Age at gonadectomy, sex, and breed size affect risk of canine overweight and obese outcomes: a retrospective cohort study using data from United States primary care veterinary clinics.

Objective: To examine the risk of developing an overweight or obese (O/O) body condition score (BCS) in gonadectomized versus intact dogs and, separately, the impact of age at gonadectomy on O/O outcomes among sterilized dogs.

Animals: Dogs were patients of Banfield Pet Hospital in the US from 2013 to 2019. After exclusion criteria were applied, the final sample consisted of 155,199 dogs.

Guidance for management of free-roaming community cats: a bioeconomic analysis.

Objectives: This study used computer simulation modeling to estimate and compare costs of different free-roaming cat (FRC) management options (lethal and non-lethal removal, trap-neuter-return, combinations of these options and no action) and their ability to reduce FRC population abundance in open demographic settings. The findings provide a resource for selecting management approaches that are well matched for specific communities, goals and timelines, and they represent use of best available science to address FRC issues.

Methods: Multiple FRC management approaches were simulated at varying intensities using a stochastic individual-based model in the software package Vortex.

A Long-Term Lens: Cumulative Impacts of Free-Roaming Cat Management Strategy and Intensity on Preventable Cat Mortalities.

This study used a previously developed stochastic simulation model (1) to estimate the impact of different management actions on free-roaming kitten and cat mortality over a 10-year period. These longer-term cumulative impacts have not been systematically examined to date. We examined seven management scenarios, including: (1) taking no action, (2) low-intensity removal, (3) high-intensity removal, (4) low-intensity episodic culling, (5) high-intensity episodic culling, (6) low-intensity trap-neuter-return (TNR), and (7) high-intensity TNR.

Simulating free-roaming cat population management options in open demographic environments.

Large populations of free-roaming cats (FRCs) generate ongoing concerns for welfare of both individual animals and populations, for human public health, for viability of native wildlife populations, and for local ecological damage. Managing FRC populations is a complex task, without universal agreement on best practices. Previous analyses that use simulation modeling tools to evaluate alternative management methods have focused on relative efficacy of removal (or trap-return, TR), typically involving euthanasia, and sterilization (or trap-neuter-return, TNR) in demographically isolated populations.

Behavioral and psychological characteristics of canine victims of abuse.

Abuse is an intentional act that causes harm to an individual. Dogs (Canis familiaris) with a known or suspected history of abuse were solicited for the study. A panel of 5 experts in canine behavior and abuse selected the dogs judged as having a certain or near certain history of being abused for inclusion in the study.

Large Dog Relinquishment to Two Municipal Facilities in New York City and Washington, D.C.: Identifying Targets for Intervention.

While the overall trend in euthanasia has been decreasing nationally, large dogs are at a higher risk of euthanasia than other sized dogs in most animal shelters in the United States. We hypothesized one way to increase the lives saved with respect to these large dogs is to keep them home when possible. In order to develop solutions to decrease relinquishment, a survey was developed to learn more about the reasons owners relinquish large dogs.

Low-dose megestrol acetate revisited: a viable adjunct to surgical sterilization in free roaming cats?

Approximately 2-3 million cats are euthanased in animal shelters across the United States annually. Preventing pregnancy in cats is a key step to reducing this number. While surgery is generally a safe and effective tool for curbing reproduction in cats, it is not a practical method to achieve the reduction in numbers required for an appreciable impact on the cat population as a whole.

Effectiveness and adverse effects of the use of apomorphine and 3% hydrogen peroxide solution to induce emesis in dogs.

Objective: To determine the effectiveness and adverse effects of apomorphine and 3% hydrogen peroxide solution used for emesis in dogs.

Design: Prospective observational study.

Animals: 147 dogs that received apomorphine (IV or placed in the conjunctival sac) or 3% hydrogen peroxide solution (PO) to induce emesis after exposure to toxic agents.

Population dynamics, overpopulation, and the welfare of companion animals: new insights on old and new data.

Americans profess a great love for their companion animals, and, indeed, their expenditures on food and other products for their dogs and cats would seem to confirm this. However, each year, many millions of dogs and cats are brought to animal shelters, where the majority are euthanized. Our inability to provide reasonably valid statistics related to this concern makes it difficult to offer a credible presentation on the need for a concerted effort to deal with the issue, design initiatives to ameliorate the problem, or evaluate progress and performance of these efforts.

Responsiveness of Phormia regina to saline.

Studies by Nelson (1971), Hirsch and McCauley (1977), and McGuire and Hirsch (1977) with the blow fly, Phormia regina, have reported evidence for conditioning. With respect to relative responsiveness to water or saline in the first position of the serial compound stimulus arrangement used, however, the evidence was inconsistent. These experiments show the effect on such responsiveness of the (a) method of mounting and (b) deprivation and satiation procedures.

The effect of indomethacin on the ultrastructure of renomedullary interstitial cells of the rat.

The administration of the prostaglandin synthetase inhibitor indomethacin to the rat result in a significant increase of the number as well as the size and density of the lipid granules of renomedullary interstitial cells. The increased granularity is associated with the ultrastructural alterations of the organelles which are characteristic for cells with small secretory activity (a sparse rough and smooth endoplasmic reticulum and a small GOLGI complex). The findings indicate that there exists an inverse correlation between the number of the lipid granules of the interstitial cells and the secretory activity of these cells and seem to support the hypothesis that the interstitial cell lipid granules serve as storage site for renal prostaglandin precursors.

The ultrastructure of renomedullary interstitial cells in hypercalcemia induced by calcium gluconate.

Under hypercalcemia induced by calcium gluconate the degranulation of renomedullary interstitial cells accompanied with the increase in volume of the rough and smooth surfaced endoplasmic reticulum and enlargement of the Golgi apparatus were observed. The ultrastructural changes can be regarded as an expression of the increase of a synthetic and secretory activity of these cells. Because the changes of renomedullary cells observed in hypercalcemia induced by calcium gluconate are not really different from that observed in hypercalcemia induced by vitamin D3 (Roszkiewicz et al.

The ultrastructure of renomedullary interstitial cells in short duration hypercalcemia induced by vitamin D3.

Under short duration hypercalcemia induced by pharmacological doses of vitamin D3 significant ultrastructural changes were observed in the renomedullary interstitial cells of rats. The most striking alteration was the degranulation of these cells accompanied with the increase in volume of the rough and smooth-surfaced endoplasmic reticulum, enlargement of the Golgi apparatus and occurence of osmiophilic inclusions probably of lipid nature in mitochondria. The ultrastructural changes can be regarded as an expression of the increase of a synthetic and secretory activity of the renomedullary interstitial cells and they may be associated with an enhanced production of prostaglandins or other lipid hormonal substances than prostaglandins under condition of hypercalcemia.