Fat cats facing soaring diabetes
That was the headline on a recent report on the BBC website. A study by Edinburgh University has shown that one in 230 pet cats in the UK is now diabetic.

Overweight cats are said to be more than three times as likely to suffer from diabetes, which develops when the body has problems making insulin.

If you think your cat might be a little on the heavy side, then check out our advice on the Burns website

And while we're on the subject, of course, it's not only cats that suffer weight problems because a large percentage of dogs are heavier than they should be, and it's so easy to check whether your pet is overweight!

"I think we are drawn to dogs because they are the uninhibited creatures we might be if we weren't certain we knew better. They fight for honor at the first challenge, make love with no moral restraint, and they do not for all their marvelous instincts appear to know about death. Being such wonderfully uncomplicated beings, they need us to do their worrying."
George Bird Evans, Troubles with Bird Dogs

Did you know?

Dogs have nearly 220 million smell-sensitive cells over an area about the size of a pocket handkerchief (compared to 5 million over an area the size of a postage stamp for humans).

Some breeds have been selectively bred for excellence in detecting scents, even compared to their canine brethren.

What information a dog actually detects when he is scenting is not perfectly understood; although once a matter of debate, it now seems to be well established that dogs can distinguish two different types of scents when trailing, an air scent from some person or thing that has recently passed by, as well as a ground scent that remains detectable for a much longer period.