Debra L. Zoran

Obesity in dogs and cats: a metabolic and endocrine disorder.

Obesity is defined as an accumulation of excessive amounts of adipose tissue in the body, and has been called the most common nutritional disease of dogs in Western countries. Most investigators agree that at least 33% of the dogs presented to veterinary clinics are obese, and that the incidence is increasing as human obesity increases in the overall population. Obesity is not just the accumulation of large amounts of adipose tissue, but is associated with important metabolic and hormonal changes in the body, which are the focus of this review. Obesity is associated with a variety of conditions, including osteoarthritis, respiratory distress, glucose intolerance and diabetes mellitus, hypertension, dystocia, decreased heat tolerance, some forms of cancer, and increased risk of anesthetic and surgical complications. Prevention and early recognition of obesity, as well as correcting obesity when it is present, are essential to appropriate health care, and increases both the quality and quantity of life for pets.

AAHA Diabetes Management Guidelines for Dogs and Cats

Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a treatable condition that requires a committed effort by veterinarian and client. This document provides current recommendations for the treatment of diabetes in dogs and cats. Treatment of DM is a combination of art and science, due in part to the many factors that affect the diabetic state and the animal’s response. Each animal needs individualized, frequent reassessment, and treatment may be modified based on response. In both dogs and cats, DM is caused by loss or dysfunction of pancreatic beta cells. In the dog, beta cell loss tends to be rapid and progressive, and it is usually due to immune-mediated destruction, vacuolar degeneration, or pancreatitis.1 Intact females may be transiently diabetic due to the insulin-resistant effects of the diestrus phase. In the cat, loss or dysfunction of beta cells is the result of insulin resistance, islet amyloidosis, or chronic lymphoplasmacytic pancreatitis.2 Risk factors for both dogs and cats include insulin resistance caused by obesity, other diseases (e.g., acromegaly in cats, hyperadrenocorticism in dogs), or medications (e.g., steroids, progestins). Genetics is a suspected risk factor, and certain breeds of dogs (Australian terriers, beagles, Samoyeds, keeshonden3) and cats (Burmese4) are more susceptible. Regardless of the underlying etiology, diabetic dogs and cats are hyperglycemic and glycosuric, which leads to the classic clinical signs of polyuria, polydipsia (PU/PD), polyphagia, and weight loss. Increased fat mobilization leads to hepatic lipidosis, hepatomegaly, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, and increased catabolism. Eventually, hyperketonemia, ketonuria, and ketoacidosis develop and result in progressive compromise of the animal.

American Association of Feline Practitioners: Senior Care Guidelines

Background Cats are the most popular pet in the United States and much of Northern Europe. Although 78% of owners consider their cats to be family members, many cats, particularly seniors, do not receive appropriate preventive care.1–3 One of the main obstacles to owner compliance is the lack of a clear recommendation by the veterinary team. 4 Guidelines can help veterinarians to minimize this obstacle, strengthen the human-pet-veterinary bond, and improve the quality of life of cats. Goals The goals of this article are to assist veterinarians to: Deliver consistent high-quality care to senior cats. Promote longevity and improve the quality of life of senior cats by: recognizing and controlling health risk factors; facilitating and promoting early detection of disease; improving or maintaining residual organ function; and delaying the progression of common conditions. Define aspects of screening, diagnosis, treatment and anesthesia of senior cats.

Utility of Endoscopic Biopsies of the Duodenum and Ileum for Diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease and Small Cell Lymphoma in Cats

BACKGROUND Endoscopic duodenal biopsies are relatively convenient, minimally invasive tests for infiltrative intestinal disorders of cats. Ileal endoscopic biopsies might not be performed because of technical difficulty and effort required to prepare the colon. It is not known whether or not histopathology of feline duodenal and ileal biopsies for detection of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and small cell lymphoma (SC-LSA) provides comparable results. OBJECTIVES To evaluate the agreement between endoscopic biopsies of duodenum and ileum in cats with IBD and SC-LSA. ANIMALS Seventy client-owned cats with gastrointestinal disease and adequate duodenal and ileal tissue biopsies obtained endoscopically. METHODS Retrospective study: Search of medical records of cats with enteropathy and endoscopy. Samples were blinded and re-evaluated by single pathologist (JM) for quality, number of biopsies, and diagnosis according to WSAVA standards. Agreement of IBD and SC-LSA diagnoses among biopsy sites assessed using Cohens Kappa. RESULTS Eighteen of 70 cats (26%) were diagnosed with SC-LSA in duodenum, ileum, or both. Of these 18 cats, 7 (39%) were diagnosed with only duodenal SC-LSA, 8 (44%) were diagnosed with only ileal SC-LSA, and 3 (17%) had SC-LSA in both duodenum and ileum. There was poor agreement on diagnosis between duodenal and ileal biopsies (kappa = 0.23). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Although review by a single pathologist remains a limitation of this study, results suggest that there is a population of cats in which diagnosis of SC-LSA can be found only by evaluation of ileal biopsies. Clinicians should consider performing both upper and lower GI endoscopic biopsies in cats with infiltrative small bowel disease.

Elevated parathyroid hormone-related protein and hypercalcemia in two dogs with schistosomiasis

Two adult dogs were evaluated for hypercalcemia. Diagnostic evaluation identified elevated parathyroid hormone-related protein (PTHrP) and presumptive humoral hypercalcemia of malignancy. At necropsy, schistosomiasis was diagnosed. North American schistosomiasis is caused by Heterobilharzia americana. Clinical findings may include dermatitis, coughing, diarrhea, and anorexia. Clinicopathological findings may include hypercalcemia, hyperglobulinemia, hypoalbuminemia, anemia, and eosinophilia. Diagnosis by fecal examination is difficult. Praziquantel or fenbendazole treatment may be curative or palliative. These are the first reported cases of hypercalcemia with elevated PTHrP in animals without diagnosed malignancy. Elevation of PTHrP has not been previously reported in hypercalcemic humans or in animals with granulomatous inflammation.

