French Pet Owners and the Factors Influencing Underestimation.

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Is the growing obesity epidemic among Westerners - and I am mainly referring to Britons - a symptom of a breakdown in society as we know it which includes laziness! Yes, at its heart this is all about a lack of self-discipline and one consequence of that failing is to become fat. Becoming fat is self-indulgent and sloppy. The papers don't talk about this underlying problem in British society. They just tell us as The Times does today that 3,000 ward admissions a day are linked to obesity in the UK. It is a horror story.

But the press and the government need to genuinely tackle the problem. There is a reticence to criticise people who are obese. I understand it but I am afraid that political correctness and the woke movement has contributed to obesity. Society has accepted it. It has become embedded and normalised.

The government allows food manufacturers to continue to produce unhealthy processed foods high in salt and sugar. Junk food abounds on the shelves of supermarkets. It is addictive food. It seems that many have lost the art of cooking from raw, healthy foods to create simple meals that are cheaper and healthier.

It is not enough to report on human obesity, there needs to be an examination of the underlying causes. These will be deep within society. But a lack of desire to work and to keep oneself in good physical condition must be major contributing factors.

"Hospital admissions linked to obesity have doubled in six years to more than 3,000 people per day according to NHS figures that highlight the extent of Britain's weight problem." - The Times.

I have expanded the geographical area where there is a weight problem to Europe and North America. But the same problem exists I believe.

Obese people are far more likely to become ill. Numerous serious illnesses are linked with obesity. Combine the illnesses that are a consequence of obesity and the obesity itself causing lack of mobility and you have a person who is much less able to be a good cat caregiver. Yep, it comes back to pet cats as well. And the truth is that people who are habitually obese tend to normalise it and believe that obese cats are normal-weight cats when they are not. The result? An obesity epidemic among the cat populations of North America and Britain. More ill-health which could and should be avoided with a bit of self-discipline.

What happened to self-discipline? Why has self-indulgence arrived in the scene so dramatically? Is it partly down to a lack of education? It seems that those who've had the benefit of a good education are less likely to become obese.

There may also be an ethnic demographic dimension to this story. Luton is cited as the municipality where there is the biggest health toll from obesity with one hospital admission linked to weight for every 20 residents last year. See the quote below on the ethic mix of Luton.

The white ethnic group makes up 45.2 per cent of the population of Luton meaning there is a non-white majority in the town. The next largest ethnic group is Asian which increased from 60,952 in 2011 to 83,325 in 2021. The Asian group makes up 37 per cent of the population of Luton.

Luton Borough Council

It is time for the UK government to be much bolder and stricter in tackling the obesity epidemic engulfing the country.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

What happens inside the gut when a cat gets fat?

A study conducted at the University of Illinois College of Agriculture, Consumer and Environmental Sciences investigated what happens inside the gut i.e. the stomach and colon of a domestic cat when they eat too much and gain weight.

Fat cat. Image: MikeB (Canva) under license.

High level of feline obesity

The study researchers kicked off with this shocking bit of information: about 60% of cats in the US are overweight. Comment: I thought it was about 40% but the percentage keeps on going up. This extra weight can lead to serious health problems such as type II diabetes and joint problems and chronic inflammation.

11 cats participated in the study and here is another little bit of information which I also find shocking. These cats were fed a standard dry food diet. Dry cat food is known to be somewhat addictive because of the fatty spray they coat the pellets with. And this proved to be the case because they were allowed free access to this dry cat food. And during this time the researchers collected blood and faecal samples at regular intervals and they monitored the cats' activity levels.

Once the cats were allowed to free-feed they ate too much. I find that very strange because my cat doesn't do this and he is allowed a free feed. Perhaps the difference is that these cats were in some sort of research facility where they were allowed to move around but they might have become bored and boredom can lead to overfeeding. My cat is an indoor/outdoor cat and he spends quite a lot of his time outside being active.

To return to these cats. They put on weight fairly quickly. At the beginning of the study, they had average body weights. Using a cat version of human BMI, their BCS scores were 5.41 on a 9-point scale. After 18 weeks of overfeeding their BCS was 8.27. This meant that they were 30% overweight.

Gut microbiota composition

There were significant changes in gut microbiota composition. And the changes were surprising because the gut microbiota composition improved. There was an increase in a bacteria which has antimicrobial activity, which inhibits pathogens and stimulates the immune system. And likewise, there was a decrease in another bacteria which is linked to pro-inflammatory diseases. The former is called Bifidobacterium and the latter is called Collinsella.

