Their chubby faces have garnered millions of likes on countless Instagram pages.
But a trend in which pets are deliberately overfed to look cute must end, vets said.
Fat cats and chonky dogs could face a life of misery and early death if the practice continues.
"When we take on ownership of a pet, we take on responsibility for every aspect of their care, including health and welfare," Dr Hannah Rowles, a veterinarian at Royal Canin in Dubai told The National.
“The issue surrounding weight is complex for all of us, but to manipulate this for notoriety and likes on social media is, in my opinion, extremely questionable.
The issue surrounding weight is complex for all of us, but to manipulate this for notoriety and likes on social media is, in my opinion, extremely questionable
“In the media, including social media, we are getting used to seeing overweight pets as the norm, which makes it harder to recognise [an issue with our own pets].”
While owners can recognise weight gain in themselves, animals cannot regulate how often and how much they eat.
Ms Rowles said pets rely on their owners to make the best choices within their means. And overfeeding them for the sake of cuteness is inhumane.
“Treats complementary to the normal diet, lack of exercise and home-cooking rather than use of a commercial diet can often lead to increases in weight," she said.
"Not changing any habits once the weight has crept on, and lack of action will also lead to continued weight gain.”
The British Veterinary Association recognises obesity as a serious clinical condition that can cause significant harm to the physiology, health and welfare of all animals.
Despite this, social media accounts promoting animal obesity amass huge followings.
The Instagram account Chonky Animals has more than 400,000 followers, while the FatCatCollection has 180,000. Each is dedicated to posting hundreds of pictures of chunky pets.
Dr Sara Elliott, founder and director of British Veterinary Hospital in Dubai, said social media has reignited a trend that existed for years.
“About 20 years ago in the UK, dog breeders, particularly breeders of Labradors and pugs, would say the only way their pets could win in dog shows was by being overweight,” she said.
“Judges were marking pets on their cuteness, rather than agility and ability.
“Social media has exacerbated this obsession and made it an even bigger problem.”
She said keeping a pet unhealthy for online popularity was alarming behaviour and made pets more prone to medical issues such as arthritis, heart problems and pancreatitis.
For short-face breed dogs and cats, such as pugs, French bulldogs and Scottish fold cats, excess weight is even more problematic.
“People need to understand the health concerns that having a cute, fat pet will bring,” she said.
“Having an overweight pet can take two years off its life.
“Some people blame underlying medical conditions on their animal’s weight gain but many are just desperate to find a label for it as an excuse.
“If there is an existing medical condition aiding weight gain, then let’s treat it.”
Long-time dog owner Jason Pettit, 49, said social media trends promoting overweight pets infuriate him.
“I think it’s abuse. When you consciously make a decision to affect the well-being or mental stamina of a pet, it’s not fair," the British citizen said.
“If you prevent them or limit them from being able to move about, like they’re supposed to, it’s cruelty.”
Late last year Mr Pettit, who works in the food and beverage industry, adopted 12-year-old Charlie, a black Labrador who weighed 42 kilogrammes at the time.
Within the past four months, he has managed to get Charlie’s weight down to about 36kg.
“Charlie was not overfed to gain popularity on social media,” he said.
“His previous owner passed away and they had been together for over 10 years. He was a well-loved pet who was probably depressed.
“We suspect that in the final year or so, the owner was not able to exercise him as before and probably took a great deal of comfort from having Charlie by his side, sharing treats from his plate with him.”
He said Charlie no longer struggles to breathe after small amounts of exercise, has a lot more energy and has gone from barely managing a 15-minute stroll around the block to being able to walk 45 minutes in one go.
“Seeing him happy and enthusiastic is the best feeling,” Mr Pettit said.
“I don’t I understand the mentality of why some owners have a pet and intentionally mistreat it for someone else’s enjoyment.”
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
HIJRA
Starring: Lamar Faden, Khairiah Nathmy, Nawaf Al-Dhufairy
Director: Shahad Ameen
Rating: 3/5
The bio
Favourite vegetable: Broccoli
Favourite food: Seafood
Favourite thing to cook: Duck l'orange
Favourite book: Give and Take by Adam Grant, one of his professors at University of Pennsylvania
Favourite place to travel: Home in Kuwait.
Favourite place in the UAE: Al Qudra lakes
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
Brief scores:
Toss: Kerala Knights, opted to fielf
Pakhtoons 109-5 (10 ov)
Fletcher 32; Lamichhane 3-17
Kerala Knights 110-2 (7.5 ov)
Morgan 46 not out, Stirling 40
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
BRAZIL%20SQUAD
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Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
