Pain severity in horses assessed by veterinary surgeons and owners
USER-ALT Debra Sellon and others , Washington State University , Pullman , USA
The treatment of painful conditions is often suboptimal in horses , as in other domestic species . A number of barriers to the adequate provision of analgesia in equine patients have been identified , such as the ability to recognise pain . The authors examined how owners and veterinary surgeons ( VSs ) assessed the severity of pain in horses . An online questionnaire was completed by 553 owners and 263 VSs , in which respondents gave pain scores for a range of clinical conditions . Those VSs giving high pain scores often worked in mixed practice rather than specialist equine centres , and were frequently clinicians without specialist qualifications . Those generally giving low pain scores were more likely to be male .
Equine Veterinary Journal https :// doi . org / 10.1111 / evj . 13559
Clinical utility and potential complications of using feeding tubes in cats
USER-ALT Audrey Brunet and others , University of Lyon , France
Anorexia is a regular consequence of a wide range of conditions in cats and will often necessitate the use of a nasoenteral or oesophagostomy tube to maintain adequate nutrition . The authors examined the clinical records of 112 cats in which feeding tubes were employed . The devices were predominantly used for the management of digestive , hepatobiliary and upper urinary tract disease . There was a significant number of complications related to the placement of the feeding tube , but these were generally mild , easily managed and did not preclude the continued use of the tube . Normal appetite usually returned soon after beginning treatment and was associated with a high survival rate .
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery https :// doi . org / 10.1177 / 1098612X221108835
Acceptability to cats of water-based and oil-based flavours used in manufacturing medicines
USER-ALT Amy Nichelason and others , University of Wisconsin-Madison , USA
Producing medicines that can be readily administered to pet cats is challenging . Less than 50 % of cats will voluntarily accept oral medicines produced with conventionally flavoured products . The authors investigated the flavour preferences of 46 healthy cats by randomly offering 10 different compounding flavours over a 10-day trial period . The cats refused the oilbased flavours in 59 % of the tests and the water-based products in 85 %. Sweet-tasting water-based flavours were the least-liked compounds . Owner assessments of their cats ' preferences correlated moderately well with objective measures of the amount of flavouring cats were prepared to ingest .
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association https :// doi . org / 10.2460 / javma . 22.07.0338
Volume 38 ( 2 ) • April 2023
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