Plus-Hex CLINICAL with the treatment plan ; and the treatments the VS recommended for a cat with CDS . Other questions were included to determine any potential barriers to the treatment plan being implemented , such as whether the cat was insured , whether finances were an issue for the owner and whether the VS provided behaviour advice .
Data analysis All responses were analysed using Minitab 19 .
Results
Responses to the question ‘ Was the cat euthanised ?‘ were compared with responses to the question ‘ What was your initial diagnosis ?‘. There was a link between the cat being euthanised and the cat being diagnosed with CDS . There was a significant difference in the treatment outcome for cats with CDS compared with cats that had a different cause for their behaviour issue . Cats with CDS were more likely to be euthanised than cats that had another medical issue .
Responses to the question ‘ What behavioural issues did the cat present with ( or owner describe to you )? Please tick all that apply ‘ were compared with the responses to the question ‘ Did the owner comply with the treatment plan ?‘. There was a significant difference in owner compliance with the treatment plan in cats that were presenting with house-soiling behaviours in comparison with other behavioural issues . A Poisson regression analysis showed that owners were more likely to comply with the treatment plan if their cat was house soiling , compared with the other behaviours .
Responses to the question ‘ What behavioural issues did the cat present with ( or owner describe to you )? Please tick all that apply ‘ have been presented as a word cloud ( Figure 1 ) showing the most common behavioural signs that senior cats presented with . The most common signs were excessive vocalisation , house soiling , aimless wandering and nighttime waking . The least common signs were aggression and fear / hiding .
irritability waking restlessness done people ' s vocalisation clingy
tendency aimless wander excessive enter attachment fear developed disorientation
abnormal soiling house
overgrooming hiding wandering
aggression
toileting time night
Figure 1 . The most common behavioural signs presented .
Responses to the question ‘ If yes , what would you recommend for treatment of CDS ?‘ showed that 28.99 % of the VSs recommended a brain health supplement or nutraceutical , such as Yucalm , Nutramind or Zylkene , and 26.09 % of the respondents recommended environmental adaptations , such as moving resources or adding extra litter trays . Only 8.7 % of respondents recommended Selgian as a treatment for CDS , whereas 18.84 % recommended Aktivait . However , 14.49 % of respondents said they were unsure what treatments to recommend or would not recommend any treatment ( Figure 2 ).
25
Number of VSs
20
15
10
5
0
Selgian |
Vivitonin |
Aktivait
Other brain supplement
Environmental adaptation
Specific diet
Feliway
Pain relief
Gabapentin
Amitriptyline
Fluoxetine
Unsure / none
Treatments recommended by VSs for CDS in cats
|
Euthanasia |
Figure 2 . Bar chart showing treatments recommended by the 95 VSs who responded to the survey .
Volume 38 ( 6 ) • December 2023
17