Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in Domestic Shorthair kittens - SUPPORTING DATA

German, Alex ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3017-7988, Salt, Carina and Butterwick, Richard (2021) Growth standard charts for monitoring bodyweight in Domestic Shorthair kittens - SUPPORTING DATA. [Data Collection]

Data Catalogue DOI: 10.17638/datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/1456

Description

The optimal growth of domesticated cats has not yet been well defined. This study first aimed to create evidence-based growth standards for healthy pet kittens, and then compare the pattern of growth curves depicted by the standards with growth patterns in other healthy kittens and those with abnormal body condition. Data were derived from the clinical records of the BANFIELD® Pet Hospital (BANFIELD) network and from two research populations (WALTHAM Petcare Science Institute, UK; Royal Canin Research Center, France). A ‘modelling’ dataset was first created from the BANFIELD records, comprising bodyweight data from immature client-owned cats that had remained healthy and in ideal body condition within the first 2.5y of life. This was used to construct growth centile curves for male and female kittens, covering the age range 8 to 78 weeks, using Generalised Additive Models for Location, Shape and Scale. Growth patterns depicted by the centiles curves were compared with the growth patterns of healthy cats from both research colonies and cats attending BANFIELD that were classified as overweight or underweight. Overall, there was a broad agreement to the growth standards with approximately half of the research population (206/507, 49%) staying within 2 centile lines of their starting centile, and upward and downward movements outside this range being roughly equally distributed. Compared with the growth standards, the 122 overweight BANFIELD kittens were heavier on average at the start of monitoring, and subsequently grew more quickly with 63 (52%) crossing at least 2 standard centile lines upwards. Only 4 underweight kittens were available in the BANFIELD database; compared with the standards, there was a marked initial dip in growth followed by subsequent catch-up growth, and 2/4 kittens crossed 2 or more centile lines downwards at some point. Evidence-based growth standards have been developed for male and female domestic shorthair cats. Crossing centiles in an upwards and downwards direction is associated with cats being overweight or underweight by early adulthood, respectively. Further work is now required to determine whether the clinical use of these growth standards will improve the health and wellbeing of pet cats.

Keywords:

Obesity, infant, feline, cat, nutrition, centiles

Divisions:

Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Life Courses and Medical Sciences

Depositing User:

Alex German

Date Deposited:

04 Nov 2022 15:42

Last Modified:

04 Nov 2022 15:42

DOI:

10.17638/datacat.liverpool.ac.uk/1456