Kedi Sahiplerinin Beslenme Alışkanlıklarının Kedilerin Vücut Kondisyon Skoru ile İlişkisi

Abstract

Body condition score (BCS) is an important indicator for cat owners and veterinarians to obtain information about the health status of cats. Being overweight and obese (OWO) can cause diseases such as type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular, osteoarthritis, high blood pressure and cancer; on the other hand, having a thin BCS may occur due to chronic disease, and malnutrition. This study aimed to investigate the status of cats having thin and OWO BCS compared to normal BCS and whether the association of nutritional habits of cat owners on their cat’s BCS. It is an analytical, cross-sectional study. Cats' weight and five-grade body condition scores, BCSs, nutritional behaviors of the participants, and feeding habits of their cats’ data were collected between February and April 2022, with an online 46-question questionnaire. A total of 1875 valid answers were collected. Cats with normal BCS were accepted as a reference category, and the relationship of thin and OWO cats with the determined risk factors was evaluated by multinomial logistic regression. Based on cat weight, the rate of OWO cats was 33.8%; on five-grade visual BCS was 30.8%. Normal weight was found to be 4.9 ± 1.4 kg in male and 4.0 ± 1.21 kg in female cats. A cat living with three or more cats was found to be 1.6 times (95% CI = 1.20-2.13%) more OWO than living alone. It has been observed that the estimated risk of OWO increases parallel to the age of cats. It was determined that the cats who stole feed from the feed package were 1.66 times (95% CI = 1.26-2.20) more frequently in OWO BCS. It has been determined that knowing the harms of obesity reduces the incidence of OWO BCS in cats. Although there was no direct relationship between the dietary habits and workout habits of the participants. The association was observed between feeding, watering practices. It is thought that the frequency of OWO cats can be reduced with awareness-raising studies. Since the treatment of OWO is difficult for cats, it is recommended to carry out awareness-raising studies within the framework of one health.