By Dr. Abby Huggins Mowinski, DVM
Key Takeaways
- Maintaining a healthy weight can improve your pet’s quality of life and support longevity.
- High-quality protein can help maintain lean muscle and support satiety during weight management.
- Regular, moderate exercise helps pets maintain a healthy weight and supports overall health.
Excess weight. Many people think of extra pounds as a cosmetic problem, but it is so much more than that. Obesity is as significant a health crisis in our companion animals as it is in the human population, with over 50% of dogs and cats in the overweight to obese range. Pet obesity is truly an epidemic; it leads to the same complications in our beloved animals as it does in humans. Carrying around excess weight potentiates osteoarthritis and joint disease, hypertension, heart and respiratory disease, Type 2 Diabetes/insulin resistance (especially in our kitty cats), as well as a host of other medical issues – all of which can negatively impact a pet’s quality of life.
As an athlete with a prior orthopedic injury (ACL tear repair), I am acutely aware that carrying simply 5 or more pounds over my ideal weight creates more pain and diminished athletic performance. What equates to just a 3% increase in my body weight can have profound effects on my overall well-being.
By comparison, a 3% increase in weight for a 10-pound cat is a gain of only 0.3 #. For a 40-pound dog, 3% body weight gain is 1.2# or a 2.4# gain in an 80-pound dog. That doesn’t seem like much, right? Yet, it is so significant. Next, let’s think of the more common scenario: the 12-pound cat in a 10-pound frame, or the 48-pound dog, whose ideal weight is 40 pounds. Each of these pets is carrying an extra 20% of their body weight. Those additional pounds are incredibly deleterious to overall health and comfort.
So, how can we help keep our pet’s weight in check? First and foremost, we must acknowledge that we, the pet parents, are in control of our pet’s waistlines. We control what they eat; we control their daily exercise. Once we accept that responsibility, then we can start making the right decisions to promote a healthy weight and lifestyle.
Start by assessing your pet’s current body weight. Although the scale is a good measure of weight trends, I prefer not to focus on the number. Instead, I look at how well my patients “fit in their clothes” – a visual and hands on analysis of body condition score, or BCS. In veterinary medicine, we standardize BCS on either a 5-point or 9-point scale – this provides a degree of objectivity between different professionals.
I cannot fathom the challenges human physicians face when they speak to their patients about healthy weight goals. We humans tie so much of our self-worth to external appearance and take comments about our weight deeply personally. Trust me, your cat doesn’t care if your veterinarian says that she needs to lose weight. She just cares that she can’t reach around to groom herself properly. Likewise, your overweight dog isn’t going to need emotional support or reassurance – he will simply be happy that he can get up off the floor without effort and pain. If your buddy exceeds the healthy weight range or your veterinarian suggests weight loss for your pet, you, and you alone, have the ability to fix that situation.
Proper nutrition and regular exercise are the foundation to achieving and maintaining a healthy weight. Nulo Pet Food makes the first part of that equation easy by offering optimal nutrition for all cat and dog life stages. The second half of the equation does require effort, but it is mutually beneficial – exercising with our pets is a win-win for our health and it gives us an opportunity to bond on another level with our 4-footed pals.
When I counsel owners on weight loss plans for their pets, dietary manipulation is key. Importantly, it is not just cutting back on the amount of food. While measuring out the amount you feed and accounting for any snacks and treats is essential, what you feed your pet is pivotal.
It is obvious why Nulo appeals to the athlete consumer – Nulo diets are formulated with the same dietary philosophy that the competitor strives to emulate. Athletes are profoundly aware of the importance of what we fuel our bodies with. Optimal nutrition leads to optimal performance. Our pets are performance vehicles too – if we provide them with the appropriate nutrition, it will improve their health, energy, and, ultimately, their longevity. We all want our pets to lead full, active, and complete lives.
Nulo Pet Foods contain exceptional quality ingredients and are formulated with a high protein-to-carbohydrate ratio that delivers sustained energy, while helping build and maintain lean muscle. Additionally, the diets contain no fillers or artificial flavors – none of that junk that fails to provide any nutritional benefit.
