According to the Association for Pet Obesity Prevention, roughly 53 percent of dogs and 58 percent of cats in the U.S. are overweight or obese. The group's research shows that that rate continues to rise. And more than 90 percent of owners did not recognize that their obese pets weighed more than they should.
New data from Nationwide, a national provider of pet health insurance, found that insurance claims for conditions and diseases related to pet obesity rose by 10 percent over the past two years.