The results were the opposite to what has been measured in overweight humans. In other words, when humans gain weight their gut microbiota becomes worse and less effective.

Transit times

This measures the amount of time the food, digested food and faeces remain in the body and travels through the body. The transit time was reduced and so was "digestive efficiency". When a cat eats less food, their stomach extracts more nutrients from the food and vice versa. This is because the food passes through the digestive system faster preventing an efficient extraction of nutrients.

Also course the cats pooped more which is to be expected! And finally, faecal pH decreased which meant that the poop became more acidic when they became fatter. pH measures the acidic and alkaline levels of a substance.

After this study they were put on a controlled restricted diet and they lost weight. The study impliedly found that if you feed dry cat food to a domestic cat you should restrict the diet. In other words, you should control the amount of food they have.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

How do you define "cat obesity"?

When you think of the word "obesity" you think of very fat people or sometimes very fat cats (and I don't mean the human fat cat namely the greedy, alpha male smoking a cigar happy in the knowledge that they have ripped off people to make a large profit).

Just 15% above the normal

But it might surprise people that feline obesity refers to cats with a weight which is 15% above the ideal. That's not much more than 10% above the ideal. You might think that is acceptable. You might not even really notice it and I wouldn't blame you. That's because people, including me, tend to normalise weight gain. You gradually lose your bearings as to what is the correct weight both for yourself and for your companion animal. The problem creeps up on you almost invisibly sometimes.

So, a weight gain of 15% in your cat might not be noticed but a veterinarian would describe your cat as obese. And it might not surprise you that the most prevalent nutritional problem for domestic cats and dogs in Western Europe and the United States is obesity!

You may have heard about the obesity epidemic both in humans and cats and I suspect dogs as well. It affects between 10 and 20% of pet cats but that figure is probably out of date as it is constantly climbing. The figure relates to a book published in 2007. That's long enough ago for the obesity epidemic to become much worse.

Infographic

Overfeeding

The reason for cat obesity might be a medical condition and it should be ruled out before a weight loss program is started. However, in the vast majority of cases weight gain is associated with over-nutrition i.e. feeding too much. The cat is taking in an increased calorific intake or there is a reduced requirement for the body to burn up those calories. The infographic above mentions other issues.

To put it another way, the cat is either eating too much or not burning off enough calories or both. My mind immediately turns to the trend which I believe is taking place in America and in the UK to keep cats indoors full-time. This restricts activity. Cats become bored and they eat addictive foods for pleasure. This is a formula for obesity.

Health problems as a result of feline obesity

And the problems associated with obesity include:

• Respiratory difficulties
• decreased cardiac reserve
• insulin resistance and the development of diabetes
• poor response to infectious diseases
• fatty infiltration of the liver
• increased surgical risk due to increased risk of anaesthesia, fat necrosis, slow wound healing, technical difficulty in performing surgery and
• feline lower urinary tract disease.

A quite comprehensive list which comes from (verbatim) NUTRITION AND WELFARE in my book The Welfare of Cats Edited by Irene Rochlitz.

Slow weight loss

Veterinarians would provide a word of warning about reducing a cat's weight. It should not be done too fast as this can lead to hepatic lipidosis which itself is a serious disease which can, unless it is turned around, lead to the death of the cat.

Clearly, for an obese cat to lose weight requires self-discipline on the part of the cat's caregiver. It's probably wise to obtain veterinary support to encourage the owner to follow dietary recommendations. This may be crucial to success on occasions.

Eating less is more effective than exercising

In respect of people becoming obese and desiring to lose weight, my personal research indicates that the strongest way to lose weight is to reduce food intake compared to doing more exercise. The latter will certainly help but the former will have a more dramatic effect and it should be a permanent change in diet for the lifetime of the person and the cat!

Picture of a grossly obese and grossly matted abandoned cat is shocking

NEWS AND COMMENT: The RSPCA have named her Big Bertha. She is a young two years old tabby cat. The past owner appears to have grossly overfed her and then abandoned her. She was dumped in Calthorpe Park, Birmingham, UK and weighed 11.8 kg in pounds (26 pounds). The average domestic cat might way around 8-10 pounds.

Picture of a grossly obese and grossly matted abandoned cat is shocking. Image: RSPCA.

