Boone Grace, Pang Daniel S J, Shih Hao-Yu, Moody Carly M
Animal Welfare Epidemiology Lab, Department of Animal Science, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States.
Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
Front Vet Sci. 2025 Apr 1;12:1510006. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1510006. eCollection 2025.
Feline degenerative joint disease (DJD), commonly referred to as feline arthritis, is one of the most prevalent chronic health conditions in companion cats. DJD results in chronic mobility-related pain and difficulties that require long-term at-home management by the caregiver. Common mitigation strategies include pain control and client education about in-home modifications to make the living environment more comfortable. Cats with chronic mobility problems should receive regular veterinary appointments to monitor the cat's condition; however, it is well recognized that many caregivers do not bring their cat to see a veterinarian on a routine basis. A possible solution to reducing accessibility barriers, improving compliance, and increasing access to pet education is veterinary video telehealth.
The current study used video visits to assess the impact of telehealth on caregiver education and home care of cats living with chronic mobility difficulties. US and Canadian caregivers of companion cats with chronic mobility difficulties or arthritis ( = 106) filled out a recruitment survey and then two study questionnaires approximately four months apart. The study questionnaires included questions regarding their cat's mobility, their attitudes toward using video telehealth, and preference for video telehealth or in-person visits for various veterinary appointment types. Participants were randomly allocated to a treatment ( = 63; 6 video visits every 3 weeks over approximately 4 months) or a control ( = 43; no video visits) group.
Overall, the results suggest caregivers were interested in and preferred video telehealth appointments to assist with managing their cat's chronic mobility challenges. In addition, undergoing the synchronous video telehealth appointments increased participant knowledge of their cat's mobility challenges and perceived helpfulness of their at-home management strategies. This suggests that from the caregiver's perspective, the video telehealth appointments were beneficial for both themselves and their cat. There was also evidence that caregivers whose cats were more mobility impaired (higher Feline Musculoskeletal Pain Index - short form score) were associated with increased interest in using veterinary telehealth for at-home management of their cat. Further research should assess the impact of common environmental modifications implemented to improve cat comfort, on health and behavior outcomes for cats living with chronic mobility problems.
猫退行性关节病（DJD），通常被称为猫关节炎，是伴侣猫中最常见的慢性健康问题之一。DJD会导致与慢性活动相关的疼痛和困难，需要照顾者长期在家中进行管理。常见的缓解策略包括疼痛控制以及对照顾者进行居家环境改造教育，以使生活环境更舒适。患有慢性活动问题的猫应定期去看兽医以监测其状况；然而，众所周知，许多照顾者并不会定期带他们的猫去看兽医。减少就医障碍、提高依从性以及增加宠物教育机会的一个可能解决方案是兽医视频远程医疗。
本研究通过视频问诊来评估远程医疗对患有慢性活动困难的猫的照顾者教育及居家护理的影响。美国和加拿大患有慢性活动困难或关节炎的伴侣猫的照顾者（=106）填写了一份招募调查问卷，然后在大约四个月的时间里分两次填写研究问卷。研究问卷包括关于他们猫的活动能力、他们对使用视频远程医疗的态度以及对各种兽医问诊类型选择视频远程医疗或亲自就诊的偏好等问题。参与者被随机分配到治疗组（=63；在大约4个月的时间里每3周进行6次视频问诊）或对照组（=43；无视频问诊）。
总体而言，结果表明照顾者对视频远程医疗问诊感兴趣，并且更倾向于通过它来帮助管理他们猫的慢性活动挑战。此外，接受同步视频远程医疗问诊增加了参与者对其猫的活动挑战的了解以及对他们居家管理策略的感知帮助。这表明从照顾者的角度来看，视频远程医疗问诊对他们自己和他们的猫都有益。还有证据表明，其猫活动能力受损更严重（猫肌肉骨骼疼痛指数 - 简表得分更高）的照顾者对使用兽医远程医疗进行猫的居家管理的兴趣增加。进一步的研究应评估为提高猫的舒适度而进行的常见环境改造对患有慢性活动问题的猫的健康和行为结果的影响。
