Dowgray Nathalie, Pinchbeck Gina, Eyre Kelly, Biourge Vincent, Comerford Eithne, German Alexander J
Institute of Life Course and Medical Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, United Kingdom.
International Cat Care, Tisbury, United Kingdom.
Front Vet Sci. 2022 Apr 4;9:859041. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.859041. eCollection 2022.
Two hundred and six cats, aged between 7 and 10 years, from the North-west of the UK, were enrolled in a cat aging and welfare study to determine the frequency of age-related conditions and associations with husbandry, owner observations of physical appearance, activity and behavior. This is the largest study to date of mature cats that includes data from an owner questionnaire and clinical examinations. At enrolment, owners frequently reported physical changes (53%), behavioral changes (47%), changes to eating patterns (41%), and activity changes (40%) in their mature cats. On physical examination, 45% cats were in overweight condition and 12% were obese. A heart murmur was detected in 29% cats, whilst indirect systolic blood pressure (SBP) was >160 mmHg in 5% cats. Dental disease was present in 54% cats and was associated with a matted hair coat ( = 0.01), increased sleeping ( = 0.02), absence of gray hairs ( = 0.03), and increased irritability to other pets ( = 0.04). Abnormalities were evident in 58% of cats that allowed an orthopedic examination (OE) to be performed. These cats were older than cats with a normal OE ( = 0.01), and abnormal OE findings were associated with a matted coat ( = 0.03) and increased grooming ( = 0.04). Aazotaemia was present in 10% cats, and this was associated with cats being observed to "sniff their food and then walk away" ( = 0.04). Hyperthyroidism was diagnosed in 3% cats, who were older ( = 0.02), had a leaner BCS ( = 0.02) and lesser blood creatinine concentrations ( = 0.01). Hyperthyroid cats were also more likely to have increased liver enzyme activity and increased SBP ( = <0.001) compared with non-hyperthyroid cats. Of the 176 cats where all clinical assessments were conducted, only 12% had no evidence of any disease. Clinical abnormalities are commonly identified when thorough, clinical assessments are performed in mature pet cats visiting primary care practice.
来自英国西北部的206只7至10岁的猫被纳入一项猫衰老与福利研究，以确定与年龄相关疾病的发生频率以及与饲养管理、主人对身体外观、活动和行为的观察之间的关联。这是迄今为止规模最大的一项针对成年猫的研究，其中包括来自主人问卷和临床检查的数据。在入组时，主人经常报告他们的成年猫出现身体变化（53%）、行为变化（47%）、饮食模式变化（41%）和活动变化（40%）。体格检查发现，45%的猫超重，12%的猫肥胖。29%的猫检测到心脏杂音，5%的猫间接收缩压（SBP）>160 mmHg。54%的猫患有牙科疾病，且与毛发缠结（P = 0.01）、睡眠时间增加（P = 0.02）、无白发（P = 0.03）以及对其他宠物易怒增加（P = 0.04）有关。在允许进行骨科检查（OE）的猫中，58%有异常。这些猫比骨科检查正常的猫年龄更大（P = 0.01），骨科检查异常结果与毛发缠结（P = 0.03）和梳理毛发增加（P = 0.04）有关。10%的猫存在氮血症，这与观察到猫“闻了食物然后走开”有关（P = 0.04）。3%的猫被诊断为甲状腺功能亢进，这些猫年龄更大（P = 0.02）、体况评分（BCS）更低（P = 0.02）且血肌酐浓度更低（P = 0.01）。与非甲状腺功能亢进的猫相比，甲状腺功能亢进的猫肝酶活性增加和收缩压升高的可能性也更大（P = <0.001）。在进行了所有临床评估的176只猫中，只有12%没有任何疾病迹象。当对就诊于初级保健机构的成年宠物猫进行全面的临床评估时，临床异常情况很常见。
