Aussies raising fat cats
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From news24.com<br />
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[quote][b]Aussies raising fat cats<br />
24/05/2006 09:38Â - (SA)Â [/b]<br />
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Canberra - Australia is a nation of pet lovers but it may be loving its animals to death with pet owners passing on rising levels of obesity by overfeeding their cats and dogs, the country's main animal welfare body says.<br />
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Despite its image as a sports-mad country full of fit, sun-bronzed youth, Australia in reality is battling the bulge and challenging the United States as the world's fattest nation. The problem now extends to household pets.<br />
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Obesity rates for Australians have doubled over the past 20 years, with 62% of men and 45% of women now deemed overweight or obese.<br />
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The same trend applies to household pets, with an increase in the number of overweight cats and dogs being dealt with by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA), and even one case of an obese pet mouse.<br />
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"It's a big problem, and quite reflective of what's happening in the human situation," said Mark Lawrie, the RSPCA's chief vet.<br />
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Australia is a nation of 20 million people, almost 4 million dogs, 2.5 million cats, 8.7 million pet birds and more than 12 million pet fish.<br />
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It has one of the world's highest rates of pet ownership at 64% of households, compared to 62% in the United States and 44 percent in Britain.<br />
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Lawrie told Reuters surveys had found that between 40 and 44 percent of dogs and more than one in three household cats were now overweight, due to poor diet and a lack of exercise.<br />
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Fat cats and dogs were more vulnerable to diabetes, arthritis, heart problems and liver disease.<br />
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Dogs most at risk were Labradors, Beagles and cross-breeds such as Labradoodles - a mixture of a Labrador and a Poodle - with household moggies more at risk than other types of cats.<br />
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The RSPCA said de-sexing and lower levels of exercise had an impact on pet obesity, but the key issue was over-eating.<br />
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"It's really the calorie intake and food that makes the big difference," Lawrie said, adding that many pet owners could not resist giving their animals food when they asked for it.<br />
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MVJ, Nick I think you guys need to get all the people in Aus on the Fat Busters regime. While you at it also put your own dogs and cats on it as well!<br />
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[quote]Despite its image as a sports-mad country full of fit, sun-bronzed youth[/quote]Â :2funny: -
[quote name='Nick the Aussie']<br />
Cats are feral animals. Die you furry little fuckers, die! Even as pets they're shite.<br />
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you little fucking beauty. <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /><br />
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I was thinking as I read that article: how do you exercise a cat anyway? You can't really take it for a walk, or it'll cruise off looking for an endangered species of bird to kill. Not eat, mind you.... just kill. If you attached the cat to a leash, it'll go fucking nuts and rip your skin to pieces. <br />
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I hate cats. -
Was not really a 'cat' person until I met my wife. She had a 'wild' animal for about 6 years before we met, had rescued it as a kitten from the street. We put her down two weeks before Christmas aged 15. She was not the most sociable of cats, hated everyone except me, the wife and the father in law (he has a farm and has ways with animals (and he is an australian)).<br />
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After Christmas, our local yacht owner (vet) mentioned that they had kittens in, would we like to see them. We're off to NZ for 2 weeks in a week, so sorry, can't. Don't worry, come up, if you like any, take them home, see how they fit in and then bring them back and we'll look after them for the cost of their food.<br />
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Since we thought our 'dead' cat had single child syndrome, we decided to get two of them ... they can play and keep each other company ...<br />
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I can post photos if you like and you'll realise how adorable they can be.<br />
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Around my place we have those disgusting myna birds - have told them they are free to kill as many of them as they like, Lorikeets - off limits, kooka's - off limits, magpies, crows, cockortwos etc. They are locked inside at night and will be as they get older. During daylight hours, the birds are too crafty for the two of them.<br />
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Although, yesterday, was working at home and the wife intercepted one of them before it was to bring in the tail section of some bird. From the looks, something else had done the damage and one of the two had claimed some spoils of war! -
[quote name='cd_wilson']<br />
I can post photos if you like and you'll realise how adorable they can be. [/quote]<br />
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No. Thanks.<br />
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[quote name='cd_wilson']cockortwos etc [/quote]<br />
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you're joking with the spelling, right? <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' /> <br />
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[quote name='cd_wilson'] Although, yesterday, was working at home and the wife intercepted one of them before it was to bring in the tail section of some bird.  From the looks, something else had done the damage and one of the two had claimed some spoils of war! [/quote]<br />
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Bullshit, cd and you know it. Cats are capable of all kinds of cruelty to other animals. Your beloved pussys have lulled you into thinking that they are too cute and loveable to do anything untoward. Even kittens are killing machines....I've seen it happen....we used to own a cat when I was a youngster, and it even tried to kill me. -
[quote name='Red Bull']<br />
[quote name='"cd_wilson":2p8y5ilh']cockortwos etc [/quote]<br />
you're joking with the spelling, right? <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/blink.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':lol:' />[/quote:2p8y5ilh]<br />
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Yes<br />
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It's those noisy bloody white yellow crested cockatoos -
[quote name='Red Bull']<br />
I was thinking as I read that article: how do you exercise a cat anyway? You can't really take it for a walk, or it'll cruise off looking for an endangered species of bird to kill. Not eat, mind you.... just kill. If you attached the cat to a leash, it'll go fucking nuts and rip your skin to pieces. <br />
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Actually I devised a fool proof method for this RB:<br />
<br />- Put on thick leather gloves<br />
- Attach leash to cat<br />
- Attach car to leash<br />
- Insert key into igniti... :neutral:<br />
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What? WHAT?<br />
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:twisted:
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Emma loves cats.
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<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /> why does this not surprise me? <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' /><br />
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Emma, it's not going to make you any more desirable to women, so you can drop the facade. -
[quote name='Red Bull']<br />
Emma, it's not going to make you any more desirable to women, so you can drop the facade. <br />
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<img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/rolleyes.gif' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /> Probably less. But I don't apologise for finding talking about dogs and cars boring. I have always liked cats. -
Cats are smarter than dogs <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /><br />
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Trained one to fetch once, it must as stupid as a dog to enjoy doing that. You exercise a cat by letting it go out at night and hunt. -
[quote name='Kirwan']<br />
Cats are smarter than dogs <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':rolleyes:' /><br />
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Yeah, but they're fluffybunnies with it <img src='http://www.daimenhutchison.com/invision/public/style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.png' class='bbc_emoticon' alt=':)' />
