To help combat the pet obesity crisis PDSA launches its annual Pet Fit Club competition and is inviting owners of the UK’s biggest pets to apply for a chance to take part in the fat fighting contest. Pet Fit Club participants will take part in a tailored diet and exercise programme, overseen by expert vets and nurses over a six month period. Owners can enter their pets at www.petfitclub.org.uk; the deadline for entries is Sunday, 26 April, 2015.
1.
Millie (Female, 4)
Breed: Cocker Spaniel
Current weight: 33.5kg
Ideal weight: 16kg
109% overweight
Morbidly obese Millie’s eyes have always been rather too big for her belly, and the cheeky girl will steal any food she can get her paws on – even the cats’ food! She is also an expert beggar, using those puppy dog eyes at every opportunity, and even doing her own ‘happy dance’ when she gets her favourite treats.
Picture: PDSA
2.
Poppy (Female, 8)
Breed: Pug
Previous weight: 6.7kg
Ideal weight: 5.5kg
22% overweight
Poor pug Poppy was rescued from a puppy farm where she was used to intensively produce puppies for profit. This experience has left her with a number of health issues, including being dangerously overweight. Now settled into her loving ‘forever home’, new owner Megan is helping Poppy to safely lose weight and improve her health. Having lost 600g already, Poppy is finding it much easier to walk and run, and is well on the way to reaching her ideal weight.
Picture: PDSA
3.
Duke (Male, 2)
Breed: Labrador
Current weight: 61kg
Ideal weight: 30kg
106% overweight
Duke is your typical Labrador – a big softy that loves everyone, but most of all he loves food! At more than double his ideal weight, Duke is morbidly obese. His greedy tricks of the trade include stealing sweets from children, diving into his favourite savoury snack – a packet of crisps, and nudging his owner’s arm out of the way when eating dinner to plead for more food with his puppy dog eyes.
Picture: PDSA
4.
Bobby (Male, 9)
Breed: Chocolate
Labrador
Current weight: 63kg
Ideal weight: 32kg
97% overweight
Blobby Bobby is partial to picnics and has to be kept on a lead to prevent him from scoffing other people’s snacks. He’s even been known to raid neighbours’ houses for food! His greedy habits have helped contribute to his whopping weight of 63kg – more than twice what he should be.
Picture: PDSA
5.
Named after Guy Fawkes, due to his arrival on 5th November, this eight-year-old cat has always been a big chap. He lives on a main road so is kept indoors, but his owner struggles to get him to do any exercise as he is incredibly lazy! At nearly 11kg, this fat cat is closing in on three times his healthy weight! Angie wants to help him lose weight as she’s worried about his heart.
Picture: PDSA
6.
Boycus (Male, 7)
Breed: Black DSH
Current weight: 10kg
Ideal weight: 4.5kg
122% overweight
Rescue cat Boycus is one of several cats in the household; all the others are a healthy weight, but Boycus has ballooned in the last couple of years and is now morbidly obese. He has a tendency to eat everything in sight and his owner Sam has tried everything to restrict his access to food to help him lose weight. Boycus’ vet recently suggested upping the exercise levels, but with a fat, lazy cat, that’s easier said than done!
Picture: PDSA
7.
Ollie (Male, 10)
Breed: DSH
Current weight: 10kg
Ideal weight: 4.5kg
122% overweight
Meat-loving Ollie has battled with his weight ever since being rescued as a stray cat by owner George Holmes five years ago.
Picture: Nick McGowan-Lowe/PDSA
8.
Spider (Male, 17 months)
Breed: Rat
Current weight: 900g
Ideal weight: 500g
80% overweight
Spider, the giant rat from Swansea, used to be the smallest of Jan and Eryl Burton’s sevenstrong rat collection, but he has let his appetite get the better of him. Spider has been described by his owners as ‘more of a Bloodhound’ for his ability to sniff out food his siblings have stored and has developed the taste for corn-on-the-cob.
Picture: PDSA
9.
Grace (Female, 3)
Breed: Lagamorph
rabbit
Current weight: 3.5kg
Ideal weight: 2.5kg
40% overweight
Grace sports a double chin and has been classed as obese, after spending her days eating her siblings’ food, as well as her own. The ravenous rabbit is described as friendly, loving, but most of all lazy. She can’t even hop around the garden with her fellow furry friends without getting out of puff.
Picture: PDSA
10.
Jessica (Female, 1)
Breed: Giant French
Lop rabbit
Heaviest weight: 4.8kg
Ideal weight: 3.5kg
37% overweight
While her namesake may be known for her perfect curves, Jessica the rabbit has lost her perfect figure of late! Despite having the run of the garden, her habit of following her owners around the house begging resulted in a few too many treats of fruit and digestive biscuits.
Picture: PDSA
