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Impact of the Sars-Cov-2 Pandemic on Feline Lower Urinary Tract Signs
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery ; 24:E441, 2022.
Article in English | EMBASE | ID: covidwho-2138409
ABSTRACT
On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) outbreak to be a global pandemic. Restrictions were imposed to mitigate the transmission of the virus, and people's daily routines were interrupted. This exposed both cat caregivers and, potentially, their cats to additional stress factors, such as psychosocial stress. Lower urinary tract signs (LUTS) are common in domestic cats and can include some or different combinations of the following clinical signs dysuria, haematuria, periuria, pollakiuria, stranguria and obstruction. Environmental and management factors, such as indoor environments and an increase in stressors, have been identified as predisposing factors to LUTS. This retrospective study attempted to assess the effects of the pandemic and cat caregiver's confinement at home, which may be considered a stressor, thus triggering more cases of LUTS in cats. The study included 298 cats that were presented to the Veterinary Hospital of Associaicao Zoofila Portuguesa, Lisbon, between 2019 and 2021. A group from the pre-pandemic period (PPP;control group) contained 142 cats and a group from the period during the pandemic (PDP;study group) contained 156 cats. In the PDP group there were decreases in LUTS relapses and subsequent obstructions (P <0.01) and mortality rate (P <0.05) compared with the PPP group. A statistically significant difference was also observed in terms of the number of episodes of LUTS, with the PPP group associated with two episodes and the PDP group more frequently seen with only one episode (P <0.01). The results appear to demonstrate a positive effect of the SARS-COV-2 pandemic on LUTS. This is perhaps owing to the increased wellbeing of the cats due to the increased amount of time caregivers spent with their cats. This might mean they were better able to observe and meet their cats' needs, thus reducing the cats' stress during the period of the pandemic-related restrictions.
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Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: EMBASE Type of study: Experimental Studies Language: English Journal: Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery Year: 2022 Document Type: Article

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Full text: Available Collection: Databases of international organizations Database: EMBASE Type of study: Experimental Studies Language: English Journal: Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery Year: 2022 Document Type: Article