Survival, remission, and quality of life in diabetic cats.

BACKGROUND: Remission is documented in a substantial proportion of cats with diabetes. The effects of diabetes mellitus (DM) on the lives of cats and their owners should be considered when evaluating treatment success. OBJECTIVES: To study outcome in cats with DM and the impact DM has on the life situation of cat and owner. ANIMALS: Domestic and pedigree cats with a diagnosis of DM (n = 477) insured by a Swedish insurance company during 2009 to 2013. METHODS: Retrospective cross-sectional study. A questionnaire was sent to 1369 owners of cats diagnosed with DM. The questions concerned the cat, treatment, owner perceptions of the disease and treatment and disease outcome. Data were analyzed using multiple linear and logistic regression, with outcomes set as survival for more than 4 weeks after diagnosis, survival time, achieving remission, remission without relapse and quality of life (QoL) for the cat. RESULTS: The response rate was 35%, leaving 477 questionnaires for analysis. The remission rate among treated cats was 29% (118/405). Feeding a commercially available wet diet was associated with both remission (OR 3.16, 95% confidence interval 1.27-8.12) and remission without relapse (OR 14.8, 95% confidence interval 2.25-153.8). Remission was associated with a better QoL for the cat. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: The association between feeding a commercially available wet diet and remission is important and strengthens the role of diet in treatment of DM in cats. Linking remission and a better QoL for the cat emphasizes remission as a goal in disease management.

Differences in metabolic profiles between the Burmese, the Maine coon and the Birman cat-Three breeds with varying risk for diabetes mellitus.

Feline diabetes mellitus shares many features with type 2 diabetes in people, regarding clinical presentation, physiology, and pathology. A breed predisposition for type 2 diabetes has been identified, with the Burmese breed at a fivefold increased risk of developing the condition compared to other purebred cats. We aimed to characterize the serum metabolome in cats (n = 63) using nuclear magnetic resonance metabolomics, and to compare the metabolite pattern of Burmese cats with that of two cat breeds of medium or low risk of diabetes, the Maine coon (MCO) and Birman cat, respectively. Serum concentrations of adiponectin, insulin and insulin-like growth factor-1 were also measured (n = 94). Burmese cats had higher insulin and lower adiponectin concentrations than MCO cats. Twenty one metabolites were discriminative between breeds using a multivariate statistical approach and 15 remained significant after adjustment for body weight and body condition score. Burmese cats had higher plasma levels of 2-hydroxybutyrate relative to MCO and Birman cats and increased concentrations of 2-oxoisocaproic acid, and tyrosine, and lower concentrations of dimethylglycine relative to MCO cats. The metabolic profile of MCO cats was characterized by high concentrations of arginine, asparagine, methionine, succinic acid and low levels of acetylcarnitine while Birman cats had the highest creatinine and the lowest taurine plasma levels, compared with MCO and Burmese. The pattern of metabolites in Burmese cats is similar to that in people with insulin resistance. In conclusion, the metabolic profile differed between healthy cats of three breeds. Detection of an abnormal metabolome might identify cats at risk of developing diabetes.

Homeostasis model assessment, serum insulin and their relation to body fat in cats.

BACKGROUND: Obesity is associated with insulin resistance (IR) and considered a risk factor for diabetes mellitus (DM) in cats. It has been proposed that homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR), which is the product of fasting serum insulin (mU/L) and glucose (mmol/L) divided by 22.5, can be used to indicate IR. The objectives of this study were threefold: (i) to evaluate associations between body fat, fasting insulin, and HOMA-IR, (ii) to determine population-based reference interval of HOMA-IR in healthy lean cats, and (iii) to evaluate biological variation of HOMA-IR and fasting insulin in cats. RESULTS: 150 cats were grouped as lean or overweight based on body condition score and in 68 of the cats body fat percentage (BF%) was estimated by computed tomography. Fasting serum insulin and glucose concentrations were analysed. Statistical differences in HOMA-IR and insulin between overweight or lean cats were evaluated using Wilcoxon rank-sum test. Robust method with Box-Cox transformation was used for calculating HOMA-IR reference interval in healthy lean cats. Relations between BF% and HOMA-IR and insulin were evaluated by regression analysis. Restricted maximum likelihood ratio was used to calculate indices of biological variation of HOMA-IR and insulin in seven cats. There were significant differences between groups with overweight cats (n = 77) having higher HOMA-IR (p < 0.0001) and insulin (p = 0.0002) than lean cats (n = 73). Reference interval for HOMA-IR in lean cats was 0.1-3.0. HOMA-IR and fasting insulin concentrations showed similar significant positive association with BF% (p = 0.0010 and p = 0.0017, respectively). Within-animal coefficient of variation of HOMA-IR and insulin was 51% and 49%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: HOMA-IR and fasting insulin higher in overweight than lean cats and correlate to BF%. The established population-based reference interval for HOMA-IR as well as the indices of biological variation for HOMA-IR and fasting insulin may be used when interpreting HOMA-IR and fasting insulin in cats. Further studies are needed to evaluate if HOMA-IR or fasting insulin is useful for identifying cats at risk of developing DM.

