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Review
. 2024 Feb;26(2):1098612X241228042.
doi: 10.1177/1098612X241228042.

Identifying the target population and preventive strategies to combat feline obesity

Hannah Godfrey  1 , Shawna Morrow  2 , Sarah K Abood  2 , Adronie Verbrugghe  2
Affiliations
Review

Identifying the target population and preventive strategies to combat feline obesity

Hannah Godfrey et al. J Feline Med Surg. 2024 Feb.

Abstract

Feline obesity continues to be a priority health and welfare issue. Most research surrounding obesity currently focuses on obesity treatment. However, treatment for feline obesity is slow, often unsuccessful and not without consequences. Identifying high-risk populations for obesity onset is crucial for developing and implementing preventive strategies. This review identifies post-gonadectomy kittens aged 5-12 months as the primary target population for obesity prevention in domestic cats and highlights dietary and feeding management strategies to be implemented for obesity prevention.

Keywords: Weight gain; dietary intervention; energy requirement; feeding management; gonadectomy; nutrition.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interestHG declares that they have participated in paid internships and engagements with pet food companies within Canada. SKA holds the Nestle Purina Professorship in Companion Animal Nutrition at the Ontario Veterinary College and is the owner of Sit, Stay, Speak Nutrition and provides nutrition consultation to industry partners. AV is the Royal Canin Veterinary Diets Endowed Chair in Canine and Feline Clinical Nutrition and declares that they serve on the Health and Nutrition Advisory Board for Vetdiet. AV has also received honoraria and research funding from various pet food manufacturers and ingredient suppliers. The authors declare that these do not conflict with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Recommended timeline for monitoring body weight (BW) and body condition score (BCS) during growth in kittens to prevent obesity after gonadectomy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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