A recent report from the The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals warned that UK pet owners could be responsible for a worrying epidemic of over-sized animals, ranging from dogs and cats to hamsters, gerbils, rats, rabbits and budgies. Much of the problem is down to over feeding and lack of exercise, with one in four dog owners admitting that they never exercise their pets. This has led Richard Branson’s Virgin Active to launch the UK’s first pet only gym.

Virgin Active has given five tips to help you check your pet’s obesity rating:

1.    Check with your vet what your pet’s weight should be.

2.    If your animal won’t stay on the scales, weigh yourself holding your pet and then deduct your own weight.

3.    If you can’t feel your pet’s ribs then it is likely to be overweight.

4.    A reluctance to exercise and breathlessness are signs that your pet may be too fat.

5.    Look at your dog from above. You should be able to see some indentation behind the rib cage, depicting an hourglass shape. If you can’t your pet is overweight.