Seriously.
This picture could be used as evidence against me in a U.K. court.
Why? Because they’ve enacted a pet care law that forbids owners from letting their dogs and cats get fat.
Owners of fat dogs or cats could face prosecution under the Animal Welfare Act which comes into force tomorrow.
The Act, the biggest overhaul of animal welfare legislation for a century, creates a new offence of failing in the duty of care towards a captive animal.
Pet owners can for the first time be guilty of an offence before an act of cruelty has been committed, for example by overfeeding their pet.
[…] Maximum penalties for breach of the new rules include a ban on owning animals, fines of up to £20,000 or up to 51 weeks in prison. The Act raises from 12 to 16 the minimum age for buying a pet and bans pets as prizes for under-16s.
And here are helpful hints to tell if your dog is fat. It doesn’t say how to tell if your cat is fat. I’m thinking, though, that Tig is fat. Just a hunch I have, mind you.
The Pet Health Council says:
Run your hands along the dog’s sides to see if you can feel its ribs when you apply gentle pressure. Then check from above whether you can see a waist – a thinning from where the ribs end to where the hips begin. Finally, run your hand gently over its back to check if you can feel hip bones. If your pet has all of the above it probably will not be obese.
Tig and ribs? Well, I suspect if I brought beef ribs into the house, he’d love to munch on them. But no, you can’t feel his ribs. However, he just purred while I was checking for them. So he’s a fan of this method.
It’s good to know that the U.K. doesn’t have proper rules of engagement or cover for her sailors and Marines, but if there’s a fat dog owner in London, by God, that owner is going to be prosecuted to the full extent of the law! Because the U.K. has her priorities straight.
Hat tip: chsw
FUFFY TUMMY!
He’s not fat, he’s just very fluffy indeed.
We have had some spectacularly fat cats and dogs here recently. My problem is slightly different, when the extremely well-fed GSD La Fluffita sheds her winter coat, she looks scrawny. I wonder if I will find myself in the dock. As my mother used to say, she doesn’t pay for feeding.
I’m not however, convinced about legislation, but all countries have their laws that verge on silliness. I believe you have one concerning pregnant women having a glass of wine with dinner in a restaurant.
Damn these nanny states.
Must…not…pet..fluffy belly!
I have a feeling that Tig might get along well with my Mercutio. Merky is quite convinced that everyone wants to see his tummy.
Cameron, he probably wouldn’t let you. My mom tried to pet his belly and he hissed and swatted at her. This was on her last day here, when she’d been here nearly a week.
Of course, my mother has never been one to read signs, so she may very well have missed a switching tail or ears pointing down. And Tig stood his ground when I yelled at him. Said she shouldn’t have touched him. So I suspect she was being intrusive. It’s a habit of hers.
Chairwoman, I don’t know if it’s illegal for pregnant women to drink wine yet, but the social pressure against such a thing is enormous—particularly in the cities.
Our nanny staters are trying to copy you nanny staters, and may they all fail miserably at trying to tell me how to live my life. Seat belts and helmet laws are one thing. Telling me how fat my cat can get? Nuh-uh.
Is that a Maine Coon? Very mellow breed.
From that photo, it’s hard to tell where the fur ends and the cat begins. :)
Oh… must… skritch!
Ivor, yes, he’s a mostly Maine Coon. I figure about 90%. But they sometimes have a mean streak in them, and unfortunately, so does Tig. He and I have been discussing exactly which of us is Top Cat around here. I’m winning again, but he keeps pushing the boundaries.