European dog owner perceptions of obesity and factors associated with human and canine obesity.

Obesity is a common nutrition-related disorder leading to reduced life expectancy in both humans and dogs. With the aim of identifying new prevention and control options, the study objectives were (1) to investigate dog-owner perceptions about obesity in terms of themselves and their dogs, and (2) to identify factors associated with obesity and possible social, environmental and economic drivers for its development in dog owners and their pets. A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was performed across multiple countries. The questionnaire focused on human and canine obesity, associated factors and potential drivers, and was distributed online and in the form of hard copies among dog owners in 11 European countries. In total, 3,185 responses from ten countries were included in multivariable analyses. Between 19.1% and 48.8% of the dog owners reported to be overweight/obese. Owner-reported overweight/obesity in dogs ranged from 6.0% to 31.3% based on body condition score charts, and 31.8% to 69.4% based on body fat index charts. Common factors associated with obesity in owners and their dogs were age, gender and owners' attitudes to diet and physical activity. Dog owners who did not consider obesity to be a disease were more likely to have obese dogs.

Overweight in adult cats: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Overweight in cats is a major risk factor for diabetes mellitus and has also been associated with other disorders. Overweight and obesity are believed to be increasing problems in cats, as is currently seen in people, with important health consequences. The objectives of the present study were to determine the prevalence of overweight in cats from two different cohorts in a cross-sectional study design and to assess associations between overweight and diagnoses, and between overweight and demographic and environmental factors. Data were obtained from medical records for cats (n = 1072) visiting an academic medical center during 2013-2015, and from a questionnaire on insured cats (n = 1665). From the medical records, information on body condition score, breed, age, sex, neutering status, and diagnosis was obtained. The questionnaire included questions relating to the cat's body condition, breed, age, sex, neutering status, outdoor access, activity level, and diet. Data were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The prevalence of overweight was 45% in the medical records cohort and 22% in the questionnaire cohort, where owners judged their pet's body condition. Overweight cats in the medical records cohort were more likely to be diagnosed with lower urinary tract disease, diabetes mellitus, respiratory disease, skin disorders, locomotor disease, and trauma. Eating predominantly dry food, being a greedy eater, and inactivity were factors associated with an increased risk of overweight in the final model in the questionnaire cohort. In both cohorts, the Birman and Persian breeds, and geriatric cats, were less likely to be overweight, and male cats were more likely to be overweight. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of overweight cats (45%) as assessed by trained personnel was high and in the same range as previously reported. Birman and Persian cats had a lower risk of overweight. The association with dry food found in adult, neutered cats is potentially important because this type of food is commonly fed to cats worldwide, and warrants further attention. Drawbacks related to the study design need to be acknowledged when interpreting the results, such as a potential for selection bias for cats visiting an animal hospital, and an information bias for questionnaire data. The high occurrence of overweight in cats needs to be addressed because it negatively affects their health.

Dystocia in the cat evaluated using an insurance database.

Objectives The aim of this study was to describe the incidence of feline dystocia with respect to breed. Methods The data used were reimbursed claims for veterinary care insurance and/or life insurance claims in cats registered in a Swedish insurance database from 1999-2006. Results The incidence rates for dystocia were about 22 cats per 10,000 cat-years at risk, 67 per 10,000 for purebred cats and seven per 10,000 for domestic shorthair cats. The median age was 2.5 years. A significant effect of breed was seen. An incidence rate ratio (IRR) that was significantly higher compared with other purebred cats was seen in the British Shorthair (IRR 2.5), the Oriental group (IRR 2.2), Birman (IRR 1.7), Ragdoll (IRR 1.5) and the Abyssinian group (IRR 1.5). A significantly lower IRR was seen in the Norwegian Forest Cat (IRR 0.38), the Maine Coon (IRR 0.48), the Persian/Exotic group (IRR 0.49) and the Cornish Rex (IRR 0.50). No common factor among the high-risk breeds explained their high risk for dystocia. There was no effect of location; that is, the incidence rate did not differ depending on whether the cat lived in an urban or rural area. Caesarean section was performed in 56% of the cats with dystocia, and the case fatality was 2%. Conclusions and relevance The incidence rate for dystocia was of a similar magnitude in purebred cats as in dogs. The IRR varied significantly among breeds, and the main cause for dystocia should be identified separately for each breed. A selection for easy parturitions in breeding programmes is suggested.