Photo: Андрей Журавлев/Adobe Stock

Body condition scoring for cats and dogs should be done separately from muscle condition scoring, as the two are two completely different things. So, how is a body condition score obtained for both feline and canine patients; and how should muscle condition be scored? In a lecture at the Fetch Long Beach conference December 6 to 8, 2024 in Long Beach, California, Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition), offered some insight, as well as obesity and low weight prevention tips.

The World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA) Global Nutrition Committee body condition score 

 should be followed when determining what body condition score a feline patient has. A score of 5 out of 9 is ideal. Cats with a body condition score of 5 will be well-proportioned and have a visible waist behind their ribs from a top view. Additionally, their ribs will be palpable with slight fat covering. These patients will have minimal abdominal fat pad.

When it comes to palpating body condition in cats, Parker stressed the importance of standing the cat up and stretching them out. “Cats [are] very challenging to do a good body condition score [on] if you don't get them up and stretch them out, right?” Parker said. “You can't do a good body condition on a cat that's hunched up in its carrier on the table—they always are going to look heavier than when you stand them up and stretch them out, so sometimes body condition scoring a cat is a 2-person job.”

To correctly body condition score a feline patient, the veterinarian should begin right behind the shoulders, approximately halfway between the dorsum and the ventrum, and go back and forth over the cranial two-thirds of the rib cage using the flats of their fingers.

“With that said, when I am using the flats of my hands very gently, going back and forth over those ribs, if I make a fist and feel over [my] top knuckles, if that's what the ribs feel like, that's a 3 out of 9,” explained Parker. “If you open your hand palm down and feel over [your] same knuckles there, if that's what [the patient’s] ribs feel like, that's a 5 out of 9.”

A patient with a score of 7 out of 9 will not have a visible waist. “So, a 7 out of 9 for me is an animal that's kind of straight across from shoulders to hips,” said Parker. “Now, you can be straight across on a 7 out of 9, and you can be straight across on a 9 out of 9, and that has to do with how much back coverage there is over those ribs,” she continued.

Parker disclosed that she believes a body score of 4 out of 9 is acceptable if the patient is young and metabolically healthy. However, in patients that have a chronic inflammatory condition, such as chronic kidney disease, irritable bowel syndrome, or hyperthyroidism, it is best to guide the patient back to a body condition score of 5.

In dogs, a body condition score of 4 out of 9 or 5 out of 9 is ideal. In a score of 4, the ribs should be easily felt and will have minimal fat covering. Additionally, the waist will be easily visible and will be able to be seen from above. There will also be a noticeable abdominal tuck. Patients with a body condition score of 5 will also have easily palpable ribs without excess fat covering. The waist will be visible behind the ribs when viewed from the top and the abdomen will appear tucked up from a side view.

 According to the WSAVA Body Condition Score 

, scores of 1 to 3 are under ideal, and scores of 7 to 9 are over ideal.

When it comes to muscle condition, Parker emphasized the importance of scoring muscle condition independently of body condition. “Far too often, I see people underscore [body condition score] because the patient is muscle wasted,” she said.

Parker also advised against using numerical scoring systems for muscle condition, as numbers can be confusing and subjective. “We’ve got different scores that have been reported or suggested over the years, and they’re completely opposite,” she explained.

WSAVA and the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) recommend using words for muscle condition scoring, such as ‘normal muscle mass,’ or ‘mild,’ ‘moderate,’ or ‘severe’ atrophy or loss.

To assess muscle mass, the veterinarian should visually examine and palpate the epaxials, hips, shoulders, temporal muscles, scapulae, vertebrae, and pelvic bones. In early muscle loss, the epaxials are often the first affected because, again, muscle mass does not correlate with body condition. “You can have a very lean dog with good muscle mass. You can have an obese animal with moderate or severe muscle loss. So just separate them out in your mind and just score them independently,” said Parker.

Having an ideal body condition score is important for several reasons. Adipose tissue, or body fat, can act as a negative source of inflammatory cytokines. In cats, being low weight or obese can prompt skin disorders, particularly when these felines are not able to groom themselves. Moreover, having low weight or obesity can also lead to impaired respiratory function in cats and dogs.

