Dieting, loosing weight, getting fit – they all take top billing when it comes to many of us humans and our furry friends who are waging a losing battle against the battle of the fat bulge. battling the bulge.  That leads us to take note of Dena Harris’ recent book, Does This Collar Make My Butt Look Big? A Diet Book for Cats.

Cats and dogs are fat, and just like us humans they are getting fatter by the year.  A pet survey at National Pet Obesity Prevention’s website says:

• 52.5% of US Dogs Overweight or Obese or approximately 36.7 million
• 58.3% of US Cats Overweight or Obese or approximately 43.2 million

The Center for Disease Control (CDC) says 69.2% of Americans are overweight. It appears our furry friends are sharing more than our laps. They are getting heavier right along with us humans.

No surprise, then, that dieting, is big business. Most of us have tried one or more of the most common ones.

Maybe they worked? Maybe they didn’t? Maybe we shed the pounds and kept them off, but then they slowly crept back on, leading us to think, ‘Maybe there’s a better plan, a better way?’

We try new gimmicks, new diets, new fads? We are desperate to find out what will, and what will not, work.

Dena Harris takes a look at some of these tried and true diets in a bit of a spoof, adapting some of our more common diets, some of which I’ve tried myself, for me, not my cats.

We all love tubby kitties. A fat cat is believed to be a happy cat. However, the fat cat might not be so happy? His health may be taking a real hit from that expanded girth.

Does This Collar Make My Butt Look Big? is an illustrated diet book for cats, providing weight-loss tips and tricks for our feline buddies. She does send-ups of diet and fitness trends including the South Beach Diet, the Zone, Raw food, toxin cleanses, Jillian Michaels, and Weight Watchers.

The cat humorist takes a look into the struggle the felines of every shape and size take on to get fit. Some of the features included in this whimsical, funny book are:

• An introductory quiz determining what type of diet suits the cat’s purrsonality type.
• Eating tips based on blood type.
• Raw and living food recommendations.
• Suggestions for avoiding toxic treats.
• Exercise lying down.
• Success stories from fellow cats.
• Ask Flabby Tabby column for troubleshooting.

That should give readers a good idea of the fun and whimsical look at helping your favorite puddy cat lose weight.

With delightful illustrations by Ann Boyajian, we ponder deep questions like:

• Can you imagine climbing the feline food pyramid?
• Do you think a comatose cat can exercise and lose weight?
• Hang a hot kitty calendar near-by so you are reminded what you want to look like.
• Take before and after pictures, so you can see how many kitty pounds you’ve shed.
• Keep your short and long-term goals separate, if you can stay awake to remember what they were.
• Keep portable healthy snacks on hand.

For those of us that have taken on more than one diet, all this sounds all to familiar.

What makes this book so special is that Dena Harris brings the humor out in all of our diet fads, and takes it to a catatonic level.

As we think about ways to take on the weight battle once again, make this a must read this month. Published by Ten Speed Press, the 6×7 hardcover book, is available at Amazon and other bookstores. Find out how in less time that it takes to cough up a hairball, you too can be fit, feline and fabulous!

Do you have an overweight kitty? Have you tried to put your cat on a diet? Or have you shared your dieting goals with one or more of your feline friends? Please share your thoughts on the book & the dieting – fads or tried and true.