Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Early life diet and events linked to cat tummy problems later
By Kathrani, Aarti et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2019·Department of Clinical Science and Services, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Exploring early life events including diet in cats presenting for gastrointestinal signs in later life.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A study found that cats who experienced vomiting or diarrhea during their early life were more likely to have ongoing gastrointestinal problems later on. Specifically, cats that were not exclusively fed a proper commercial diet before 16 weeks of age had a higher chance of returning to the vet for these issues between six months and 30 months old. The researchers suggest that feeding kittens a diet that meets established nutritional guidelines could help prevent these gastrointestinal signs in the future.
People also search for: cat vomiting treatment · kitten diarrhea causes · best diet for kittens · cat gastrointestinal problems prevention
Abstract
Our study aimed to determine if certain early life events were more prevalent in cats presenting to veterinary practices specifically for gastrointestinal signs on at least two occasions between six months and 30 months of age. Data from an owner-completed questionnaire for 1212 cats before 16 weeks of age and subsequent questionnaires for the same cats between six months and 30 months of age were reviewed. Of the 1212 cats included, 30 visited a veterinary practice for gastrointestinal signs on two or more occasions. Of the early life events recorded, cats reported with vomiting, diarrhoea or both, and/or those not exclusively fed commercial diet(s) that meets the World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Global Nutrition Committee (GNC) guidelines before 16 weeks of age were more likely to visit veterinary practices specifically for gastrointestinal signs on at least two occasions between six months and 30 months of age (P<0.001, odds ratio (OR)=2.64, 95 per cent confidence interval (CI)=1.66-4.22 and P=0.030, OR=1.51, 95 per cent CI=1.04-2.22, respectively). Ensuring cats exclusively consume commercial diet(s) that meets the WSAVA GNC guidelines and further studies identifying specific aetiologies for vomiting and diarrhoea before 16 weeks of age to enable prevention may reduce the number of cats subsequently presenting to primary care veterinary practices for repeated gastrointestinal signs.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31167836/