Positive attitudes towards feline obesity are strongly associated with ownership of obese cats

Overweight and obesity (O&O) is a risk factor for several health conditions and can result in a shorter lifespan for cats. The objectives of this study were to investigate (a) cat owners’ attitudes towards feline O&O and their associations with O&O in their cats; and (b) the risk factors for feline O&O and underweight, particularly those involving owner practice. An online survey comprising questions related to cat owners’ attitudes towards feline O&O, owner-reported body weight and body condition of their cat, and potential risk factors for feline O&O was conducted. Primarily targeting the Australian population, the survey attracted 1,390 valid responses. In response to ten attitude-related questions, more participants (percentage range among the ten questions: 39.1–76.6%) held a disapproving attitude towards feline O&O than a neutral (17.1–31.9%) or approving attitude (3.9–27.7%). A greater proportion of participants had a more disapproving attitude towards obesity than towards overweight. Cats belonging to owners with an approving attitude towards O&O were more likely to be overweight or obese than cats belonging to owners with a disapproving attitude towards O&O. The cats had particularly high odds of overweight or obesity if their owner agreed that ‘being chubby says that the cat has a quality life’ (OR: 3.75, 95% CI: 2.41–5.82) and ‘being fat says that the cat has a quality life’ (OR: 4.98, 95%CI: 2.79–8.91). This study revealed, for the first time, that begging for food was a risk factor for O&O in cats. Other important feline risk factors for O&O identified included being middle-aged, being mixed-breed, dry food as the major diet, the amount of feed not being quantified, and frequently spending time indoors. Being over 11 years, receiving no dry food and receiving measured amounts of feed were associated with an increased odds of underweight in cats. As specific attitudes often lead to certain behaviours, reducing approving attitudes towards feline O&O may potentially reduce the frequency of O&O and the risks of O&O-related disorders in cats.