2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines

The guidelines, authored by a Task Force of experts in feline clinical medicine, are an update and extension of the AAFP-AAHA Feline Life Stage Guidelines published in 2010. The guidelines are published simultaneously in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (volume 23, issue 3, pages 211-233, DOI: 10.1177/1098612X21993657) and the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (volume 57, issue 2, pages 51-72, DOI: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7189). A noteworthy change from the earlier guidelines is the division of the cat's lifespan into a five-stage grouping with four distinct age-related stages (kitten, young adult, mature adult, and senior) as well as an end-of-life stage, instead of the previous six. This simplified grouping is consistent with how pet owners generally perceive their cat's maturation and aging process, and provides a readily understood basis for an evolving, individualized, lifelong feline healthcare strategy. The guidelines include a comprehensive table on the components of a feline wellness visit that provides a framework for systematically implementing an individualized life stage approach to feline healthcare. Included are recommendations for managing the most critical health-related factors in relation to a cat's life stage. These recommendations are further explained in the following categories: behavior and environmental needs; elimination; life stage nutrition and weight management; oral health; parasite control; vaccination; zoonoses and human safety; and recommended diagnostics based on life stage. A discussion on overcoming barriers to veterinary visits by cat owners offers practical advice on one of the most challenging aspects of delivering regular feline healthcare.

2021 AAHA/AAFP Feline Life Stage Guidelines

The guidelines, authored by a Task Force of experts in feline clinical medicine, are an update and extension of the AAFP-AAHA Feline Life Stage Guidelines published in 2010. The guidelines are published simultaneously in the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (volume 23, issue 3, pages 211-233, DOI: 10.1177/1098612X21993657) and the Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association (volume 57, issue 2, pages 51-72, DOI: 10.5326/JAAHA-MS-7189). A noteworthy change from the earlier guidelines is the division of the cat's lifespan into a five-stage grouping with four distinct age-related stages (kitten, young adult, mature adult, and senior) as well as an end-of-life stage, instead of the previous six. This simplified grouping is consistent with how pet owners generally perceive their cat's maturation and aging process, and provides a readily understood basis for an evolving, individualized, lifelong feline healthcare strategy. The guidelines include a comprehensive table on the components of a feline wellness visit that provides a framework for systematically implementing an individualized life stage approach to feline healthcare. Included are recommendations for managing the most critical health-related factors in relation to a cat's life stage. These recommendations are further explained in the following categories: behavior and environmental needs; elimination; life stage nutrition and weight management; oral health; parasite control; vaccination; zoonoses and human safety; and recommended diagnostics based on life stage. A discussion on overcoming barriers to veterinary visits by cat owners offers practical advice on one of the most challenging aspects of delivering regular feline healthcare.

Surgical and Behavioral Relationships With Welfare

Veterinarians perform surgery for a number of reasons, from treating a problem to preventing future problems. There is an inextricable link between the physical and psychological aspects of an animal's health, and surgery is often a conduit to bridge that gap. Some surgical procedures can affect an animal's behavior, such as castration, and some pose an ethical dilemma, such as ear cropping and declawing. Ameliorating pain, decreasing stressful experiences for the animal, and identifying and treating concurrent problem behaviors are hallmarks of improving animal welfare. The purpose of this article is to outline some of these interrelationships and ethical dilemmas, providing evidence-based verification as applicable.

Late-onset osteosarcoma after onychectomy in a cat

Case summary

A 12-year-old neutered male onychectomized Ragdoll cat presented for a 3 day history of swelling and hemorrhagic purulent discharge on the first digit of the left manus. Radiographs revealed fragments of the third phalangeal bone (P3) present in the partially amputated digits with swelling adjacent to the P3 fragment on the first digit of the left manus. Thoracic radiographs revealed no evidence of primary or metastatic neoplasia. Surgery was performed to remove all P3 fragments and the associated swelling on the diseased digit. On gross examination of the excised swelling, a mass was present at the cut edge of P3. The bone fragment and associated mass were submitted for histopathological evaluation. Osteosarcoma was diagnosed. Because neoplastic cells extended to the surgical margins, amputation of the left thoracic limb was performed. The cat recovered from surgery, and survival time at the time of writing was 8 months.

Relevance and novel information

To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of onychectomy-associated osteosarcoma. Trauma from partial P3 amputation during onychectomy is suspected to have played a role in osteosarcoma development in this case. Malignant transformation may be considered a potential complication of onychectomy achieved by partial P3 amputation.