The Birmingham Animal Center's supervisor, Emma Finnimore was shocked. She said that "This is the largest cat I have seen in my 22 years working for the RSPCA".

They found her in this bag:

The bag in which Bertha was found. Picture: RSPCA.

So, what did they do? The only thing they could do was to clip off all her matted fur and put her on a gradual weight, reduction diet. The clipped off fur weighed 0.3 of a kilogram incidentally. Dieting of this sort needs to be gradual to avoid fatty liver disease.

She was too large to go through a cat flap and the RSPCA had to adapt a cat run for her until she went to a foster home.

Foster carer Emma Cureton, said:

 "The weight has gradually come off and she's already lost an amazing 3.82kg - which is a third of her body weight. She's still got a little way to go but she'll get there and will soon be ready to find a new home. She was in such a sorry state when she arrived at the rescue centre with her matting pulling on her skin. We don't know how she got so large as she is only a young cat. We think maybe someone had been constantly feeding her as she was so large, she was left unable to groom herself."

Pretty well everybody knows that this kind of obesity is a major health problem leading to high blood pressure, diabetes, problems with the liver, skin and heat tolerance and damaging the joints.

Separately, the RSPCA said that there has been a 25% rise in the number of abandonment incidents. In 2021 there were 10,519 abandonments of pets while in the year up to October 2022 there has been 13,159.

The report does not say why, but I think I know and other reports have confirmed this namely that there were too many self-indulgent pet adoptions during Covid-19 in order to keep people company and to entertain them during those long lockdowns. 

Many of these adoptions have now gone wrong and the owners are either abandoning their cats and dogs or selling them on the Internet through social media.

Incidentally, there has been a worrying upward trend in harassment of farm animals by badly trained dogs in the countryside. This, too, has been put down to the same root cause namely adoptions by people who do not have sufficient knowledge about dog welfare and behaviour during the pandemic.

So, we are, in the UK, feeling the effects in a very major way, not only in respect of pet ownership but in many other areas of Covid-19 and its legacy.

Pill treats diabetic cats without daily insulin shots but is it a good idea?

This is a pill which apparently entirely substitutes giving a diabetic cat insulin jabs. It is therefore highly convenient. The drug is called Bexacat and it works by lowering blood sugar levels by causing it to be excreted in urine.

Made by Elanco Animal Health Inc., Bexacat was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December and is expected to be available in the U.S. in the next several weeks.

Pill treats diabetic cats without daily insulin shots but is it a good idea? Image: MikeB

RELATED ARTICLE: How common is diabetes in cats? It varies depending on where you are.

Often, domestic cats with diabetes in the USA have contracted the disease because of obesity. And as obesity rates are rising among the feline population so is diabetes. 

I'm told that between 1 in 100 and 1 in 500 cats in the US have been diagnosed with diabetes. Feline obesity apparently is approaching 50% of the domestic cat population in the USA.

This figure is constantly being forced down our throats! It is a dire statistic. But I have the distinct impression that if you make it more convenient to treat diabetes it's going to lead to more diabetes. This is because the cause of diabetes is carelessness in cat caregiving if that cause is obesity.

Convenience emboldens carelessness. The big pharma companies are really using human neglect to make some more money. The far better solution would be to try and find a way to ensure that people don't allow their cat companions to become obese. Perhaps that is impossible but it should not be.

Research, by the way indicates a clear reason why this bill has been manufactured. Owners of diabetic cats often have their cats euthanised. Statistics tell us that 10% of cats with a new diabetes diagnosis end up being euthanised. And within 12 months another 10% are euthanised because of the difficulties of giving them insulin jabs.

There are some downsides to this wonder pill, Bexacat. The first issue is that you can't go from giving your cat insulin jabs to then giving them Bexacat. That apparently is a no-no because this drug is dangerous and I think under those circumstances you could kill your cat due to a condition called diabetic ketoacidosis.

Also, before being prescribed this drug by your veterinarian, the cat has to be subjected to a health check for liver, kidney and pancreatic disease. The drug is not for every diabetic cat, they say.

And lastly, another barrier to its use, is the high cost. I'm told that most vets will double or triple the cost of the drug which is about $53 a month. That means they're going to be charging around $100 to $150 a month, which, it seems to me, is a substantial barrier to its use.

And on reading about the price, I suspect people who have been optimistic about using it will be brought down to earth rapidly and it may lead them to deciding to euthanise their cat.

Clearly, it's a good drug in many senses but I see a lot of downsides. Above all, it facilitates maintaining a diabetic cat.

