Plus-Hex CLINICAL owner ' s life , the more likely the owner is to seek help to modify their cat ' s behaviour . Owners often report senior cats waking in the night and excessively vocalising [ 3 ] , which wakes them up , which is why this may have been the most common sign presented to the VSs .
In this study , a small proportion of the VSs ( 8.7 %) would recommend selegiline ( Selgian ) for the treatment of CDS . Only 18.84 % of VSs would recommend the use of Aktivait , whereas 28.99 % of the VSs would recommend other brain supplements and nutraceuticals such as Yucalm or Zylkene , and 26.09 % of the VSs would recommend environmental adaptations . The number of VSs who would include some of the recommended treatments and management strategies in their treatment plans for a cat with CDS was quite low compared with the number of VSs who answered the question ‘ What would you recommend for treatment of CDS ?‘ ( Figure 2 ). This could be due to a lack of education among VSs about the treatments and management strategies that are available and recommended in the literature . This lack of education could be a potential barrier to the treatment and management of feline behaviour issues in senior cats and cats with CDS .
Treatments , management strategies , supplements and specific diets are recommended in the literature on CDS in cats ( Table 1 ) along with environmental adaptations .
Table 1 . Treatments , management strategies and specific diets for cats with CDS [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 8 , 10 , 19 ] .
Treatment strategy
Diets enriched with antioxidants and other supportive compounds , such as vitamin E , betacarotene and essential fatty acids
Supplements
Products / brands
Hill ' s j / d and Nestle Purina Pro Plan 7 +
S-adenosyl-L-methionine ( SAMe ), Aktivait ( VetPlus )
Pheromone diffusers Feliway ( Ceva )
Drug therapy Selegiline ( Selgian , Ceva ), propentofylline ( Vivitonin , MSD Animal Health )
Nutraceuticals Zylkene ( Vetoquinol )
Environmental enrichment can lead to an increase in nerve growth factors , which can stimulate the growth and survival of nerves and an increase in cognitive function [ 3 ] . However , cats showing significant signs of CDS can be negatively affected by owners instigating environmental changes [ 3 ] .
Araujo et al . [ 9 ] state that the use of SAMe can be effective in the management of CDS . This information is accessible online in the form of journal articles , and some of the information is included in some postgraduate feline medicine courses .
The Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons ( RCVS ) states that VSs must undertake 35 hours of continuing professional development ( CPD ) per year [ 20 ] , but the RCVS does not specify the subject matter . Unless VSs choose to enrol on courses that contain feline behaviour modules or read current evidence-based articles , then it is possible that they may not obtain the necessary knowledge to recommend treatments and management strategies in their patients ' treatment plans .
The university at which the VS studied and the year they graduated could also affect their knowledge of recommended treatments and management strategies for CDS . Some university courses place greater emphasis on feline behaviour than others , and universities have been including more behaviour education in their veterinary medicine degree programmes in recent years . It is important to note that the VSs who contributed to this study were not asked which university they had attended or their year of graduation .
In this study , over half of the cats that were diagnosed with CDS were euthanised , and there was a significant difference in the outcome for cats with CDS . This could be due to the owner ' s lack of compliance with the treatment plan ( due to the cost of the treatment , medications , clinical diet or supplements ) or because the VS was not aware of all the possible treatment and management options for CDS . Sometimes the owner or VS may feel that CDS is severely impacting a cat ' s quality of life , and euthanasia is deemed the most suitable option to relieve the cat of pain and distress [ 21 ] . This could depend on the severity of the signs and , as this study did not look at this aspect , further study is warranted into whether the severity of behavioural signs significantly affects the decision to have a cat euthanised . In addition , the survey did not ask if the owner requested euthanasia or the VS recommended it , which could be significant .
Other cats in the study may not have been diagnosed with CDS but could have had CDS . However , their signs may have been attributed to old age , arthritis or another illness with less severe signs that impacted the owners ' lives less , so the cats were not euthanised . The reasoning behind a larger proportion of cats being euthanised when diagnosed with CDS needs to be investigated further , as this would give better insight into the significance of the decision .
In this study , 30 % of VSs did not give behaviour advice to the cat ' s owner following diagnosis because they did not feel confident in doing so ( Figure 3 ). In a study by Calder et al . [ 22 ] , veterinary students were asked if they felt their veterinary clinical behaviour curriculum
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