Evaluation of the efficacy of an appeasing pheromone diffuser product vs placebo for management of feline aggression in multi-cat households: a pilot study

OBJECTIVES

Aggression and social tension among housemate cats is common and puts cats at risk of injury or relinquishment. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a new pheromone product in reducing aggression between housemate cats.

METHODS

A new pheromone product (Feliway Friends) containing a proprietary cat-appeasing pheromone was evaluated for efficacy in reducing aggression between housemate cats via a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot trial of 45 multi-cat households (pheromone [n = 20], placebo [n = 25]) reporting aggression for at least 2 weeks. Each household had 2-5 cats. Participants attended an educational training meeting on day (D) -7 and the veterinary behaviorist described behaviors to be monitored for 7 weeks using the Oakland Feline Social Interaction Scale (OFSIS), which assessed the frequency and intensity of 12 representative aggressive interactions. Participants were also provided with instructions for handling aggressive events, including classical conditioning, redirection by positive reinforcement and not punishing or startling the cat for aggressive displays. Punishment techniques were strongly discouraged. Plug-in diffusers with the pheromone product or placebo were utilized from D0-D28. Participants completed a daily diary of aggressive events and weekly OFSIS assessments through to D42.

RESULTS

Evolution of the OFSIS-Aggression score according to treatment group in the full analysis set population revealed a significant effect on time and treatment group. The OFSIS-Aggression score decreased over time from D0-D28 in both groups (time factor P = 0.0001) with a significant difference in favor of the verum P = 0.06); similar results were found considering the D0-D42 period (time factor P = 0.0001 [D0] and P = 0.04 [D42]).

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

The OFSIS provided a quantifiable measure of the frequency and intensity of 12 intercat interactions reflecting conflict between cats. The cat-appeasing pheromone is a promising treatment for the management of aggression between housemate cats in multi-cat households.

Common feline problem behaviors: Destructive scratching

PRACTICAL RELEVANCE

While scratching is a normal, beneficial behavior for cats, it can create problems when cats scratch objects owners deem as inappropriate. However, if veterinarians make suitable recommendations from the first veterinary visit, owners will be able to implement effective preventive strategies to develop good scratching patterns for life. Educating owners as to why cats scratch, how to guide cats to scratch only on desirable surfaces (ie, a scratching post), which types of scratching posts are preferred by most cats, the benefits of pheromone products, as well as other strategies to avoid destructive scratching, helps to preserve the cat-owner bond and reduces the risk of relinquishment.

CLINICAL CHALLENGES

Clients may not directly ask veterinarians for their assistance regarding their cat's destructive scratching, and may not be aware that anything can be done except for declawing their cat.

EVIDENCE BASE

Published studies on scratching are limited. Destructive scratching has been documented as a reason for the relinquishment of cats to shelters and the negative effects of declaw surgeries are being increasingly discovered. Among recent scientific publications are studies assessing kitten and cat preferences for scratching substrates, and the use of pheromones to encourage appropriate scratching behavior. This review draws on these studies, among other resources, as well as the authors' personal experiences.

Normal feline behaviour: … and why problem behaviours develop

Practical relevance: Cats are descended from a solitary, territorial ancestor, and while domestication has reduced their inherited tendency to be antagonistic towards all animals larger than their typical prey, they still place more reliance on the security of their territory than on psychological attachments to people or other cats, the exact opposite to dogs. Many feline problem behaviours stem from perceived threats to this security, often due to conflicts with other cats. Others are more developmental in origin, often caused by inadequate exposure to crucial stimuli, especially people, during the socialisation period. Strongly aversive events experienced at any age can also contribute. A third category comprises normal behaviour that owners deem unacceptable, such as scratching of furniture. Evidence base: This review identifies three areas in which basic research is inadequate to support widely employed concepts and practices in feline behavioural medicine. First, classification of cats' problem behaviours relies heavily on approaches derived from studies of their behavioural ecology and, to some extent, extrapolation from canine studies. Few studies have focused on cats in the home, the environment in which most behavioural disorders are expressed. Secondly, cats' chemical senses (olfactory and vomeronasal) are far more sensitive than our own, making it difficult for owners or clinicians to fully comprehend the sensory information upon which they base their behaviour. Thirdly, although the concept of psychological distress is widely invoked as an intervening variable in behavioural disorders, there are still no reliable measures of distress for pet cats in the home. Global importance: Psychological distress of some kind is the primary cause of many of the behavioural problems presented to clinicians, but surveys indicate that many more cats display the same clinical signs without their owners ever seeking help. The welfare of this 'invisible' group could be improved by veterinarians taking a more proactive approach to educating their clients about the behavioural needs of pet cats.