Additionally, obesity greatly increases the risk of a cat developing diabetes mellitus, with obese cats being 4 times more likely to develop diabetes than lean optimal weight cats, according to Parker. Although being obese does not cause orthopedic disease, it can contribute to the clinical signs of the disease.

“There are some studies that say that being obese could even increase the risk if developing certain neoplasms,” added Parker.

A cat’s and dog’s body condition score also can an effect on their lifespan. In her lecture, Parker shared 2 studies that investigated the effect of body condition on the lifespan of canines and felines.

The first study followed 48 Labrador Retrievers from 7 litters from birth to death. Participants were assigned to one of two groups. The first group was fed ad libitum (free fed); this was later changed to a controlled feeding amount. The second group was fed 25% less.

The study found that dogs kept leaner, with a body condition score of about 5 out of 9, lived a median of 2 years longer than those kept at a body condition score of 7 out of 9. This was attributed to the leaner dogs being more comfortable, especially in terms of mobility, and experiencing less severe osteoarthritis. Although dogs in both groups developed the condition, the second group required medical management for osteoarthritis for a shorter period of time.

The second study that Parker shared looked at cats and found that being underweight was linked to a shorter lifespan, while cats with a body condition score of 9 out of 9 also had shorter survival compared to those with a body condition score of 5.

“You're going to find this in a lot of studies where cats have this, what's called a “U-shaped survival curve.” So being really light or really heavy is associated with a worse survival than somewhere in the middle, and this study would support that,” explained Parker.

For Parker, prevention is key. She emphasized that prevention is more effective than managing low weight or obesity once it has developed. As Parker explained, prevention begins at the first healthy puppy or kitten exams and in talking to owners about healthy body weights and healthy body condition scores. Body weight, body condition score, muscle condition score, and diet history should be addressed in every visit, every time. “And it doesn't have to be a very in-depth diet history if the dog or cat is healthy and doing well. But anytime you get a red flag, it's under conditioned, it’s over conditioned. Red flag, they're on an unbalanced diet, that then requires more detail and more diving in and finding out what's going on,” said Parker.

She also suggested teaching clients how to do a body condition score on their pets. For professionals seeking a free resource, Parker recommended the 

AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats

Parker VJ. Obesity Prevention and Management. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 Conference; Long Beach, CA. December 6-8, 2024.

Body Condition Score. World Small Animal Veterinary Association. August 13, 2020. Accessed December 10, 2024. 

https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Body-Condition-Score-cat-updated-August-2020.pdf

Body Condition Score. World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Accessed December 10, 2024. 

https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Body-Condition-Score-Dog.pdf

Kealy RD, Lawler DF, Ballam JM, et al. Effects of diet restriction on life span and age-related changes in dogs. 

Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

AAHA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines for Dogs and Cats. American Animal Hospital Association. Accessed December 10, 2024. 

https://www.aaha.org/wp-content/uploads/globalassets/02-guidelines/weight-management/nutritionalassessmentguidelines.pdf

Articles

Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM, Nutrition), talked all about body condition score, muscle condition score, and obesity prevention during a lecture at the Fetch Long Beach conference

Understanding body and muscle condition scoring 

An innovative feline respiratory panel is being developed through a partnership between Alveo Technologies Inc in Alameda, California, and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI in Germany. The panel will be designed to simultaneously test for feline influenza, feline calicivirus (FCV) and feline herpes virus-1 (FHV) infections.

Diagnostic testing is key to identifying the pathogen causing infection in feline patients. Diagnosis cannot be achieved based only on clinical signs, since respiratory pathogens share some of the same signs of upper respiratory infection.

According to Alveo, many of the current diagnostic tests require samples of these pathogens to be sent to a laboratory with results available up to a week later. Tests with more rapid results lack precision and may provide false negative results.

The new respiratory panel in development will be compatible with Alveo’s proprietary technology IntelliSense, a rapid, molecular diagnostic platform. According to Shaun Holt, CEO of Alveo, this platform is flexible and provides rapid, high precision results.

Dirk Kuhlmeier, PhD, head of the diagnostics department at Fraunhofer, said the institute was impressed with Alveo’s core technology. He noted that the IntelliSense platform has the ability to provide “highly accurate results for multiple pathogens” in minutes. “[The platform] opens up opportunities for vets to provide much earlier treatment, for shelters to increase capacity and for pet owners to get an almost immediate diagnosis for their sick pet," Kuhlmeier said in a news release.

