Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat owners' views on environment changes for cats with urinary
By Cosford, Kevin L & Caney, Sarah Ma·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2025·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, Canada·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cat owners' perceptions of multimodal environmental modification advice for obstructive feline idiopathic cystitis.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Many cat owners are looking for ways to help their cats with obstructive feline idiopathic cystitis, a condition that can cause painful urination. A survey found that most owners received advice from their veterinarians on improving their cat's environment, focusing heavily on diet and water intake. While many owners were satisfied with the advice they received, they reported less guidance on other important areas like litter box management and providing private spaces for their cats. Overall, cat owners were willing to follow the recommendations they received, which can help manage their cat's condition effectively.
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Abstract
ObjectivesThe primary goal of this survey was to gain insight into cat owners' perspectives with respect to multimodal environmental modification (MEMO) advice for obstructive feline idiopathic cystitis (O-FIC). The secondary goal was to describe the environmental management practices of cat owners.MethodsAn online survey of clients whose cats were managed medically for presumed O-FIC was completed.ResultsA total of 167 responses met the inclusion criteria. The proportions of cat owners receiving advice for MEMO varied with each aspect of environmental enrichment: diet (94%), water intake (86.2%), litter box (56.9%), private physical space (43.7%), social interaction (25.1%) and natural behavior (26.3%). For all these environmental enrichment categories, clients reported high compliance rates (88.9-97.6%), and veterinarians were the main source of advice. Cat owners indicated similar median satisfaction scores (with the thoroughness of advice), in the range of 77-82, for all aspects of environmental enrichment. Overall, respondents also reported encountering minimal challenges in terms of implementing MEMO and described their current management practices.Conclusions and relevanceCat owners report that certain aspects of MEMO are emphasized for O-FIC, such as diet and water intake. Recommendations for litter box management, private physical space, social interaction and natural behavior are aspects of environmental enrichment that are not as commonly provided to cat owners. If given MEMO recommendations, cat owners readily complied. Veterinarians were the main source of MEMO advice, suggesting that they are the key to providing recommendations pertaining to all aspects of environmental enrichment.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41268956/