By choosing to feed our cats and dogs an optimally formulated, nutritious diet and making healthy body weight a lifetime goal, we can positively impact our pets’ quality of life, in particular their daily comfort and longevity. Nutrition as treatment? Nutrition as preventative medicine? Yes, please. Nulo Pet Food. Healthier Together.
faqs for healthy weight pets
Healthy Weight Tips For Longer Lives
The scale is useful for tracking trends, but body condition is a better day-to-day indicator than a number alone. Run your hands along your pet's sides: you should be able to feel their ribs with light pressure, but they shouldn't be visible or prominent. When viewed from above, there should be a visible waist, a gentle inward curve behind the ribs. From the side, the abdomen should tuck upward rather than sag or disappear entirely. A pet who is carrying excess weight will feel padded over the ribs, and the waist definition will be minimal or absent. It's worth noting that even small amounts of extra weight matter more than they might appear. For a 10-pound cat, just 0.3 pounds represents a 3% increase in body weight, and the compounding effects on joint comfort, energy, and overall health are real. Your veterinarian uses a standardized body condition score to assess this more formally and can help you identify a healthy target weight for your individual pet. Browse Nulo's healthy weight and indoor cat and dog recipes as a starting point for nutritional support.
The most important thing to understand is that weight management is about what you feed, not just how much. Measuring portions accurately, accounting for treats within the 10% daily calorie allowance, and choosing a recipe formulated to support healthy body composition are all foundational. For pets who need to get to a healthier weight, feed toward their target weight rather than their current weight, and reduce portions gradually rather than dramatically. High-quality, high-protein recipes help preserve lean muscle during the process, which matters because you want fat loss, not muscle loss. Protein also supports satiety, helping pets feel more satisfied between meals. Consistent mealtimes are better than free-feeding, which makes it easy for pets to graze past their actual needs. Regular physical activity completes the equation, and the benefits go both ways, supporting your pet's health and your bond with them. Work with your veterinarian to set a realistic target and timeline, and monitor body condition every few weeks to track progress.
Protein quality is the most important factor. High animal-based protein supports lean muscle maintenance, which is critical during any weight management effort, and keeps pets feeling more satisfied between meals compared to high-carbohydrate diets. The carbohydrate profile matters too: low-glycemic carbohydrate sources, like sweet potatoes and lentils, provide steadier energy without the blood sugar spikes that can contribute to fat storage over time. Controlled fat levels round out the picture, providing energy and supporting coat health without pushing calories beyond what a less active pet needs. What's equally important is what a recipe leaves out: unnecessary fillers, artificial additives, and high-carbohydrate ingredients that add calories without nutritional value. Nulo recipes are formulated with a high protein-to-carbohydrate ratio, whole-food ingredients, and no fillers, making them well suited to support healthy body composition across life stages. Browse Nulo's healthy weight recipes for cats and dogs for options designed specifically with these priorities in mind.
There's no single number that applies to every pet, since the right amount depends on species, breed, age, and current health status. For dogs, daily walks are a baseline, but the duration and intensity should match your dog's individual fitness level and gradually increase as they get stronger. Active play sessions, fetch, swimming, and off-leash time all count toward their daily movement. For cats, interactive play with wand toys, feather teasers, or laser pointers mimics the burst-style activity that cats are naturally built for, and even 10 to 15 minutes of active play twice a day can make a meaningful difference. The key principle for any pet working toward a healthier weight is consistency over intensity. Regular, moderate activity builds fitness gradually and is easier to sustain than occasional intense sessions. If your pet has orthopedic issues or other health conditions, check with your veterinarian before significantly increasing activity levels, as some forms of exercise may need to be modified.
Yes, and the reasoning is rooted in how pets' bodies are designed to use fuel. Dogs evolved as primarily carnivorous animals, and cats are obligate carnivores with even less biological capacity to process carbohydrates efficiently. Diets high in carbohydrates can contribute to blood sugar fluctuations and fat storage, particularly in less active pets. A high-protein, low-carbohydrate approach works with the animal's natural physiology rather than against it: protein fuels lean muscle maintenance and satiety, while low-glycemic carbohydrates provide steadier, more stable energy. For cats especially, this nutritional profile more closely mirrors their ancestral diet and is associated with better weight management and metabolic health over time. Nulo recipes are formulated with high animal-based protein, low-glycemic carbohydrate sources, and no empty fillers, supporting healthy body composition for both cats and dogs across all life stages.