Reader\'s Digest Canada - 04.2020

illustration by clayton hanmer

Ways to Help Your

Pet Live Longer

1

Chubby isn’t cute if it

means an early death.

An overweight fur baby

is prone to a host of

joint, digestive, respira-

tory and urinary prob-

lems that can trim up to

2.5 years off its lifespan.

2

One way to help your

pet shed pounds: cut

back on treats. “A client

of mine would give her

dog Milk Bones every

time she took him for

walks,” says Dr. Maggie

Brown-Bury, a veterin-

arian in St. John’s, Nfld.

“Turns out the treats

alone were equivalent

to a full day’s calories.”

3

Indoor cats live up

to twice as long. Cats

who are allowed outside

are vulnerable to cars,

wildlife and other cats,

who can carry diseases

like feline leukemia,

which is transmitted

through bodily fluids.

4

Give indoor cats out-

lets for their natural

behaviours. “A puzzle

feeder toy can stimulate

their hunting instincts,

and an elevated perch

BY Anna-Kaisa Walker

reader’s digest

14 april 2020

13 THINGS