Rapid, precise test results are key to treating felines early in their disease states, since treatment is often delayed while pet owners and animal care providers wait for a diagnosis. This is especially important for cats in boarding, shelter, and breeding environments, as these viral infections can quickly spread in high-density settings.

Contagious feline respiratory infections are some of the most difficult to manage and prevent, as well as the most common cause of illness, for cats in shelters, according to a study from the University of Florida in Gainesville. These infections drain shelter resources—treatment costs, care giver time, and staff morale. Additionally, holding felines for treatment and recovery increases the number of animal care days until adoption, which affects a shelter’s holding and contributes to potential crowding.

A rapid precise test with the ability to detect feline influenza, FCV and FHV infections would enable veterinary teams to provide faster results and earlier care to sick patients. It would also enable shelters to open up more space and increase capacity because rapid diagnosis would allow earlier isolation to prevent the spread of disease without the need to preemptively quarantine cats for weeks, according to Alveo.

"There's so much potential for this technology to speed detection of veterinary, agricultural and human pathogens, improving animal health, agricultural productivity and human well-being,” Holt said in a news release.

 “We're proud to partner with such a well-respected organization as Fraunhofer and look forward to developing this feline disease panel.”

Additionally, Alveo is developing tests for avian influenza; distemper; and swine flu, porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome and porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, as well as other pathogens in conjunction with other partners.

Alveo Technologies and Fraunhofer partner to develop first-of-its-kind rapid, molecular feline respiratory panel diagnostic. News release. Alveo Technologies. December 10, 2024. Accessed December 10, 2024. 

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/alveo-technologies-and-fraunhofer-partner-to-develop-first-of-its-kind-rapid-molecular-feline-respiratory-panel-diagnostic-302323636.html

Maddie’s Shelter Medicine Program. Feline respiratory infections in animal shelters. University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. July 2018. Accessed December 10, 2024. 

https://sheltermedicine.vetmed.ufl.edu/files/2017/01/Feline-respiratory-infections-in-shelters.2018.pdf

Alveo Technologies Inc. and the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology IZI are collaborating on a pathogen test that can deliver quick and precise results

A rapid, molecular feline respiratory panel diagnostic is being developed

The 4 P's

When it comes to controlled substances and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), compliance is critical. Fines can reach as high as $15,691 per violation, underlining the importance of meticulous documentation. Kelley Detweiler and Peter Weinstein, DVM, MBA, discuss the challenges of DEA compliance and offer practical advice for integrating disciplined recordkeeping into your practice.

Paperwork, it is always paperwork, which is really all of your required record keeping that falls through the cracks. The scary thing about it is you can still be cited the fine of up to $15,691 per violation. So think about it: when the DEA can look at up to 2 years of records for the current 2-year period, how many issues you could have within your records during that time? It'll make someone's head spin, but it's always where the DEA gets you. It's low-hanging fruit, and it's easy to cite.

The same way that we all had to learn how to balance our checkbooks and do basic math, it’s called discipline and structure. None of us really have the time. It's about making the time, being disciplined and regimented, and making sure that you have people to help you keep up with these things, to run a system of checks and balances as well.

It's never going to be fun, it's never going to take priority over patient care, but it still has to be implemented in the system. I mean, Peter, you were a practice owner for so many years. How did you make time?

Well, I think the number one thing to recognize when it comes down to paperwork is that we as veterinarians are mandated to keep medical records on our patients. Our medical records tell the life of our patients in our practices, and our paperwork for controlled substances tells the life of our controlled substances or products within our practice.

So in the same way that we pay attention to telling the story of our patients, we need to tell the story of our products. It’s about attention to detail. And in the same way that we delegate responsibilities for medical record keeping to our team, we can, with a trained team, processes, and the right people, delegate some of the paperwork.

It's not about us doing it all the time—it’s about a collaborative effort to keep up with the responsibilities of logging, reconciling, and maintaining an accurate level of paperwork to meet the expectations of the DEA.

