Associations between increased body condition score, bodyweight, age and breed with urethral obstruction in male castrated cats

• Published in: The veterinary journal (1997) 2019-02, Vol.244, p.7-12
• Main Authors: Jukes, A., Lui, M., Morton, J.M., Marshall, R., Yeow, N., Gunew, M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Body condition score; Feline; Risk factors; Urethral obstruction
• ISSN: 1090-0233; 1532-2971
• DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2018.11.018

•Cats with higher body condition score were at increased risk of urethral obstruction.•After accounting for body condition score, bodyweight was not an important risk factor for urethral obstruction.•Pedigree cats and old cats were at decreased risk of urethral obstruction.•Owners should ensure their cat's body condition score is not high. Identifying potential risk factors for urethral obstruction in male cats may help in disease prevention. The aims of this study were to assess whether breed, pedigree status, age, bodyweight and body condition score (BCS) are risk factors for urethral obstruction in castrated male cats using a primary care population. Within this, a specific question was whether any increase in rate of urethral obstruction in male cats due to excess body condition is because of higher bodyweight. A retrospective hospital-based matched case-control study was performed using 195 cases of urethral obstruction in castrated male cats and 195 control consultations for cats presenting to a feline-only first opinion veterinary practice in Brisbane, Australia. The incidence rate of urethral obstruction did not vary significantly with bodyweight but increased with BCS (incidence rate ratio 1.6; 95% CI 1.2–2.1; P