Burt, a tabby who lives with the Sanders family in North Ogden, isn't fat -- he's just big-boned, claims his owner, David Sanders.
"I don't feed him that much. It's just the breed of the cat," Sanders said, adding he has never weighed Burt, who is 12 years old. "I've just picked him up and he's heavy. He's just a big cat."
Sanders' children, however, say their father is in denial, arguing that Burt has a serious weight problem.
A report released by Banfield Pet Hospital reveals 27 percent of dogs and 27 percent of cats in the Salt Lake City area are overweight or obese. That compares to about 20 percent nationwide.
Only Minnesota and South Dakota have more overweight dogs; those same two states as well as Oklahoma are the only ones exceeding Utah's percentage of overweight cats.
Ogden veterinarian Eric Clough says Northern Utah pets likely share the same statistics.
However, he believes Banfield's numbers are actually a low estimate.
"I think it's higher than that," said Clough, judging from the pets he sees at Burch Creek Animal Hospital in Ogden, where he is the medical director.
And the pet obesity rate is increasing. Banfield's 2012 State of Pet Health Report reveals a dramatic rise in overweight and obese pets: an increase of 37 percent in dogs and 90 percent in cats nationwide.
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