It is harder to look after diabetic cat it may encourage cat owners to reduce their cat's weight which would in turn ease their burden in treatment. Perhaps I'm being too simplistic.

Almost half of the UK's domestic cats are obese and about 54,500 have diabetes as a consequence

NEWS AND COMMENT-UK: This is a story, currently in the news media, which essentially repeats what concerned cat owners already know, namely that there is an obesity epidemic among UK's domestic cats. The same, by the way, applies to America's cats. In fact, as I understand it, it is worse in America but there's not much difference.

2022 - the world's most obese domestic cat? Name: Liznya (Russia)

It's a known fact that obesity can lead to type II diabetes. This occurs in humans. The same thing is happening in our domestic cats. This is unsurprising because humans feed domestic cats. If they feed themselves too much, they feed their cats too much as well. It's a well proven formula 😒.

On my understanding of the process of obesity causing Type II diabetes, it is the fat which gathers around the organs which makes them malfunction. This applies to the pancreas which produces insulin. When the pancreas malfunctions there is less insulin in the bloodstream and blood sugar levels increase. This is the beginnings of Type II diabetes.

More than 3 million domestic cats in Britain are overweight. Sadly, it seems that Covid has increased the problem. A survey by Cats Protection indicated that more than 25% of the 2,000 cat owners polled admitted to overfeeding their cat during the Covid lockdown in March 2020.

In The Times newspaper today, January 28, 2022, they report on an interesting study carried out at the Medical University of Silesia, involving 750 Polish adults with an average age of 35. They found that most people are unable to correctly estimate their own body size, and that men are worse than women when it comes to judging whether they are a healthy weight. They think they are skinnier than they are. And people tend to normalise their weight to believe that they are a normal weight when they are overweight. Also, there's a stigma about being overweight which tends to make people underestimate.

Less than half were able to correctly estimate where they stood on a weight scale from underweight, normal weight to overweight or obese. They also frequently underestimated their body mass index, a measure of whether somebody is a healthy weight. The research is published in Scientific Reports. 

If a cat owner is unable to estimate whether they are obese or not they are highly unlikely to be able to do the same thing for their cat. I have said this before but obese people tend to normalise obesity and a lot of cat owners think that their cat is a normal weight when they are in fact obese.

RELATED: Average domestic cat weighing 13 pounds is at a high risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The Royal Veterinary College in the UK, is asking cat owners in Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire and in London to enrol their diabetic cats in a new dietary trial. Is your cat eligible?

To take part in the trial your cat must have been diagnosed with diabetes mellitus for six months. This, in my book, is Type II diabetes. If your cat is enrolled, he or she will be placed on a test diet for 12 weeks. They will also assess the cat's long-term outcome. The diet is an ultra-low carbohydrate diet. It will be free to cat owners.

RELATED: Can cats be cured of diabetes?

It has been conclusively shown in humans that losing weight can have a dramatic improvement in health vis-à-vis diabetes. Diabetes can go into remission with even relatively modest amount of weight loss on my reading of the information in the news media.

You will have to bring your cat to 5-7 outpatient appointments at the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals near Potters Bar, in Hertfordshire.

RELATED: Cat diabetes – home treatment – first-hand experience.

The assessment will also look at whether the microbiome in your cat's gut changes as it changes with respect to humans when they reverse the diabetes.

One owner talks of the benefits of weight loss and eliminating diabetes. Her name is Rachel Fortescue. She lives in Fratton, Essex, UK. She put her diabetic Burmese cat, Lester, through the pilot scheme last year which reversed diabetes. 

She told The Telegraph newspaper: 

"I have watched Lester turn back into a happy, affectionate, playful cat again as the symptoms of his diabetes has disappeared and for that I am eternally grateful."

Chonky, square, grey tabby is eye-catching

This chonky fella has become a hit with guests at the Best Western Silver Fox Inn, in Waterville Valley New Hampshire, USA. Well, at least that was the case in 2016. That's five years ago but Logan was eight years old at the time weighing 31 pounds which is about three times the weight of a normal domestic cat. That makes him 13 today and if he maintained that weight I would suspect that he is ill with conditions such as diabetes and arthritis but perhaps I am being too negative.

Logan a grey tabby cat weighing 31 pounds. Photo: Jim Cole (AP).

