[en] OBJECTIVES: To describe the results of a prevention campaign in terms of participation and pet health status and to identify opportunities to improve preventive medicine in cats and dogs.
METHODS:An awareness campaign was designed to highlight the role of veterinarians and emphasise the benefits of a veterinary visit. Owners were invited to make an appointment for a free pet health check in a voluntarily participating veterinary clinic. Observations recorded by the veterinarians were entered in a database and subsequently analysed using simple descriptive statistics.
RESULTS:A total of 5305 completed health check forms were analysed. The percentages of overweight and obese dogs and cats were 34 and 36%, respectively; this was the most common finding, followed by dental calculus (31% in dogs, 21% in cats). In total 67% of cats did not undergo flea control and 59% were not vaccinated.
CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: Opportunities for increased quality of care are numerous given the high percentage of intact, unvaccinated or non-permanently identified pets and the low level of worm and flea control. Animal health should benefit from preventive measures, and improved management can be undertaken after early detection of diseases.
Research center :
Nutrition des animaux de compagnie- FMV
Disciplines :
Veterinary medicine & animal health
Author, co-author :
Diez, Marianne ; Université de Liège > Département de productions animales > Nutrition des animaux de compagnie
Picavet, Philippe; Hill's Pet Nutrition Belgium, B-1160, Brussels, Belgium.
Ricci, Rebecca; Department of Animal Science, University of Padova, 35020, Legnaro, Padova, Italy.
Dequenne, Marjorie ; Université de Liège > Département de productions animales > Nutrition des animaux domestiques
Renard, Marcel; Union Professionnelle Vétérinaire, B-1400, Nivelles, Belgium
Bongartz, Alexandre; Small Animal Veterinary Association Belgium, B-1400, Nivelles, Belgium
Farnir, Frédéric ; Université de Liège > Département de productions animales > Biostatistiques et bioinformatique appliquées aux sc. vétér.
Language :
English
Title :
Health screening to identify opportunities to improve preventive medicine in cats and dogs
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