Value of repeated health screening in 259 apparently healthy mature adult and senior cats followed for 2 years.
J Vet Intern Med
; 38(4): 2089-2098, 2024.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38967102
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Although regular health screening is recommended, long-term follow-up data in healthy aged cats are lacking.OBJECTIVES:
Determine the most common conditions in a large group of apparently healthy older cats and which diseases are manifested within 2 years in cats confirmed to be healthy based on extensive health screening. ANIMALS Client-owned cats.METHODS:
Prospective study. Thorough history, physical examination, blood tests, and urinalysis were performed in 259 apparently healthy mature adult (7-10 years) and senior (>10 years) cats. Semi-annual follow-up examinations were performed in 201 confirmed healthy cats.RESULTS:
At baseline, 21% of apparently healthy cats were not considered healthy but were diagnosed with International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) ≥ stage 2 chronic kidney disease (CKD; 7.7%) or hyperthyroidism (4.6%), among other disorders. Disease occurred significantly more frequently in senior cats compared with mature adult cats. In addition, 40% cats were overweight, 35% had moderate to severe dental disease, and 22% had abnormal cardiac auscultation findings. Within 2 years, 28% of mature adult and 54% of senior cats that were confirmed healthy at inclusion developed new diseases, most commonly IRIS ≥ stage 2 CKD (cumulative incidence, 13.4%), hyperthyroidism (8.5%), chronic enteropathy, hepatopathy or pancreatitis (7.5%), or neoplasia (7%). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE The high prevalence and 2-year incidence of physical examination abnormalities and systemic diseases in apparently healthy older cats argue for regular health screening in cats ≥7 years of age. Although more common in senior cats, occult disease also occurs in mature adult cats, and owners should be informed accordingly.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Cat Diseases
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
J Vet Intern Med
/
J. vet. intern. med
/
Journal of veterinary internal medicine
Journal subject:
MEDICINA INTERNA
/
MEDICINA VETERINARIA
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Bélgica
Country of publication:
Estados Unidos