His appearance is certainly eye-catching so it is no surprise that he has become a feature in the area. One Facebook video was viewed 29 million times or more. He was adopted by Susan and Tor Brunvand from Meredith, New Hampshire from a shelter. At that time he was a normal-sized cat. Sadly, they allowed him to become obese. It is fun to see a chonky cat like this but on a more serious note it is very unhealthy. Apparently he had a habit of eating the food of other cats in the household.

ASSOCIATED: 3 life stages of the domestic cat in terms of body weight and nutrient requirements

Perhaps I've been a bit unkind because I read that his weight may be due to 'slow metabolism'. They took him to a vet for advice. I suspect, though, that he put on weight because he ate too much. The fact that he was normal weight when adopted supports that assessment. 

Sometimes you just don't realise how much you and your cat eats. People have a habit of normalising the things that they do and the weight that they gain. That is why it can be difficult to recognise weight gain. I recently wrote a page about that which you can read if you want to by clicking on this link.

Although he's very popular there were (still are?) people who were criticising Susan and Tor because it does indicate an irresponsible attitude to cat caregiving. Although we shouldn't be too critical. One person threatened to report them for animal abuse. And another, Janet Lynn, a guest to the hotel from Manchester, New Hampshire asked: "I just wonder why a person would have a pet and let it get that heavy?"

The Brunvands seem to have laughed this off because they think they can't do anything about his weight. Susan says that he is happy and that "He doesn't think he's fat".

The likely reason why Logan is as fat as he is, is because he eats too much and doesn't exercise enough. It is not rocket science. A consistent dietary change over a long period of time would be beneficial. In the meantime the guests of the hotel can continue to be amused. However, I am sure that in the back of their minds they are also concerned for his health.

Catastrophically obese Sphynx cat

This is a catastrophically obese, hairless cat, probably a Sphynx. How on earth the cat's owner got his/her cat into this state is beyond me. There is a slight possibility that this is a photo-edited image but I don't think that it is. However, it may be fabricated in some other way but it is unclear. I have to believe it is as it is difficult to believe this could be genuine. 

It comes from Pinterest and I have no information about it except, perhaps, that the cat might live in Asia because the image appears to have been updated by an Asian woman.

Catastrophically obese Sphynx cat. Photo: Pinterest.

You might have heard of the 'pet obesity epidemic', which describes a very high percentage of domestic cats being obese perhaps something in the order of 33% of all domestic cats and dogs are obese to varying degrees in the US. Obesity brings with it a raft of health problems including, just like people, Type II diabetes aka "sugar diabetes". And sugar diabetes is a very dangerous disease which eventually kills you as it affects the functioning of various organs such as the heart, liver and kidneys.

Associated page: Domestic cats should be able to self-regulate their weight so why do they become obese?

America's children fatter than ever. No chance of cats slimming down then?

We been told over and over again that America's domestic cats are overweight. There is a pet obesity epidemic we are told by the country's veterinarians. One reason, perhaps the overriding reason, is that people are losing their perception of what is a normal weight. If people think fat is normal then their pets will be fat. And today, The Times, tells us that America's children are fatter than ever. I take from that sad information that there is little chance that domestic cats will be slimming down in the future because America's next generation are going to be fatter than the previous.

Obese and diabetic tabby cat. Photo: Pixabay.

It isn't just America, although it's the worst, which is suffering from an obesity epidemic. The report says that American children eat more junk food, are fatter and suffer more from diabetes than they did 20 years ago. The prevalence of type II diabetes in the age range 10-19 rose by 95% between 2001-2017. Cases of type I diabetes increased by 45%.

The study was funded by the CDC and the National Institutes of Health. In a second study it's been found that 33% of paediatric patients are above the expected weight for a child of their age.

At present, 10% of Americans, which is 34 million people, have a confirmed diagnosis of diabetes. Diabetes is a serious illness but unfortunately a lot of people believe that they can manage it so well that it is hardly any illness at all. However, if left untreated it causes heart, liver and kidney disease, and damage to nerves and blood vessels which can result in blindness and limb amputations.

Diabetes is preventable by losing weight and adopting a healthy diet. It is believed that the situation in America is so critical that an expert panel has advised that anyone older than 25 years of age who is overweight should be screened for type II diabetes.

There is an epidemic of diabetes and pre-diabetes by obesity in America and the same applies to their companion cats which is distressing for both creatures but, for me, particularly the cats because they are the innocent victims of wayward human behaviour.

