Banfield Pet Hospital is based here in Washington and their headquarters are actually down the street! They put our their annual State of the Pet Health Report Annually and this year the focus is on osteoarthritis in our pets. The news is not good!
Osteoarthritis (OA) is a progressive and painful degenerative disease that can easily go unnoticed. This is especially the case in our cats. Overweight and obese pets in the U.S. continues to increase and diseases like OA are also in the rise as they are linked to overweight pets.
What's truly alarming is the statistic in their press release.
"With the number of overweight and obese pets in the U.S. reaching epidemic levels, diseases associated with excess weight like OA are also on the rise. According to the report, Banfield has witnessed a 66% increase of OA in dogs and 150% increase in cats over the past 10 years."
Weight management is really key and Banfield found 52% of dogs and 41% of cats with OA are also overweight or obese. This disease doesn't only target seniors either so any age pet can suffer from OA.
The overall advice?
"As veterinary professionals and pet lovers ourselves, all of us at Banfield understand diagnosing and treating a complicated and sometimes overlooked disease like osteoarthritis is a joint effort - and that pets can benefit from better management of both pain and excess weight," said Molly McAllister, chief medical officer, Banfield Pet Hospital.
There are other statistics from the report that all pet owners should keep in mind.
Other key findings from Banfield's 2019 State of Pet Health Report include:
- 6.1% of dogs and 1.1% of cats are affected by OA
- More than 20% of dogs and 4% of cats ten years of age and older are affected by OA
- Dogs with OA are 1.7 times more likely to be overweight or obese
- Cats with OA are 1.2 times more likely to be overweight or obese
The key learnings here is starting a weight management plan now that the summer weather is upon us.
These reports from Banfield Hospitals are always chock full of medical data that is easy to digest. Get on their list to receive emails!
What do you think about these statistics? Please let us know in the comments.
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