"Fat cats" and their owners participated in a study conducted by veterinarians at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. Because implementing weight-loss plans can be challenging for cats and pet owners alike, Megan Shepherd, assistant professor of clinical nutrition; Lauren Dodd, clinical nutrition resident; and study sponsor Purina set out to discover how owners' perceptions of their cats' quality of life were influenced by adding food toys to the cats' weight-loss regimen.