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Veterinary practices face steep penalties for paperwork errors, making proper recordkeeping on controlled substances a non-negotiable aspect of practice management

Don't let this process slip through the cracks when it comes to controlled substance compliance

Photo courtesy of City University of Hong Kong

A pair of water buffalo on Lantau Island in Hong Kong.

Investigators studying feral water buffalos have found that close spatial proximity is an indicator of friendship, based on patterns of personality traits, in these free-ranging animals. The observational study was conducted on Lantau Island in Hong Kong by investigators at the City University of Hong Kong (CityUHK), with results recently published in 

“Our research provides evidence that friendships among water buffalo can form among individuals with similar behaviors. These findings offer valuable insights into the evolution of friendships," Debottam Bhattacharjee, PhD, MS, a postdoctoral researcher in CityUHK’s department of infectious diseases and public health, said in a news release.

The research showed that individual female buffalo with similar personalities exhibited higher spatial associations. For example, these buffalo were observed spending more time physically close to each other while foraging, collective moving, and resting.

 “Personalities and social relationships will be potentially important for understanding how buffalo use their habitats during different seasons (wet and dry) of the year with fluctuating food resources,” Bhattacharjee added.

In this research, the CityUHK investigation team extracted 3 principal personality trait components—social tension, vigilance and general dominance—that explained about 80% of the repeatable behavioral variables. How buffalo approached and avoided each other was labelled social tension; while how they sat and moved around was labelled vigilance; and how they responded to others in their herd was labelled general dominance.

Through observation, investigators then discovered that female buffalo who spent more time in each other's company tended to display similar personality traits related to these variables. According to Alan McElligott, PhD, BSc, PGCAP, one of the paper’s coauthors, a professor, and an expert on animal behavior and welfare based in CityUHK’s department of infectious diseases and public health, these traits were used to positively predict the length of time that female buffalo would spend with each other and offer insights into how buffalo friendships form and are maintained.

Female water buffalo living in feral and free-range conditions can form clans with up to about 30 related mothers, daughters and sisters, from multiple generations, as well as herds with up to 500 non-related or distantly related individuals. Conversely, male water buffalo tend to form groups with up to 10 bachelors.

According to CityUHK, the newly published research on female water buffalo is vital because it has been shown in other studies that preferential strong social associations or friendships positively correlate with health, well-being, and survival benefits. Additionally, there is evidence that human-like friendships can form in various species and that relationships in animals can be stable, long-lasting and reach beyond family.

“Understanding social behaviors and friendships of group living animals like buffalo improves welfare with broader implications for maintaining optimal health of those within the wider population,” Kate Flay, PhD, BVSc, a coauthor of the paper and a professor in CityUHK’s department of veterinary clinical sciences, said in the release.

There is a need to assess in greater detail how preferential close social relationships or friendships affect populations of feral buffalo and how what is learned can be applied to behaviors among other animals, according to the authors. Additional research can help maintain a more sustainable approach to animal welfare and conservation.

Buffalo besties: feral female buffalo build friendships based on similar personality traits, suggest animal welfare experts at City University of Hong Kong. News release. City University of Hong Kong. December 5, 2024.

Bhattacharjee D, Flay KJ, McElligott AG. Personality homophily drives female friendships in feral ungulate. iScience. December 5, 2024. Accessed December 5, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2024.111419

Animal welfare experts in Hong Kong conducted an observational study to determine social behaviors in this feral population of ungulates and found personality traits play a role

Female water buffalo are building friendships 

Winners of the 2024 Veterinary Heroes program gather on stage at the luncheon held in their honor on Sunday, December 8, 2024, at the Fetch dvm360 Conference in Long Beach, California.

Eleven providers and industry professionals were recognized as Veterinary Heroes on the final day of the 2024 Fetch dvm360 Conference in Long Beach, California. Nominated by their colleagues, the 12 Veterinary Heroes program honorees were introduced to Fetch attendees and presented with their awards during a special luncheon at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Serving as emcee for the awards ceremony, Adam Christman, DVM, MBA, chief veterinary officer for dvm360, spoke about the hard working spirit that personifies the veterinary profession and noted that more than 200 nominations were submitted for the Veterinary Heroes awards in 12 categories. He then introduced John Hydrusko, vice president of dvm360 and Fetch, who thanked the audience for attending and acknowledged the hard work the 12 winners perform every day.

