Study of factors that may predispose domestic cats to road traffic accidents: part 1

Between March 2000 and February 2001, six veterinary practices in Cambridgeshire collected data on 117 owned cats which they had examined after a road accident. For one week every month during the same year, the practices distributed questionnaires to the owners of cats which had been examined for reasons other than a road accident, and the data from these cats were checked to ensure that they were representative of the practice records, which were compared with a survey of the owned cat population for age and sex. From this population, the cats that were allowed outdoors and had never been in a road accident were chosen as controls, and compared with the cats that had been in a road accident for age, sex, pedigree status and coat colour. The cats that had been in a road accident differed from the control population with respect to age, sex and pedigree status; for every one-year increase in age, the odds of a road accident decreased by 16 per cent; the odds for males (entire and neutered) being in a road accident were 1.9 times the odds for females (entire and neutered), and the odds for pedigree cats were 0.29 those for non-pedigree cats.     

Effect of different methods of selection on the background, attitudes and career plans of first year veterinary students

OBJECTIVES: To compare the family, educational and animal-related backgrounds and career aspirations of students who were selected on the basis of academic criteria with those selected using additional criteria. METHODS: Questionnaires were completed during class time in the first few weeks of enrolment by incoming veterinary students at the University of Sydney, who had been selected on the basis of academic background, and at Charles Sturt University, selected using more broadly-based criteria. The data were transferred to an Excel spreadsheet, and frequency distributions and chi2 statistics estimated using the SAS System for Windows 8. RESULTS: Students selected principally on academic criteria alone had higher average UAI scores, were more likely to have completed high school in a capital city, and to have parents with higher education levels than those selected using additional criteria. Both groups indicated that their choice of veterinary science was based largely on their affinity for animals and keenness to work in a veterinary practice. However, those at CSU placed much greater importance than those at Sydney on a desire to live and work in a rural area, and a desire to help farmers. The broad-based selection methods were the main reasons for students applying to CSU whereas the reputation of the university was the main attraction for Sydney students. Two-thirds of CSU students, but one-third of Sydney students, planned to enter rural mixed practice when they graduated, and most planned to stay for at least 10 years. Conversely, no CSU students, but 42% of those at Sydney, planned to enter small animal practice initially. The percentage planning to work full-time in the first, fifth and tenth year after graduation was not significantly different between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Criteria which included actual experience with farm animals have resulted in the selection of more students who plan to enter and remain in rural mixed practice. Further studies over the longer term will be necessary to assess the extent to which these plans are realized.     

Survey of pet owners' expectations of surgical practice within first opinion veterinary clinics in Great Britain

O bjectives : The expectations of small animal pet owners in Great Britain were evaluated on a number of issues regarding aseptic practice and clinical management and compared with final year veterinary students' assessment of actual veterinary practice.
M aterials and M ethods : A survey was completed by 328 small animal pet owners and 56 veterinary practices in Great Britain. Questions from the pet owner survey related to expectations and opinions on a number of surgical issues and questions from the veterinary surgeon survey examined veterinary practice in relation to the same issues. Comparisons were made to determine whether there were any differences between pet owner expectations and veterinary student assessment of actual practice of small animal first opinion clinics.
R esults : In the majority of issues examined there was a significant mismatch between client expectation and provisions made. Of particular importance was the discrepancy regarding the use of surgical gloves and administration of analgesia.
C linical S ignificance : These results suggest that attempts should be made to understand and improve the disparity that exists between small animal pet owners and veterinary surgeons in Great Britain.     

The role of final year extramural placements in the undergraduate veterinary curriculum

OBJECTIVE: To examine the role of a final year program of extramural placements in the undergraduate veterinary curriculum. DESIGN: An online questionnaire was made available to all students who completed the first lecture free final year of clinical placements offered by the Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney in 2004. The questionnaire collected information regarding the effectiveness of preparation for veterinary practice through: rating the usefulness of tasks and processes in achieving final year learning outcomes; collecting students' opinions on attributes vital to success as a veterinary practitioner and the value of extramural placements in developing these attributes; and rating the value of extramural placements in preparing students for veterinary practice. RESULTS: The most useful tasks or processes as evidenced by the percentage of students rating these tasks or processes as either very useful or useful were receiving feedback (80%) and completing case logs (78%). The main attribute considered vital to success as a veterinarian was communication skills and extramural placements were generally rated as very valuable in developing this competency. This program was considered to be particularly successful in facilitating the link between theory and practice, enabling the recognition and treatment of a range of diseases and developing interpersonal skills. CONCLUSION: The model for extramural placements implemented was generally regarded by students to be valuable in preparing them for veterinary practice.     

