Almost nobody notices their pet gaining weight in autumn, because it happens a few grams at a time. The walks get shorter and wetter, the garden stops being interesting, the snack jar comes out more often, and the holiday season arrives. By March, a dog can be carrying an extra ten percent without a single day where anything changed.
Why these months are the problem
The Burnaby version of this is predictable. From October the rain sets in, so a forty-minute evening walk becomes twenty, then becomes a quick turn around the block. Dogs who spent summer in the garden now spend the evening on the sofa. Cats who were out patrolling are indoors from five o’clock.
At the same time, the food goes up. More time indoors means more snacks, the children are home more and sharing more, and from Thanksgiving onward there is richer food in the house. Nothing about that is unreasonable. It is simply why weight goes on between October and March in a way it does not between April and September.
Why a small gain is a big deal
Pets are small, so percentages move fast. A kilogram on a ten kilogram dog is the same proportional gain as eight kilograms on an eighty kilogram person. Half a kilo on a cat is more again.
Carrying extra weight makes joints hurt more, which matters in a damp winter when arthritic joints are already less comfortable. It makes breathing harder work, particularly for flat-faced breeds. It raises the risk of several conditions we would all rather avoid, and it makes anesthesia and surgery more complicated if either becomes necessary. Pets kept at a healthy weight tend to live better, for longer.
How to check properly, at home, this week
The scale alone is not the answer, because breeds vary enormously. Use your hands and your eyes.
- Ribs. Run your flat palm along the side of the chest. You should feel the ribs easily, with a thin covering, like the back of your hand. If you have to press to find them, there is too much over the top.
- From above. Standing over your pet, look for a waist that narrows behind the ribs. A straight line or an outward bulge means weight to lose.
- From the side. The belly should tuck up from the chest toward the hind legs rather than running level.
- Cats specifically. A loose flap of skin on the lower belly is normal and is not fat. Judge cats on the ribs and the waist, and watch for a cat who can no longer groom their own back end, which is often a weight problem.
Do this once a month through the winter. It takes thirty seconds and it catches the drift long before the annual visit does.
What actually works
- Measure the food. Use a kitchen scale, not a scoop or a mug. Scoops are wildly inconsistent, in both directions, and the number on the bag is a starting point for an average pet, not a rule for yours.
- Count the extras. Snacks and chews should sit at roughly ten percent of daily calories. Most households are well over that without realizing, because nobody is adding up what three people gave.
- Take the extras out of the bowl. If your pet is getting snacks, reduce the meal to match rather than adding on top.
- Switch the currency. A lot of what pets want from food is attention. A game, a brush, a two-minute training session or a walk to the corner works as well as a biscuit for most dogs.
- Use their own food as the snack, weighed out in the morning from the daily allowance.
- Feed cats to work for it. Puzzle feeders, food scattered across a few spots, and play before meals all replace the hunting that an indoor cat does not do.
- Separate the eaters in a multi-pet house, because the slow one is not getting their share and the fast one is getting both.
Exercise when the weather is against you
The honest answer is that short and frequent beats long and occasional in a Burnaby winter.
- Splitting the walk into two or three short outings is easier to fit around the rain, and the daily total usually ends up higher.
- A proper raincoat and a towel by the door removes most of the excuse.
- Indoors, stairs, tug, hide-and-seek with kibble, and short training sessions all burn energy and tire the brain.
- A slow, nose-down amble around the block counts as exercise, and many dogs find sniffing more satisfying than a brisk march.
- For cats, two short play sessions a day, with something that moves like prey, can change body condition over a season.
- Build up gradually for a pet who is already overweight or older, and stop if they are struggling.
When weight change is not about food
This is the part worth taking seriously. Not every change is calories.
Weight gain with a pot-bellied appearance, hair loss, lethargy or excessive drinking can point to a hormonal problem, which bloodwork through our pet diagnostics service can sort out. Weight loss in an older cat who is eating well often points to an overactive thyroid. Muscle loss along the spine and hind legs in a senior, even when the scale has not moved, is a different problem again. Sudden gain with a swollen abdomen or laboured breathing needs to be seen promptly.
Any unexplained change in either direction is a reason to book rather than to adjust the food. Our wellness program includes the weight and body condition check, and a baseline recorded now is what makes next spring’s number meaningful.
If your pet already needs to lose weight, do it with a plan rather than by cutting the bowl in half. Crash dieting is genuinely dangerous in cats, where rapid loss can cause serious liver problems. Our nutrition counselling service exists to set a realistic target and a safe rate, with weigh-ins to keep it honest. Our guide to annual wellness exams explains what else gets checked at the same visit.
Frequently asked questions
How much weight is worth worrying about?
For a small dog or a cat, half a kilogram is significant. For a medium dog, a kilogram. If your pet has moved up a notch on the rib check or lost the waist when viewed from above, that is enough to act on, regardless of the number.
My dog looks the same to me. Would you notice?
Often yes, because we see them twice a year rather than every day, and we have a recorded weight to compare against. Gradual change is genuinely invisible to the people who live with it, which is exactly why the recorded number matters.
Is it safe to put my pet on a diet over winter?
With a plan, yes, and autumn is a sensible time to start. What is not safe is a sudden large cut, especially in cats. Aim for slow, steady loss with the right food and portions rather than less of the same food, which risks leaving nutrients short.
Can I just use the feeding guide on the bag?
Use it as a starting point. Those guides assume an average, entire, active animal, and most pets here are neutered and less active than that, so many need meaningfully less. Adjust based on what the body condition check tells you over a few weeks.
My cat begs constantly. Is she actually hungry?
Sometimes, and sometimes she is bored, or it is habit, or it is a learned routine that works on you. Food puzzles, scheduled play and splitting the ration into more, smaller meals usually settle it. A genuine, sudden increase in appetite is worth an exam, since it can point to a medical cause.
What is the single most effective change?
Weighing the food. Households that switch from a scoop to a kitchen scale are regularly surprised by how far the portion they had been serving sat from the one on the bag, and fixing that alone changes the trajectory of the winter.
Speak to the team at Edmonds St. Animal Hospital
If you are not sure whether your pet is carrying extra weight, phone us and book a weigh-in and body condition check.
Published by the team at Edmonds St. Animal Hospital.
This article is for general educational purposes only and is not a substitute for an in-person veterinary examination or advice about your individual pet. If you have an urgent concern about your pet, contact Edmonds St. Animal Hospital or your nearest emergency veterinary hospital right away.
Edmonds St. Animal Hospital
7621 Edmonds St, Burnaby, BC V3N 1B6
Phone: (604) 540-7387
Hours: Monday to Friday 8:00 AM to 7:00 PM; Saturday 9:00 AM to 6:00 PM; Sunday 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM