Although Wayne Eggleston was mayor of San Clemente and probably is best known for creating Park Semper Fi, his cat Buster doesn't lag far behind in notoriety.
Buster, better known as Mr. Lover, is robustly rotund at 37 pounds. The 14-year-old tabby has been Eggleston's constant companion for 13 years, since he picked the cat for his outgoing personality at the San Clemente animal shelter. The cat since has become even more sociable. He greets visitors at the door. Once someone's inside, he won't stop talking.
At City Hall, staff pose for selfies with Buster. At his weight, he appears to be the county's heaviest cat, according to an informal poll taken recently by the Register.
The orange tabby and his gargantuan size is an example of a trend that is alarming veterinarians, pet nutritionists and animal medical groups nationwide. A 2012 survey by the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention found that nearly 60 percent of cats nationwide are overweight or obese. Dogs aren't far behind: 52.5 percent are labeled as unhealthily fat.
Experts say while some people think tubby tabbies and plump pooches are adorable, they're overlooking health risks associated with pet weight gain.
In the 2012 survey, 45 percent of pet owners assessed their cats and dogs as having normal body weight, while veterinarians considered them overweight. That's about 80 million dogs and cats at increased risk for weight-related disorders such as diabetes, osteoarthritis, hypertension and cancer. The animal obesity trend mirrors what's happening with humans: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports one-third of the U.S. population is obese.
Numbers also show the increasing amounts of animals being diagnosed and treated for weight-related conditions and illnesses. Veterinary Pet Insurance in Brea has seen pet obesity claims increase over the last three years. In 2012, policyholders filed more than $34 million in claims for conditions and illnesses related to excess weight. In 2010, the total was about $28 million. In cats, bladder and urinary tract disease was the most common ailment.
Dr. Pat Echolds, a veterinarian in Laguna Niguel, said at least 75 percent of his nearly 5,000 patients are overweight. More of the dogs are overweight, but many cats are morbidly obese.
“Many owners think that their obese pets are actually normal,” Echolds said. “People are used to seeing overweight pets, so they think fat pets are normal-looking. Also, most pets become obese because their owners are human enablers. The exercise that pets receive is also typically a reflection of how active of lifestyle the owner lives.”
Pets are graded on a scale of 1 to 5, depending on their body conditions compared with their percentage of fat. The higher the grade, the higher the level of fat. A grade of 3 is ideal. Echolds said he sees lots of dogs with grades 4 or 5. Cats make up the majority of the grades of 5.
Cats began increasing in size in the 1980s, when owners began keeping them indoors. The animals became less active, ate more out of boredom and began consuming a larger amount of manufactured food, instead of hunting and eating animals outside, said Dr. Matthew Wheaton of Laguna Beach, who said 60percent of his patients are obese.
“The causes of obesity are ridiculously simple. Eat more calories than you can burn off in a day, and you will gain weight,” Wheaton said.
“Cats can lose weight on the most fattening or calorically dense food as long as they eat the appropriate amount.”
The solution to obesity: Feed pets what they are built to eat, and feed them the correct amount. Cats are carnivores. They would eat nothing but animals in their natural environment.
“You can't feed them the opposite – high carbohydrate, grain-based, low-animal content, low moisture – and expect them to thrive,” Wheaton said. “It really is the same as feeding a cow a chicken burger for lunch and expecting them to be normal.