Mortality of Life-Insured Swedish Cats during 1999–2006: Age, Breed, Sex, and Diagnosis

Background: A cat life insurance database can potentially be used to study feline mortality.
Hypothesis: The aim was to describe patterns of mortality in life-insured Swedish cats.
Cats: All cats (<13 years of age) with life insurance during the period 1999–2006 were included.
Methods: Age-standardized mortality rates (MR) were calculated with respect to sex (males and females), age, breed, and diagnosis. Survival to various ages is presented by time period and breed.
Results: The total number of cats insured was 49,450 and the number of cat-years at risk (CYAR) was 142,049. During the period, 6,491 cats died and of these 4,591 cats (71%) had a diagnosis, ie, were claimed for life insurance. The average annual MR was 462 deaths per 10,000 CYAR (95% confidence interval, 431–493). Sex-specific rates did not differ significantly. The overall mortality of the Persian and the Siamese groups was higher than that of several other breeds. Overall and breed-specific (for most breeds) survival increased with time when analyzed by 2-year periods. The 6 most common diagnostic categories (ignoring cats recorded as dead with no diagnosis) were urinary, traumatic, neoplastic, infectious, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal. The MR within diagnostic categories varied by age and breed.
Conclusions and Clinical Importance: In this mainly purebred, insured cat population, the overall mortality varied with age and breed but not with sex. The increase in survival over time is likely a reflection of willingness to keep pet cats longer and increased access to and sophistication of veterinary care.     

Gait analysis of poultry

Lameness is a major problem in the UK poultry industry, however, relatively few objective studies have been undertaken into the biomechanics of normal walking in these birds. In this study, the use of a pedobarograph as a novel method of gait analysis in poultry was investigated. Unlike most systems, the pedobarograph has a recording surface with a high degree of spatial resolution, allowing pressure patterns to be established for various regions of the foot. The highest pressures were found to act on the medial toe (149·4–218 kN m⁻²) and back toe (146·1–195-· kN m⁻²). The metatarsal pad, a region often associated with lesions, was subject to lower pressures (16·3–131·2 kN m⁻²). Maximum net forces of 116–145 per cent of bodyweight were found during normal walking, an order of the same magnitude as human bipeds. Routine spatial parameters were also measured, allowing further characterisation of the gait patterns.     

Application of bovine microsatellite markers for genetic diversity analysis of European bison (Bison bonasus)

In this study, the cross‐amplification of a commercial multiplex set of 11 cattle (Bos taurus) microsatellites was tested on a panel of 35 European bison (Bison bonasus) individuals. After polymerase chain reaction optimization, all loci cross‐amplified successfully in investigated bisons. Number of alleles and observed and expected heterozygosity per locus are in the range of 2–4, 0.086–0.629 and 0.288–0.621 respectively. The availability of a heterologous set of multiplexed microsatellite markers derived from cattle opens an avenue for collecting profound genetic data for efficient conservation management strategies of the European bison.     

Randomised, controlled field trial of two new techniques for the castration and tail docking of lambs less than two days of age

Two methods to reduce the pain associated with the castration and tail docking of lambs with rubber rings were tested by 10 shepherds, each using 60 housed lambs. In 20 of the lambs the innervation to the scrotum, testes and tail was crushed with a 'Big Nipper' bloodless castrator, and in 20 local anaesthetic (2 per cent lignocaine with adrenaline) was injected with a newly developed high-pressure jet injector under the rubber rings after they had been applied; 10 lambs were given a placebo treatment and 10 were treated by the shepherds' routine elastrator ring procedure. Both new methods significantly decreased the incidence of limb and tail movement by 78 per cent and the time spent by the lambs in abnormal postures, when compared with either the shepherds' routine treatment or the placebo treatment. An experienced observer and most of the shepherds also assessed that the lambs suffered signficantly less pain when treated by the two new methods than when they were treated with rubber rings alone. No detrimental long-term effects of the two new methods were observed. On average the new methods took 68 seconds to apply, compared with 29 seconds for the rubber rings; of the two new methods most shepherds preferred using the pressure jet injector.