Epidemiology of characteristics and risk factors for overweight in cats visiting an animal hospital in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

A cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the prevalence and to investigate the characteristics of overweight/obese
cats visiting an animal hospital in Bangkok, Thailand. Electronic medical records of feline patient visiting the Small
Animal Teaching Hospital, Chulalongkorn University between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2017 were reviewed.
The cat’s information included age, breed, sex, neutering status and body condition score. Associated demographic
factors and overweight/obesity using idealweight as a reference was performed by logistic regression. The prevalence
of feline overweight/obesity was 8.1% (95%CI: 7.4% - 8.9%). From the multivariable logistic regression, age, sex,
neutering status, breed and interaction of age and neutering status were significantly associated with being
overweight/obese. Male (OR = 2.18, 95%CI: 1.72, 2.78), neutered cats had higher odds of being overweight. Among
neutered cats, the odds of being over-weight increased with advancing age. The result of the study indicated that the
overweight/obesity problem in cat is not uncommon. The risk factors identified from the study can help veterinarians
in managing and preventing the risk of overweight/obesity in cats and educating owners of high-risk cat to aware of
overweight/obesity-related disease.