Seroprevalence study of feline coronavirus in owned and feral cats in Sydney, Australia

OBJECTIVES: i) To establish the seroprevalence of Feline Coronavirus (FCoV) infection in two defined groups of cats in Sydney: owned and feral cats; ii) to identify factors associated with an increased risk of infection with FCoV; and iii) to establish the seroprevalence and FCoV antibody titres of owned cats with immunohistochemically confirmed feline infectious peritonitis (FIP). DESIGN: Prospective multi-institutional cross sectional study. Procedure Serum samples from owned cats presented to three inner city veterinary clinics in Sydney and feral cats from a colony in South Western Sydney over an 11-month period were tested for FCoV antibodies using the Immunocomb test kit. The relationship between serological score and six major factors (breed, age, gender, number of cats per household, living environment and health status) in the owned cat sample population was analysed and compared to cats with FIR RESULTS: The seroprevalence of FCoV infection in the sample population of owned and feral cats was 34% and 0%, respectively. The median Immunocomb scores of DSH, Persian, Siamese and Devon Rex cats were significantly lower than that of Burmese, BSH, Abyssinian, Birman, Ragdoll and Russian Blue. The median lmmunocomb score of pedigree cats less than 2 years-of-age was significantly higher than for pedigree cats greater than 2 years-of-age. This distinction was not evident in DSH cats in these age groups. The number of cats per household at the time of blood collection had a strong positive association with Immunocomb score. The median Immunocomb score of cats with immunohistochemically confirmed FIP was significantly higher than cats in the sample population of owned cats but there was sufficient overlap between these two groups to make definitive diagnosis of FIP by serology impossible. CONCLUSION: This represents the first seroprevalence study of FCoV in Australia. The major determinants of antibody score of owned cats identified in this study were breed, age and the number of cats per household. The significant relationship between the breed of the cat and the FCoV antibody titre further supports the notion, proposed previously by the authors, that breed related differences exist in the immunological response to FCoV infection.     

Carriage of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by veterinarians in Australia

Objective To estimate the prevalence of carriage of methicillin‐resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) among Australian veterinarians. Methods Individuals attending veterinary conferences in Australia in 2009 were recruited to provide nasal swabs and complete a questionnaire about their professional activities. Swabs were processed by standard methods for detecting MRSA and questionnaire responses were used to group veterinarians according to their areas of major work emphasis (species and practice type). Prevalence was estimated for each of these grouping and contingency tables and regression tree analysis used to explain the variation in MRSA carriage. Results Among the 771 respondents ‘industry and government veterinarians’ (controls) had the lowest prevalence of MRSA carriage at 0.9%. Veterinarians with horses as a major area of work emphasis had a prevalence of 11.8% (13‐fold that of controls) and those whose only major emphasis was horses had a prevalence of 21.4% (23‐fold that of controls). Veterinarians with dogs and cats as a major activity had a 4.9% prevalence (5‐fold that of controls). Prevalence rates for other major activities (pigs, dairy and beef cattle, avian and wildlife) were also increased, but were estimated from smaller numbers of respondents. Regression tree analysis clearly isolated equine veterinarians and dog and cat practitioners as groups at increased risk of carriage of MRSA. Conclusion Carriage of MRSA is a notable occupational health issue for veterinarians in clinical practice in Australia, particularly those who work with horses.     

Developing group practices: a management challenge

SUMMARY: The advantages and disadvantages of forming larger professional practices are often debated. This paper reports an exploration of the issues through three case studies involving clusters of Sydney general medical practitioners who had expressed a desire to amalgamate their solo or small group practices. Their most frequently stated goals were to reduce financial overheads, to improve the range of services offered to their patients and to improve the opportunities for recreational and study leave. Several barriers to successful amalgamation were identified, and methods of overcoming these were explored. Practices can successfully amalgamate, but only where there is a group of like-minded general practitioners who are willing to invest time to achieve mutually agreed objectives. Amalgamation will not be appropriate in all circumstances. Larger group practices should benefit from the employment of a professional practice manager. These findings may be relevant to veterinary and dental practices.     

Prevalence of Bordetella bronchiseptica in cats attended by a veterinary practice in the Manawatu region

AIMS: To determine the prevalence by isolation of Bordetella bronchiseptica infection in healthy cats and in cats showing signs of upper respiratory tract (URT) disease attended by a veterinary practice in the Manawatu region. METHODS: The nasal cavity and oropharynx of 100 cats of mixed sex and age were swabbed and the swabs cultured for B. bronchiseptica. The population of cats surveyed was that attended by the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, and included healthy cats, cats with clinical signs of URT disease, cats with a recent history of URT disease, cats from single cat households, cats from multiple-cat households, and cats from a colony. RESULTS: Bordetella bronchiseptica was recovered from 7 cats (5 from pharyngeal samples and 2 from nasal samples). Five of the 7 cats appeared to be healthy at the time of sampling, whilst 2 showed clinical signs of URT disease. Six of the 7 culture-positive cats were from a cat colony. The prevalence of B. bronchiseptica in healthy cats sampled was 7% and in cats with URT disease was 8%. CONCLUSION: This study confirms that B. bronchiseptica infection is present, but the prevalence of infection is low, in both healthy cats and in cats with URT disease attended by the Massey University Veterinary Teaching Hospital. It is unlikely that B. bronchiseptica infection is a frequent cause of feline URT disease of cats in this region.     

