TY - JOUR
T1 - Disease prevalence among dogs and cats in the United States and Australia and proportions of dogs and cats that receive therapeutic diets or dietary supplements
AU - Freeman, Lisa M.
AU - Abood, Sarah K.
AU - Fascetti, Andrea J
AU - Fleeman, Linda M.
AU - Michel, Kathryn E.
AU - Laflamme, Dorothy P.
AU - Bauer, Cassandra
AU - Kemp, Brona L E
AU - Van Doren, Janine R.
AU - Willoughby, Kristina N.
PY - 2006/8/15
Y1 - 2006/8/15
N2 - Objective - To estimate disease prevalence among dogs and cats in the United States and Australia and proportions of dogs and cats that receive therapeutic diets or dietary supplements. Design - Telephone survey. Sample Population - Dog and cat owners located in 5 geographic areas. Procedures - A telephone survey was administered to dog and cat owners. Results - Of 18,194 telephone calls that were made, 1,104 (6%) were to individuals who owned at least 1 dog or cat and agreed to participate. Information was collected for 635 dogs and 469 cats. Only 14 (1%) respondents indicated that their pet was unhealthy, but 176 (16%) indicated that their pets had 1 or more diseases. The most common diseases were musculoskeletal, dental, and gastrointestinal tract or hepatic disease. Many owners (n = 356) reported their pets were overweight or obese, but only 3 reported obesity as a health problem in their pets. Owners of 28 (2.5%) animals reported that they were feeding a therapeutic diet, with the most common being diets for animals with renal disease (n = 5), reduced-calorie diets (5), and reduced-fat diets (4). Owners of 107 of 1,076 (9.9%) animals reported administering dietary supplements to their pets. Multivitamins (n = 53 animals), chondroprotective agents (22), and fatty acids (13) were the most common dietary supplements used. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Results suggest that most dogs and cats reported by their owners to have a health problem were not being fed a therapeutic diet. In addition, the rate of dietary supplement use was lower than that reported for people.
AB - Objective - To estimate disease prevalence among dogs and cats in the United States and Australia and proportions of dogs and cats that receive therapeutic diets or dietary supplements. Design - Telephone survey. Sample Population - Dog and cat owners located in 5 geographic areas. Procedures - A telephone survey was administered to dog and cat owners. Results - Of 18,194 telephone calls that were made, 1,104 (6%) were to individuals who owned at least 1 dog or cat and agreed to participate. Information was collected for 635 dogs and 469 cats. Only 14 (1%) respondents indicated that their pet was unhealthy, but 176 (16%) indicated that their pets had 1 or more diseases. The most common diseases were musculoskeletal, dental, and gastrointestinal tract or hepatic disease. Many owners (n = 356) reported their pets were overweight or obese, but only 3 reported obesity as a health problem in their pets. Owners of 28 (2.5%) animals reported that they were feeding a therapeutic diet, with the most common being diets for animals with renal disease (n = 5), reduced-calorie diets (5), and reduced-fat diets (4). Owners of 107 of 1,076 (9.9%) animals reported administering dietary supplements to their pets. Multivitamins (n = 53 animals), chondroprotective agents (22), and fatty acids (13) were the most common dietary supplements used. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance - Results suggest that most dogs and cats reported by their owners to have a health problem were not being fed a therapeutic diet. In addition, the rate of dietary supplement use was lower than that reported for people.
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U2 - 10.2460/javma.229.4.531
DO - 10.2460/javma.229.4.531
M3 - Article
C2 - 16910851
AN - SCOPUS:33748560449
VL - 229
SP - 531
EP - 534
JO - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
JF - Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
SN - 0003-1488
IS - 4
ER -