World Pet Obesity Month: Is Your Pet Overweight? What Every Dog and Cat Owner Should Know

October is World Pet Obesity month and the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention (APOP) wants to hear from you.

There is also a new opportunity for pet owners to have a say in what APOP studies and develops next. The 2026 Pet Obesity and Nutrition Opinion Survey asks pet guardians owners and also veterinary professionals about body condition, feeding, nutrition, weight loss and weight management. The survey only takes a few minutes and is open through December 31.

Pet owners can take the 2026 APOP survey here.

This isn’t just a survey for people whose pets are overweight. APOP is interested in the experiences and opinions of all pet parents. Pet owners who provide an email address at the end of the survey can enter a drawing for one of five $50 gift cards. APOP says survey responses themselves remain anonymous.

Consider More Than Weight

APOP now says the conversation should begin not with a number on the scale, but with a simple question: What is my pet’s body condition scoring?

That distinction matters. Body weight includes muscle, bone, water and other tissues. Body condition is an estimate of how much body fat a pet is carrying, based on both appearance and touch. A pet can weigh what seems like an appropriate amount and still have too much body fat.

And the problem may be more common than many realize. APOP’s most recent published owner survey, conducted in 2025, found that 37 percent of dog owners and 43 percent of cat owners described their pets as above ideal weight. More than half of owners—56 percent of dog owners and 53 percent of cat owners—said they were trying to help their pets lose weight. Among those attempting weight loss, however, only 28 percent of dogs and 19 percent of cats were reported to have reached a healthy target weight.

Those numbers come from an opinion survey and should not be confused with veterinary-assessed obesity prevalence. APOP’s most recent published clinical prevalence data found that 59 percent of dogs and 61 percent of cats assessed at participating U.S. veterinary clinics in 2022 had body-condition scores in the overweight or obesity ranges. Among owners of those pets, 32 percent described their dog or cat as “normal,” “ideal,” or even as “thin.”

Look—and Feel—for the Signs

One of the easiest things owners can do at home is check their pet’s body condition.

APOP’s body-condition resources use basic observations such as feeling the ribs, looking for a waist from above and checking the abdominal profile from the side. Breed, body shape and coat can make appearance misleading, which is why feeling the ribs is important.

APOP emphasizes that an at-home assessment is a starting point—not a diagnosis—and that a veterinary team should confirm the assessment.

That conversation can be surprisingly simple. Ask your veterinarian:

“What is my pet’s body condition score, and what does it mean?”

“What should my pet weigh?”

“How much should I feed, including treats?”

“What do you recommend we do first?”

And perhaps the most practical question: “How can we make this work in our household?”

That last question is important because successful weight management must fit real life. Treats, table food, dental chews, toppers and other extras all contribute calories. However, weight isn’t always simply a matter of owners overfeeding or handing out too many treats. Some pets can gain excess weight despite what their owners believe is an appropriate feeding routine. Another reason to speak in depth with a veterinarian.

Don’t Wait Until the Problem is Obvious

That is why checking body condition periodically can be more useful than waiting until a pet obviously looks overweight.

APOP offers a Body Condition Quiz for dogs, cats and rabbits, along with feeding and calorie calculators, weight-management guides and other free resources.

These tools are useful starting points, but they don’t replace individualized veterinary advice. In particular, owners shouldn’t dramatically restrict a pet’s food simply because they think the animal needs to lose weight.

With so many overweight/obese pets it’s not surprise quality of life and even life span may be impacted. There is a direct correlation in cats between being overweight or obese and it leading to diabetes. Many other conditions may result from a poor body condition score and/or too much weight, including but not limited to osteoarthritis, some types of cancers, hypertension (high blood pressure), kidney disease, liver disease and more – this is not a complete list. That is not to mention pets may not be able to do what they were born do, for cats to chase and pounce and dogs may barely be able to go on walks. And yes, our pets may become depressed.

How to Help

Speak to your veterinarian about the various options, which may include a therapeutic or prescription diet, appropriate increases in activity, and adjustments to meals and treats. And yes, that can mean cutting back on human food and extra treats. The next few years could also bring an entirely new option. GLP-1 drugs are being studied for use in companion animals, and the expectation is that the first approval will be for cats, potentially as early as 2027 or by 2028, with dogs expected to follow. (Never offer a GLP-1 drug on the market today for people to a pet).