Costs of studying veterinary science: a national survey of fourth year veterinary students

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the costs to the student of veterinary education. METHOD: A questionnaire was completed by 180 fourth-year veterinary students from the four veterinary schools in Australia. Frequencies and median costs were estimated using the SAS System for Windows 95. RESULTS: The median direct living costs were about $5000 per academic year, but were higher in Sydney and for those with additional expenses including children, pets and cars. Other costs associated with the course including text books, equipment and travel to practical work were of the order of $1000, and income foregone while doing practical work placed additional burdens on some. More than half the students from Sydney and Murdoch needed to work to provide basic necessities. Most of this work involved interaction with animals or people. The percentage of Queensland and Melbourne students needing to work was lower, 47 and 24 respectively, and fewer of those worked directly with animals or people. The students expected to repay a median of $14,000 after they graduate, with 70% of this being due to the Australian government as part of the Higher Education Contribution Scheme. CONCLUSIONS: Although parents contributed an average of between one-third and one half of the costs of obtaining a veterinary degree, the extent of parental contributions was very uneven and almost one half of all students needed to work to provide basic necessities. The average total debt on graduation was about half the annual starting salary, but those starting the course from 1997 are subject to much higher charges, and their average debt is likely to exceed one year's salary.     

Epidemiologic study of relationships between consumption of commercial canned food and risk of hyperthyroidism in cats

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the increasing prevalence of feline hyperthyroidism is the result of aging of the cat population and whether consumption of canned foods at various times throughout life is associated with increased risk of hyperthyroidism. DESIGN: Retrospective and case-control studies. STUDY POPULATION: Medical records of 169,576 cats, including 3,570 cats with hyperthyroidism, evaluated at 9 veterinary school hospitals during a 20-year period, and 109 cats with hyperthyroidism (cases) and 173 cats without hyperthyroidism (controls). PROCEDURE: Age-adjusted hospital prevalence of hyperthyroidism was calculated by use of Veterinary Medical Database records. On the basis of owners' questionnaire responses, logistic regression was used to evaluate associations between consumption of canned food and development of hyperthyroidism. RESULTS: Age-specific hospital prevalence of feline hyperthyroidism increased significantly from 1978 to 1997. Overall, consumption of pop-top canned (vs dry) food at various times throughout life and each additional year of age were associated with greater risk of developing hyperthyroidism. In female cats, increased risk was associated with consumption of food packaged in pop-top cans or in combinations of pop-top and non-pop-top cans. In male cats, increased risk was associated with consumption of food packaged in pop-top cans and age. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These findings suggest that the increasing prevalence of feline hyperthyroidism is not solely the result of aging of the cat population and that canned foods may play a role.     

Predictors of owner response to companion animal death in 177 clients from 14 practices in Ontario

OBJECTIVE: To identify predictors of grief and client desires and needs as they relate to pet death. DESIGN: Cross-sectional mail survey. SAMPLE POPULATION: 177 clients, from 14 randomly selected veterinary practices, whose cat or dog died between 6 and 43 days prior to returning the completed questionnaire. PROCEDURE: Veterinary practices were contacted weekly to obtain the names of clients whose pets had died until approximately 200 clients were identified. Clients were contacted by telephone, and a questionnaire designed to measure grief associated with pet death was mailed to those willing to participate within 1 to 14 days of their pet's death. The questionnaire measured potential correlates and modifiers of grief and included three outcome measures: social/emotional and physical consequences, thought processes, and despair. Demographic data were also collected. RESULTS: Approximately 30% of participants experienced severe grief. The most prominent risk factors for grief included level of attachment, euthanasia, societal attitudes toward pet death, and professional support from the veterinary team. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Bivariate and multivariate analyses highlighted the impact owners' attitudes about euthanasia and professional intervention by the veterinary team had on reactions to pet death. Owners' perceptions of societal attitudes, also a predictor of grief, indicate that grief for pets is different than grief associated with other losses.     

Proportion of pet cats registered with a veterinary practice and factors influencing registration in the UK

Registration of a cat with a veterinary practice is likely to be a critical factor for access to key preventative medicine. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data in the United Kingdom on the registration status of cats and potential explanatory variables. These data were also used to identify potential sources of bias associated with selecting controls from veterinary registered populations of cats due to differences between registered and unregistered cats. Cat owners reported that 13.6% (84/616) of their cats had not been registered with a veterinary practice since living at their current address. Multivariable logistic regression indicated that unregistered cats were significantly more likely than registered cats to be entire, to have not been vaccinated within the previous year, to be living in households in Northern Ireland and in households with an annual income <￡10,000.(1) Whilst the neuter status and the vaccination status of the cat are likely to result from non-registration, the household location and annual income are factors that can be used to inform future interventions designed to increase the proportion of veterinary registered cats.     

