10 million pets suffer mental or physical health problems

A joint survey by animal charity the PDSA and government agency YouGov has revealed that many British pet owners are failing to properly care for their pets, leading veterinary care experts to predict that over 10 million pets are likely to have developed mental or physical pet health problems that will remain untreated.

Animal welfare campaigners have been left deeply shocked by the joint pet wellbeing study, codenamed PAW, which examined the health of over 11,000 dogs, cats and rabbits to later report that an alarming number of pet owners are failing to properly care for, feed and vaccinate their pets.

The report has disclosed that five million felines could be suffering pet health problems as over 60 per cent of cat owners fail to check their pet for fleas, while 3.3 million cats are not vaccinated against common diseases and more than half of cat owners admit to overfeeding their feline which can lead to the development of obesity related pet health problems.

Four million dogs are also reported to be at risk, with experts approximating that over 2.4 million dogs are fed scraps or leftovers rather than nutritionally balanced and specially formulated pet foods - increasing the risk of dogs developing obesity related pet health problems. A further 7 per cent of dogs are fed human chocolate, even though it can prove fatally toxic to pets as it contains the chemical bromine.

The survey also revealed that 1.9 million dogs are left alone for longer than the four hour limit recommended by vets.

700,000 rabbits could be similarly at risk of developing mental and physical health issues as 10 per cent of rabbits are said to live in a hutch or cage that is too small. 67 per cent of rabbits live on their own, instead of in a group, while 1 million are given few or no toys to play with, which risks rabbits developing boredom-related stress.

A PDSA spokesman told the Daily Mail that many pet owners - even those who have purchased protective pet insurance cover with a view to keeping their animals healthy - misunderstand their pet's needs and do not intend for their pet's to suffer mental or physical stress.

"It is not intentional - we know that owners love their pets," the spokesman said. "But many misunderstand what their pets need."

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 07:12:00 GMT