Fat cat obsesses over the sight of a grilled cheese sandwich

This cute but obese tabby cat who dearly loves his food is obsessing over the grilled cheese sandwich that is female human companion is deliberately eating in front of him. She is teasing him with it and he has fallen for the bait. You can see his head tilt to the right and in his mind he is eating it as his mouth opens and closes. He would give his right arm to get his chops around a piece of that grilled cheese.

Fat cat obsesses over a grilled cheese sandwich. Screenshot.

And I don't want to spoil the fun but you can see why he has this reaction. In the past, on numerous occasions I suspect, he has got the cheese. He has got what he wants because his owner loves him and can't resist his charming demands. And so over a period of time he has got into the habit of eating human snacks which is why he expects it to happen this time on camera.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

I'm pretty sure that he got some of it after the filming was completed! A bit of cheese is fine, of course. They love the fat in it. But you know what the veterinarians say about obese cats? They say that there is an epidemic and that about 40% of domestic cats are overweight. One reason is because they are given too many treats. In fact, that is probably the main reason and the reason behind that reason is because their owners love them and they want to do something for them which pleases them. And many cat owners have normalised obesity. They can no longer recognise what normal weight looks like! I wonder if she realises it.

Unfortunately, you have to be cruel to be kind sometimes because, as is the case for humans, feline obesity leads to secondary health problems such as feline diabetes.

You know that if a diabetic person loses even a relatively small amount weight, on the basis that their diabetes is caused by being overweight, then they will go into remission very often. This is a well tried and tested process. You don't want to look after diabetic cat because there is quite a lot of extra work to do. In fact, I have a page on that by a person who did look after a diabetic cat and he wrote about his experiences.

4 cat health problems caused by obesity

There are at least four and probably more diseases and conditions caused by feline obesity. Obesity contributes to arthritis. There is a fourfold increase in type II diabetes in obese cats. Obesity can lead to a dull, unkempt coat because cats can't get to those parts of the body that need grooming. The chances of a cat suffering from hepatic lipidosis are greater if the cat is obese or overweight. Hepatic lipidosis is also called fatty liver disease or syndrome. This disease is also caused by a crash diet ironically. 

Obese cat. Image: Pixabay.

If you want your cat to lose weight then you should do it gently. But please do it! Other factors associated with the onset of hepatic lipidosis include deficiencies in nutrition, diabetes, hyperthyroidism, anorexia as mentioned and diet change as mentioned. In America as many as 57% of domestic cats are believed to be overweight or obese.

On the issue of a poor coat, although I am not a great fan of dry cat food, I can recommend Hills Oral Care. My cat tends to have a nice, high quality coat when he feeds on this commercially prepared food. Of course, he is not overweight and therefore is able to groom himself in addition to which I comb him daily with a very fine comb which he thoroughly enjoys.

In addition to obesity substantially increasing the risk of contracting Type II diabetes, other risk factors include increasing age, physical inactivity, use of steroids in treating other illnesses, male cats and physical inactivity.

Apparently Burmese cats in some countries appear to have a high risk of developing diabetes over other breeds. The two most common signs of diabetes in cats are weight loss despite a good appetite and increased thirst and urination.

Without wishing to preach, there are two ways to get a cat to lose weight which are to feed him or her less and to ensure that she exercises more i.e. is involved in more physical activity. It is easy to deceive oneself as to how much food one is providing a domestic cat.

The reason why obese cats are predisposed to becoming diabetic is because obesity causes increased levels of fatty acids and inflammation which leads to insulin resistance which in turn can lead to type II diabetes.

Before and after pictures of a cat who lost a lot of weight

Here is a nice montage of a couple of side-by-side, before and after photographs of a cat who lost a lot of weight. His owner praised his cat. I praised his owner! It takes persistence to get this effect and it should be a slow process to avoid the possibility of feline hepatitic lipidosis (fatty liver disease). Slow cat dieting is the order of the day if it has to be done.

Before and after pictures of a cat who lost a lot of weight. Photo: Reddit.

Senior cats should be on a reduced calorie diet. Before dieting a cat it may be wise to consult your veterinarian in case there are no medical reasons for the obesity. An estimated 40% of cats are obese. As many cats turn carbohydrates into fat, a low carb, high protein and high fat diet will help her lose weight. This sort of diet may be more effective than a low calorie, high fibre diet. A high protein diet takes a domestic cat back to her natural diet.

