Obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in companion cats, causing chronic pain, reduced mobility, and shortened lifespan. Prevention and management are essential welfare responsibilities.
Feline obesity is both a welfare emergency and a welfare creation: obese cats experience chronic discomfort from joint load, reduced mobility that prevents normal behaviour, and metabolic dysfunction that causes progressive disease. Yet obesity is almost entirely caused by management choices rather than inevitable biology. The combination of energy-dense commercial diets, ad libitum feeding practices, and indoor lifestyles that limit natural activity creates a perfect storm for weight gain. Prevention requires measurable, regular body condition scoring from kittenhood, portion-controlled feeding, and activity enrichment that encourages movement. Weight loss in established obese cats must be gradual to prevent hepatic lipidosis; crash diets are dangerous. Owners who successfully achieve and maintain optimal body condition in their cats provide one of the most impactful welfare improvements available.