Pancreatitis in cats: diagnosis and management of a challenging disease.

Feline pancreatitis can be a very difficult disease to diagnose and often requires a combination of clinical suspicion, appropriate physical examination findings, elevations in serum feline pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity, and changes on abdominal ultrasonography consistent with pancreatic disease. The diagnostic difficulties encountered are related to a lack of specific and readily attributable clinical signs in cats. The sensitivity and specificity of the diagnosis of pancreatitis are highest when a combination of tests is utilized; but even when such tests are employed, the diagnosis is still problematic, especially in cats with chronic pancreatitis. Therapy is symptomatic and focuses on maintaining fluid volume, controlling pain and vomiting, preventing infection, and adjusting to changes in the cats condition as they occur.

Diet and carcinogen alter luminal butyrate concentration and intracellular pH in isolated rat colonocytes

A 2 x 2 factorial experiment was conducted to examine the effects of two different dietary fibers and carcinogen treatment on colonic luminal short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) concentrations and intracellular pH (pHi) in rats. Twenty-four male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups, injected with a carcinogen [azoxymethane (AOM)] or normal saline (Sal), and fed one of two diets differing only in the type of dietary fiber [cellulose (Cell) or pectin (Pect)]. After 38 weeks of consuming these diets, the rats were euthanized, luminal contents were collected for analysis of SCFA concentrations, and colonocytes were isolated from the proximal and distal colon for subsequent determination of pHi. Changes in pHi after the addition of exogenous sodium butyrate to the culture medium were also tested. The highest concentrations of SCFAs were produced by the control rats (saline injected) consuming the pectin diet. Luminal butyrate concentrations were reduced in three of four colonic segments of carcinogen-injected groups [proximal and distal cellulose (Prox Cell and Dist Cell) and distal pectin (Dist Pect)] compared with saline controls. The pHi was consistently higher in colonocytes isolated from carcinogen-injected rats (Prox Cell/AOM = 6.95 vs. Prox Cell/Sal = 6.65, Prox Pect/AOM = 6.75 vs. Prox Pect/Sal = 6.65, Dist Cell/AOM = 6.94 vs. Dist Cell/AOM = 6.85, Dist Pect/AOM = 6.92 vs. Dist Pect/Sal = 6.79) than in cells from saline-injected rats. Furthermore, in the majority of rats, pHi was lower in the proximal than in the distal colon. Addition of butyrate to cultured colonocytes consistently lowered pHi, but the effect was more pronounced in the carcinogen-injected animals. These data identify changes that occur intraluminally and intracellularly in colons of rats injected with AOM and suggest that, during tumorigenesis, alterations in butyrate production and basic colonocyte physiology may play an important role in the process.

Effects of nutrition choices and lifestyle changes on the well-being of cats, a carnivore that has moved indoors

Cats (Felis catus) are complicated creatures that have fascinated, frustrated, and even evoked fear in humans for millennia. Although many factors influence these emotions, most are certainly tied to the fact that humans have attempted to tame one of the world’s greatest hunters, with only modest success. Cats have lived at the periphery of human society, cohabiting with humans but still retaining their independence, with diet options that have included small animals or birds they captured. Cats in this role were often included as members of the family, but they only interacted with humans at times of their choosing and, in the process, maintained strong ties to their feral background. Today, of all companion animals, domestic cats retain the most anatomic, metabolic, and behavioral features of their predecessors. Domestication has changed cats relatively little. 1 However, cats have surpassed dogs as the most common household pet in American households, and even though they have been brought indoors and domesticated, their relationship with humans and their nutritional, physical, and emotional needs remain unique. 1–3 Cats have come to fill a niche that the current urban envi ronment demands because of their ability to live in small spaces, function on little input from their human caregivers, and coexist with humans in a busy society. Cats in confinement live under the authority of their owners, who control what, when, where, and how they eat and eliminate, and determine their opportunities to engage in species-typical activities. Animalowner relationships also are dyadic, so the actions of the owner influence the actions of the animal, which in turn influence subsequent actions of the owner on the basis of attitudes and beliefs that arise in the mind of the owner as a result of the animal’s actions. 4–6 Moreover, relationships change over time and are further influenced by other events in the owner’s and cat’s lives. Fortunately for cats, their current preeminence as pets has resulted in substantial improvements in their

Gastroduodenoscopy in the Dog and Cat

Endoscopic examination of the upper gastrointestinal (GI) tract in dogs and cats is a relatively recent development. It was just over 20 years ago, in 1978, that the first series report of GI endoscopy in dogs and cats was presented. In those initial days, endoscopy was truly a novelty, and the primary uses for endoscopes were to retrieve foreign objects or visualize the esophagus and stomach. It was not until the mid-1980s that technology and training made gastroduodenoscopy standard practice. The evolution in endoscopic technology has also mirrored the evolution in computers and imaging modalities. The original fiberoptic endoscopes, although still available, are giving way to video endoscopy and digital imaging capabilities that provide spectacular images and an ability to generate hard copy images for medical records, teaching purposes, and research data that was previously not possible.

The Role of Diet in the Prevention and Management of Feline Diabetes

This article reviews the currently available evidence and focuses on how diet may play a role in lowering (or increasing) the risk of diabetes. The article also reviews the role of diet in treatment of diabetes. To the extent that it exists, evidence from published studies are cited; however, in areas where research evidence is lacking, clinical experience and physiologic principles are used as important sources of guidance.