Feline obesity is the most common nutritional disorder in companion cats, and the welfare conversation is shifting from weight loss methods to understanding the systemic health consequences of chronic excess weight.
Feline obesity causes insidious, progressive welfare harm through multiple pathways: reduced mobility and joint pain from excess loading; predisposition to diabetes mellitus causing thirst, weakness, and eventual neuropathy; increased skin disease from inability to groom normally; and reduced activity and playfulness that define healthy cat behaviour. Obese cats have significantly shorter lifespans — 2-3 fewer years on average than ideal-weight cats. The welfare problem is often invisible to owners who are habituated to their cat's size and mistake inactivity for contentment. Veterinary weight management programmes that combine structured caloric restriction, increased activity, and regular monitoring produce welfare improvements that owners consistently describe as transformative for both cat and owner quality of life.