Nearly half of all pets are overweight so it’s time to start taking your cat for a walk!

We all know cats love nothing better than snoozing on the newspaper you’re trying to read but their laziness has apparently reached new heights.

Metro reports that because many of them are really overweight and the RSCPA is recommending that cat owners start to exercise their pets in a similar way to dogs. In fact, 10% of the 11 million cats in UK never go out unsupervised.

And like humans, fat cats have an increased risk of things like heart disease, cancer and diabetes. A report by the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals claims that by 2019, it’s thought that overweight cats, dogs and rabbits will outnumber healthy sized pets - with half of all cats and dogs already being classed as obese.

"Dog owners are well aware that they need to exercise their pet," says Dr Caroline Vilches Romo, an expert in feline medicine and surgery at The Vet.

"Cat owners, however, don’t tend to look at their pet in the same way when it comes to exercise, and we’d like that to change. We’re not recommending that people start walking their cat on a lead like a dog, as this can cause distress to an animal that is fiercely independent and craves control. But house cat owners should be creating a daily ‘exercise’ routine for their pet through active play and stimulation, in the same way as dog owner knows when to take their four-legged friend for a walk."

The fatter cats become, the more severe the impact on their mental wellbeing. They struggle to groom themselves and that can cause them all kinds of emotional distress. She goes on to say that house cats need to be played with energetically for 30 minutes a day - even if it’s just with a battery - powered mouse or piece of string. So if you’ve got a very fat cat, for the love of God stop feeding them Dreamies every second and kick them out into the garden for half an hour.

Pudgy animals might be cute but allowing them to become overweight or actively encouraging them to be obese is cruel.