How and why pet cats are fed the way they are:a self-reported owner survey

OBJECTIVES: This study used an owner-directed online questionnaire to collect data regarding their food and water provision for their pet cats. The survey was conducted in 2019.METHODS: The anonymous online 30-question survey was available via vetprofessionals.com.RESULTS: A total of 1172 cat owners fully completed the questionnaire. The respondents each owned a median of two cats (range 1-6). They reported being most strongly motivated to feed a particular ration because of palatability, observed and/or expected health benefits, or that the diet was/is perceived as 'natural'. The majority of owners (n = 946, 80.7%) fed their cats exclusively a commercially purchased complete wet food, dry kibble diet or mixture of both. Compared with a previous (unpublished) survey conducted by the same authors in 2013,1 there were substantial increases in the number of owners feeding therapeutic diets (26.6% vs 0.7%) and the inclusion of raw meat in cats' rations (15.6% vs 3.7%). The proportion of respondents providing at least one feeding station per cat was 83.1%, with significant use of enrichment feeding methods (29.1%).CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Veterinarians need to be aware of changing trends in cat feeding to provide owners with appropriate support. Veterinary advice was frequently sought by owners and can be used as an opportunity to improve cat health and welfare, particularly in multi-cat households, but was not often influential to client decision making.</p

Enteropathogen co-infection in UK cats with diarrhoea

BACKGROUND: Individual enteropathogen infections in healthy and clinically ill cats are well described, but prevalence and patterns of enteropathogen co-infection have only been reported on a limited basis. We studied enteropathogen co-infection in diarrhoeic UK cats using results of a real time PCR assay for 8 enteropathogenic species; feline coronavirus (Co), feline panleukopenia virus (Pa), Clostridium perfringens (Cl), Salmonella enterica (Sa), Giardia spp. (Gi), Tritrichomonas foetus (Tr), Cryptosporidium spp. (Cr), and Toxoplasma gondii (To). Age, gender, breed and history were recorded. PCR panels from 1088 diarrhoeic cats were available for analysis. RESULTS: Overall enteropathogen prevalence was 56.9% (Co), 22.1% (Pa), 56.6% (Cl), 0.8% (Sa), 20.6% (Gi), 18.8% (Tr), 24.4% (Cr) and 1.0% (To). Prevalence of Co, Gi and Tr was higher in pedigree cats compared to non-pedigree cats (DSH) and prevalence decreased with increasing age for Co, Pa, Gi, Cr and Tr. Co-infection was common: ≥2 enteropathogens were detected in 62.5% of cats, and 13.3% of cats had ≥4 enteropathogens. Mean ( [Formula: see text]) enteropathogen co-infection 2.01 (±1.3 SD), was significantly higher in pedigree cats ( [Formula: see text] =2.51) compared to DSH ( [Formula: see text] =1.68) and decreased with age ( [Formula: see text] =2.64 <6 months, [Formula: see text] =1.68 for >1 yr). More cats were negative for all 8 enteropathogens tested (12.7%) than expected. When exact combinations of co-infection were examined, Tr tended to be found in combinations with Co, Cl, and Gi. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple infections should be considered the most likely result of faecal testing in cats, and case management needs to take this into account. In contrast, the relatively high percentage of cats negative for all 8 enteropathogens tested could indicate an innate resistance to infection. Alternatively it could indicate a lack of exposure to these 8 enteropathogens or the presence of other enteropathogens not assessed by this assay

Pulmonary Cowpox in Cats: Five Cases

Case series summary: This case series documents five cases of pneumonia (with pleural effusion in three cases) caused by cowpox virus (CPxV) in domestic cats. Predisposition to pneumonia may have resulted from mixed infections in two cases (feline herpesvirus and Bordetella bronchiseptica in one cat, and Mycoplasma species in the other). Relevance and novel information: As well as diagnostic confirmation by previously described methods of virus isolation from skin lesions, and demonstration of pox virions in skin samples using electron microscopy and inclusion bodies in histological preparations, this is the first report of diagnosis by virus isolation from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid or pleural fluid, and demonstration of inclusion bodies in cytological preparations. This is also the first series to report treatment with interferon omega (IFN-ω). Two cats survived, both of which had been treated with IFN-ω. As CPxV represents a serious zoonotic risk it is an important differential diagnosis of pneumonia in cats

Flat feline faces: is brachycephaly associated with respiratory abnormalities in the domestic cat (Felis catus)?

There has been little research into brachycephalism and associated disorders in cats. A questionnaire aimed at cat owners was used to determine the relationship between feline facial conformation and owner-reported cat management requirements and respiratory abnormalities. Owner-submitted photographs of cats were used to develop novel measures of skull conformation. One thousand valid questionnaires were received. Within these there were 373 valid photographs that allowed measurement of muzzle ratio (M%) and 494 that allowed nose position ratio (NP%). The data included 239 cats for which both measurements were available. Owners reported lifestyle factors (e.g. feeding type, grooming routine, activity level), physical characteristics (e.g. hair length) and other health characteristics of their cat (e.g. tear staining, body condition score). A composite respiratory score (RS) was calculated for each cat using their owner’s assessment of respiratory noise whilst their cat was asleep and then breathing difficulty following activity. Multivariate analyses were carried out using linear models to explore the relationship between RS and facial conformation, and lifestyle risk factors. The results showed that reductions in NP% and M% were significantly associated with RS (P < 0.001 and P = 0.026, respectively) and that the relationship was significantly negatively correlated (r = -0.56, P < 0.001 for both). Respiratory score was also significantly associated with increased presence of tear staining (P < 0.001) and a sedentary lifestyle (P = 0.01). This study improves current knowledge concerning cats with breeding-related alterations in skull confirmation and indicates that brachycephalism may have negative respiratory implications for cat health and welfare, as has been previously shown in dogs

Calculation of Proportional muzzle length ratio (M%).

<p>Cranial length is defined as the horizon-line distance (mm) from the dorsal tip of the nose to the occipital protuberance (b’-c). Muzzle length is the horizon-line distance (mm) from the dorsal tip of nose to the nasal stop (b’-b). In the event that the dorsal tip of the nose is in line with the nasal stop a zero value is assigned. For this picture M% = 7.89% ([muzzle length 6mm / cranial length 76mm] *100). Note for readers: measurements will differ based on the size of viewed image.</p

Descriptive statistics of categorical variables significantly associated with respiratory score as calculated for 1000 cats from owner-reported responses concerning breathing noise whilst asleep and breathing difficulty following activity.

<p>Descriptive statistics of categorical variables significantly associated with respiratory score as calculated for 1000 cats from owner-reported responses concerning breathing noise whilst asleep and breathing difficulty following activity.</p

Correlation between proportional muzzle ratio (PML) and respiratory score (RS) calculated from owner-reported respiratory noise for companion cats (r = -0.56, p<0.001, n = 373).

<p>Correlation between proportional muzzle ratio (PML) and respiratory score (RS) calculated from owner-reported respiratory noise for companion cats (r = -0.56, p<0.001, n = 373).</p

Correlation between proportional nose position (NP%) and respiratory score (RS) calculated from owner-reported respiratory noise for companion cats (r = -0.56, p<0.001, n = 494).

<p>Correlation between proportional nose position (NP%) and respiratory score (RS) calculated from owner-reported respiratory noise for companion cats (r = -0.56, p<0.001, n = 494).</p

Breed information for purebred cats from the United Kingdom (n = 165) and China (n = 122), as reported by respondents to an on-line survey.

<p>Breed information for purebred cats from the United Kingdom (n = 165) and China (n = 122), as reported by respondents to an on-line survey.</p