Food should be provided in a measured way 2 or 3 times per day and no more. No gourmet foods, human scraps and treats. Perhaps a limited amount of treats! Make sure she is not scrumping food elsewhere such as from a neighbour. Chart the weight loss. She should lose one percent of body weight per week and no quicker to avoid hepatic lipidosis.

Provide some exercise daily. Try and make the food harder to access by moving it around. Lean body mass may be enhanced with a supplement called L-carnitine. Seek your vet's advice on feeding it at 250-500 mg per day.

The diet should be complete after about eight weeks. Then maintain the correct weight using the tools and methods that you have learned in getting her weight down.

Picture of overweight, startled gray cat tells a story

You know the saying 'a picture is worth a thousand words' well this picture of a badly overweight gray, startled cat being carried by a smiling woman got me thinking about the backstory. Is the young woman the cat's owner? Is the room a kitchen in a residential home or is the woman a veterinarian or vet tech and is the room a part of a veterinary clinic? Or, an animal shelter - my preferred choice. You can see how pictures can also mislead. They don't always tell the truth even if they are worth a thousand words. Fake news comes to mind.

Is this a vet clinic or a kitchen in a residential home? Pic: Reddit.com

Looking at what is on the counter (medical stuff?) and the general layout and functionality of the place, this looks like an animal shelter of veterinary clinic. The cat might have been brought into the clinic for a health check and to start a diet which is sorely needed. The diet should be immediate, gradual and permanent to avoid hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease being started). But he is probably an abandoned cat at a cat shelter or the owner has died leaving behind this chonky feline.

Putting aside the cat's obesity, which is unpleasant to see, the cats' face is cute. Startled and bemused. Domestic cats do pull some funny faces but they are fleeting moments captured by the camera.

Someone commented that the cat could be pregnant too. I think this is just good old, plain obesity. Killing by kidness. It is ironic that some cat owners give their cats treats because they feel it is the kind thing to do, as it pleases their pleading cat, but in truth it is a silent form of cat abuse.

Feline obesity causes real harm to health over time. Type II diabetes immediately comes to mind as a consequence of obesity just as it is for humans. There is an epidemic of obese domestic cats just as there is an epidemic of obese humans in the greedy (metaphorically and actually) West. Obesity has become somewhat normalised. People can no longer tell what it is to be overweight and they pass this failing onto their poor cat who loves those threats.

Perhaps the obese cat owner wants to be loved but is deprived of it because they are obese. They make up for this hole in their lives by seeking the love and approval of their cat companion. Result? Too many treats and feline obesity.

I'd bet that almost all obese cats live with obese cat owners.

P.S. The fact that domestic cats can overeat is interesting. You would have thought that they would self-regulate better. In the wild, the wild cat species don't become overweight even if there is an abundance of prey animals to kill and eat. They self-regulate. I can only conclude that the reason why domestic cats do not sometimes successfully self-regulate their diet is because they are bored. They eat for pleasure when offered a treat. They enjoy treats so they ask for more and the owner gives it to them. It's a sort of toxic partnership.

Thirty pound tabby cat abandoned by her owner

There is a report today (20 Sept 2020) that a Philadelphia tabby cat weighing 29.5 pounds was abandoned (and fortunately rehomed). We have to presume that her owner abandoned her. If that is the case, and of course I am speculating, then the owner is the person who made her obese. He or she then decided that having done that to their cat they didn't like it so they got rid of her. They didn't even have the decency to take her to a rescue centre. They probably avoided a rescue centre because they were embarrassed by what they had created.

Obese cat Lasagna was abandoned in Philly, USA. Photo: ACCT Philly

The cat's first name is Lasagna which is appropriate considering her weight. She was found abandoned in a dog crate overnight in Hunting Park by ACCT Philly shelter workers last Sunday (20 September).

Having posted her picture online they have been inundated with offers by people who fell in love with her. They like a chunky frame. She was quickly adopted by the Hammer family who live in Vineland, New Jersey. She is very sociable and friendly and likes her belly to be rubbed. They're going to work, I hope, with their local veterinarian to help Lasagna lose weight. We know all about feline obesity and how it can cause health problems such as bad joints, heart problems, diabetes, thyroid issues and others! She already suffers from stiff joints and cannot groom myself.

She still quite young at five years of age and therefore there is time to get her on a good diet and to gradually lose weight. The point of the article is the oddity about Lasagna being abandoned by her owner. If the owner did abandon her then it is a double whammy of irresponsible cat ownership.

