Maverick, a cat enrolled in the Pet Fit Club, was declared by his vet to be the biggest cat he had ever seen. His owners couldn't help but give in to his cries for more food than he needed, until he reached the point where he was having trouble breathing. And even for a cat, he was sleeping too much.

Cats, too, should be kept on a pet food diet, and the PDSA recommends against giving them treats, since they're not usually active enough to burn off those extra calories. The great part about being a cat is the huge difference two and a half pounds makes:

Rabbit obesity is actually a growing concern, and Bobby was the first bunny to join the Pet Fit Club. She had developed such a huge double chin that she was unable to groom herself. So on top of being sad and slow, she was also getting smelly:

It took Bobby a while to start seeing results, but a diet of good quality hay, a variety of fresh greens, and a small amount of rabbit nuggets combined with more space to hop around got her back in shape. She now has a rabbit friend who she likes to play with, and she often does "binkies" -- a rabbit expression of joy -- to celebrate her newfound health:

More motivational results from the Pet Fit Club:

While it's difficult to point fingers when it comes to human obesity, we can probably all agree that pets can't be held responsible for their weight gain. The good news is that once an owner decides to get his or her pet healthy, the animal basically has no choice but to adhere to the diet. Even if it's really, really good at begging.



Since one-third of U.S. humans are overweight, this could be a great opportunity for weight loss programs that address both pets and their owners -- wherein everyone experiences the benefits of running around outside more often.

Photos courtesy of the PDSA

We want to hear what you think about this article. Submit a letter to the editor or write to letters@theatlantic.com.