Criteria used by employers to select new graduate employees

OBJECTIVE: To find out what criteria and methods are used by Australian employers to select new graduates to work in their practices. DESIGN: Questionnaires were completed by 258 employers and the responses were analysed using the SAS system. RESULTS: During selection, employers placed most reliance on formal interviews or visits to the practice. These occasions were used to assess the applicant's personal qualities including their ability to interact effectively with clients and colleagues. Employers used resumes mainly in selection of applicants to interview and many discounted nominated referees as being insufficiently critical. Academic knowledge was regarded as less important than personal qualities and very few employers reported using gender as a basis for selection. CONCLUSIONS: Senior veterinary students need to be aware of the importance placed by employers on interpersonal skills and personal qualities and should make every effort to engage in practical work, paid work and other activities that will help develop these attributes. They should be conscious that practitioners with whom they work may be contacted by potential employers and they should learn to present themselves realistically in a resume.     

Mining free-text medical records for companion animal enteric syndrome surveillance

Large amounts of animal health care data are present in veterinary electronic medical records (EMR) and they present an opportunity for companion animal disease surveillance. Veterinary patient records are largely in free-text without clinical coding or fixed vocabulary. Text-mining, a computer and information technology application, is needed to identify cases of interest and to add structure to the otherwise unstructured data. In this study EMR's were extracted from veterinary management programs of 12 participating veterinary practices and stored in a data warehouse. Using commercially available text-mining software (WordStat™), we developed a categorization dictionary that could be used to automatically classify and extract enteric syndrome cases from the warehoused electronic medical records. The diagnostic accuracy of the text-miner for retrieving cases of enteric syndrome was measured against human reviewers who independently categorized a random sample of 2500 cases as enteric syndrome positive or negative. Compared to the reviewers, the text-miner retrieved cases with enteric signs with a sensitivity of 87.6% (95%CI, 80.4–92.9%) and a specificity of 99.3% (95%CI, 98.9–99.6%). Automatic and accurate detection of enteric syndrome cases provides an opportunity for community surveillance of enteric pathogens in companion animals.     

Hygiene practices to prevent the spread of equine influenza by humans

This paper describes a protocol for hygiene practices that was devised by a practice in which all veterinarians were involved on a daily basis in visiting infected premises, including sampling, treatment of clinical cases and general veterinary work. This protocol was strictly followed when attending an infected or at risk property.     

Naturally-occurring chronic renal disease in Australian cats: a prospective study of 184 cases

OBJECTIVE: To describe cases of naturally occurring feline chronic renal disease (CRD) in a defined population of Sydney. DESIGN: Prospective case series. METHODS: The inclusion criteria were the presence of a serum creatinine concentration above the reference range with either inadequately concentrated urine (urine specific gravity < or = 1.035), necropsy findings consistent with CRD, renal proteinuria or persistent azotaemia despite rehydration. Cats were excluded if a specific aetiology was identified ante or post mortem. Patients were divided into two categories (renal insufficiency or renal failure) on the basis of history, physical findings and serum creatinine concentration. The gender and age of cats with CRD was compared to an estimated Australian urban pet cat population. The breeds of cats with CRD were compared to the breeds of cats visiting the respective veterinary hospital where possible. Breed and gender comparisons were made using Fisher's exact tests. Age comparisons were made using Mann-Whitney U tests. The age at which cats were diagnosed with CRD was compared between veterinary hospitals using a Kruskal-Wallis test. RESULTS: One hundred and eighty-four (99 female; 85 male) cats fulfilled the inclusion criteria. Amongst cats with CRD, males (median 12 years) were significantly younger than females (median 15 years; p = 0.001). The overall proportion of male and female cats with CRD was similar to that of the reference urban cat population (p = 0.41), however, between the ages of 9 and 11 years, male cats with CRD were over-represented (p = 0.038). Patients diagnosed with renal insufficiency (123 cats; median age 15 years) were significantly older than patients diagnosed with renal failure (61 cats; median age 11 years; p = 0.0001).The age at diagnosis of cats with CRD differed significantly between veterinary hospitals (p = 0.002). CONCLUSION: Male cats with CRD were significantly younger than female cats with CRD. Younger cats were more likely to be diagnosed at an advanced stage of disease than older cats. The age at which cats were diagnosed with CRD was influenced by the clinic the cats attended. Whether these differences reflect differences in the aetiology of CRD or in the rate of disease progression warrants further investigation. Breed did not appear to play a significant role in the development of CRD in this survey.