Increase in Pet Obesity Is a Worrying Trend

British dogs are now amongst the fattest in the world.  35% of British dogs are overweight or obese which is a larger proportion than in France (39%) or Australia (31%).  The United States of America has a special place in obesity rankings as we are told that 55% of cats and dogs in America are obese (USA trends).

In this article I will discuss dogs but the same sort of principles obviously applie to all pets including cats and I have written about cat obesity before.

Obese dog in Morocco. Photo Jeremy Vandel (Flickr)

There appears to be a world trend particularly in developed countries of couch potato owners and obese dogs.  With respect to dogs it isn't just about obesity.  We are also told that many of Britain's dogs are also aggressive and disturbed because they are not getting enough stimulation through play and activity.  This is all part of the couch potato mentality which has begun to afflict British people.

The British say that they are a nation of dog lovers indeed pet lovers but it appears that many of their dogs are unhappy because they are providing their dogs with a life which mirrors their own.

The research was carried out by Alex German who analysed 30 scientific papers.  Mr German runs a specialist veterinary clinic for obese dogs and conducted the research at Liverpool University.  He says that there is a shocking and rapid rise in the weight of the British dog.  He not infrequently sees dogs who are twice the weight they should be. Even greyhounds he says are overweight.

He says that there is a parallel rise in the weights of dogs and people. Fat parents begat fat children and develop fat pets. This is because people treat their cat or dog as another child.  It's all about overfeeding and under exercising and there's no getting around that simple conclusion.

In Britain 64% of adult British citizens are now overweight or obese. The British are doing their best to match up their pets to the same level of obesity. With obesity comes health issues such as diabetes and arthritis. We all know that yet it doesn't change the habits of the couch potato pet owner.

Veterinarians say that being overweight can shorten the life of a dog and I presume therefore a cat by around 2 years on average. Some British people overfeed their pet by as much as 60%. The problem is often treats. Fatty treats such as fast food leftovers and crisps or biscuits and chips given to the dog is the problem.

With respect to exercise, dogs are being taken for shorter walks. This is partly because many people rarely let their dog off their lead in case they run away or perhaps get into a fight. When the dog is taken out on a lead the dog walks a lot less and therefore gets a lot less exercise. Dogs which are allowed off the lead cover 5 times more ground than those on the lead.

Dogs need long walks because without them obsessive-compulsive disorders can develop such as spinning around in circles. Dogs have got their own Facebook which is meeting up with another dog and sniffing the dog. Dogs need to do this sort of thing.

The cure is strict and permanent dieting with increased exercise but will people do this? As long as  people themselves are unable to exercise or eat less it is highly unlikely in my opinion that they will care for their dogs to a higher standard.

Thirty-one Pound Australian Cat

Sumo from Brisbane, Australia is not only a large, big boned cat, he is also very overweight and as a result he weighs 31 pounds or just over 14 kg. The average cat weight is around 10 pounds or it should be.

They say that domestic cats in the West, especially the UK and USA are becoming more and more obese in line with their owners (I regret to say) but it appears something similar may be happening in Australia judging by the size and shape of Sumo.

Sumo is the largest cat that the RSPCA have looked after over the preceding four decades and I can well believe that. I think that his exceptional weight is, as mentioned, in part due to his physical size.  This is a big grey tabby and white cat.

Sumo was brought to RSPCA because his owners were moving home and they couldn't take Sumo with them. I regret to say that I have heard that excuse before and it may be a genuine reason but very often it is a rather glib excuse to abandon a domestic cat which it is clear they were unable to look after properly. I don't wish to be overly critical but anyone who lets their cat reach the weight of 31 pounds is doing something wrong like overfeeding their cat (on the basis that the cat is not a large Maine Coon or wild cat hybrid).

The RSPCA have put him on a strict diet but unfortunately it is a dry food diet which is high in carbohydrates. Dry cat food is exceptionally high in carbohydrates at about 30% carbohydrates when the figure should be 3% carbohydrates in cat food. Many obese cats have become obese free feeding on dry cat food. Fortunately in this instance the amounts he is allowed to eat is tightly regulated but I would certainly take him off a dry food diet as soon as possible.

A cat losing weight should lose it gently over a period of about 6 months. Obese cats are subject to health conditions that wouldn't exist but for the obesity such as heart and kidney disease, diabetes and arthritis.

Note: the photo is by Tanya Boland who works for the RSPCA.