Survey of risk factors and frequency of clinical signs observed with feline cognitive dysfunction syndrome.

J Feline Med Surg

Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO, USA.

Published: June 2022

AI Article Synopsis

  • The study aimed to survey cat owners to identify signs of feline cognitive dysfunction (FCD) and assess potential risk factors associated with it.
  • A total of 615 responses were collected from cat owners, revealing that 13% of surveyed cats exhibited signs of FCD, with inappropriate vocalization being the most common symptom.
  • The study findings suggest that cats living in rural environments may have a lower chance of developing cognitive dysfunction, indicating a need for further research on environmental influences.

Article Abstract

Objectives: The aims of this study were to distribute a survey to cat owners to identify common clinical signs of feline cognitive dysfunction (FCD) and to evaluate for potential risk factors.

Methods: A questionnaire was developed and adapted based on previously validated canine cognitive dysfunction questionnaires. This questionnaire was distributed to 4342 cat owners who had presented to Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital between 2015 and 2020. Cats aged ⩾8 years with signs of cognitive dysfunction and no underlying medical conditions were classified as the FCD-positive group. Cats aged ⩾8 years with no signs of cognitive dysfunction were classified as the FCD-negative control group. Chi-square or Fisher's exact tests were used to determine associations between categorical variables and a value <0.05 was considered indicative of evidence of association.

Results: A total of 615 completed survey responses were recorded, which was a response rate of 14.2%. Among those, 80 (13%) cats were identified as the FCD-positive group and 114 (18.5%) were identified as the FCD-negative control group. The most common clinical sign in the FCD-positive group was inappropriate vocalization (32/80, 40.0%). The only variable determined to have an association with the FCD group (positive or negative), with a value of 0.033, was the environmental setting. Cats living in a rural environment (FCD-positive or -negative) had the largest contribution to the χ statistic.

Conclusion And Relevance: The observed number of FCD-positive cats living in a rural community was less than the expected value based on the χ tests. This is suggestive of an association between living in a rural environment and a reduced chance of cognitive dysfunction. There are many factors such as air pollution, social interactions and environmental enrichment that need to be studied further to determine how they relate to FCD as this could not be concluded from this study.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11104230PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1098612X221095680DOI Listing

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