Pets in Spain

Pet owners from all over the world are feeding their animals an astonishing diet of junk food, including scones, chocolate, pizza and burgers, a charity has revealed.

We want to warm people that the trend is fuelling an epidemic of over-sized pets, ranging from dogs and cats to hamsters, gerbils, rats, rabbits and budgies. The charity estimated that over the past year alone there has been a 10 per cent rise in the number of overweight animals - weighing in at half a million pets.

Animals that pile on weight are increasingly suffering from diseases associated with obesity in humans: from poor energy levels and breathing problems to painful and sometimes fatal illnesses such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, liver and heart disease and breeding problems.

Some of the most common problems are fatty and sugary human treats such as cheese, chips, scones and avocado.

Pets are often being fed by several different family members with people underestimating how big a ’small’ treat should be for a smaller-than-human sized animal: A single biscuit is like a packet of biscuits, or a single crisp is like a packet of crisps.

Some foods also contain substances that are safe for humans but dangerous for animals: chocolate has a stimulant called theobromine, which can cause heart failure in dogs and avocados contain persin, which can cause heart failure in small rodents and stomach upsets for cats and dogs. Many pet owners are ‘literally killing their pets with their kindness’.

One report from an inspector found a dog so grossly fat that it could not move out of its own urine. The owner, a pensioner, was banned from keeping pets for life after admitting cruelty for overfeeding his dog with a diet that included cooked English breakfasts. Then there was a 10-year-old cat called Ginger that was so fat she could not get through a cat-flap.

The Guinness Book of Records has also dropped listings of heaviest animals because of fears that owners were deliberately overfeeding pets to qualify.

If you think your pet is overweight you should take your pet to the vet for a check-up in case there is a medical problem and seek advice on a diet and more exercise.

The best treats for animals involved attention - from a walk in the park for a dog to playing with a cat. If owners really wanted to treat their pets with food, they should reduce their main meal and use the same dog food as treats.