“You truly are amazing individuals,” he told the honorees. “We're humbled by you and your profession and the difference that each of you make with the animals that take care of.”

The 2024 Veterinary Heroes winners are as follows:

Client Service Representative: Gerry Sprague

 — Tabernacle Animal Hospital (Tabernacle, New Jersey)

Credentialed Veterinary Technician: Camia Tonge, MS, LVT, VTS (SAIM

) — Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (New York, New York)

Dentistry: Jan Bellows, DVM, DAVDC, DABVP (Canine, Feline), FAVD

 — Hometown Animal Hospital and All Pets Dental (Weston, Florida)

 — Dermatology for Animals, A Thrive Pet Healthcare Partner (Catonsville, Maryland)

Emergency Medicine: Dennis Tim Crowe Jr, DVM, Ph.D., DACVS, DACVECC, DACHM, NREMT-I, CFF

 — Veterinary Surgery, Emergency, and Critical Care Services and Consulting (Ventura, Thousand Oaks, California, and Bogart, Georgia)

 — Patricia H. Ladew Foundation, Inc./The Paw Project (Oyster Bay, New York)

General Practitioner: Patricia Kennedy Arrington, DVM, CVFP

 — Jefferson Animal Hospital Regional Emergency Practice and Trauma Center (Louisville, Kentucky)

Internal Medicine: Ann E. Hohenhaus, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology, SAIM)

 — Schwarzman Animal Medical Center (New York, New York)

Nutrition: Valerie J. Parker, DVM, DACVIM (SAIM and Nutrition)

 — The Ohio State University Medical Center (Columbus, Ohio)

 — CityVet – MidCities (Bedford, Texas)

Veterinary Paraprofessional (non-credentialed support staff)

: Khalfani Carr — VCA Woodbridge (Woodbridge VA), Regional Veterinary Referral Center (Springfield, Virginia)

The program annually recognizes those who have positively impacted animal care, demonstrating leadership, expertise and a commitment to improving the health and well-being of animals. These recognized individuals have excelled in their professional roles and influenced the broader veterinary community, setting new standards and inspiring others to continue evolving the practice of veterinary care. This year’s Veterinary Heroes program is supported by corporate sponsor Schwarzman Animal Medical Center and category sponsors Blue Buffalo Natural (Nutrition),MedVet (Surgery), Banfield Pet Hospital (Credential Veterinary Technician),Thrive Pet Healthcare (Veterinary Paraprofessional), andPRN Pharmacal (Dentistry).

During the ceremony, all of the winners were individually celebrated and formally introduced by an industry peer, colleague or category sponsor representative. The 11 winners in attendance also had the opportunity to speak to the crowd in accepting their awards. Although their achievements were being highlighted, many used the time to thank colleagues and family.

The 12 award recipients from across the United States gathered to be recognized and celebrated during a special luncheon on the final day of the 2024 conference

Veterinary Heroes honored at Fetch Long Beach

Dermatology cases are most likely going to find their way to the veterinary general practitioner. Clients can bring their pets in with a wide range of conditions or secondary causes that have been rooted from some for of dermatology conditions. When they present themselves to the clinic, can you think like a dermatologist to help diagnose?

at Fetch Long Beach in Long Beach, California, Ashley Bourgeois, DVM, DACVD, shared how general practitioners can channel the mind of a dermatologist in their practices to help diagnose and manage skin diseases in canine and feline patients. Through the lecture, she highlighted, among other things, the importance of history, physical examinations, and diagnostic tools as means to help make these dermatological cases that come into your clinic easier for all.

According to Bourgeois, history is crucial in dermatology. For pets that are coming in itching, history will be able to begin the process of diagnosing them. Have they been itching for a month, 6 months, or even a year? Maybe even it has been happening for a young age continuously, leading to believe that maybe it is their food and a diet trial is needed or an allergy test could be the better way to go. The understanding of the history will also be able to help veterinary teams understand next steps they can take to begin working toward a diagnosis. 

“So when we think about these concepts, we want to think about what would a dermatologist think? Critical thinking. When I am seeing a case as the owner is telling me the history, I kid you not in my mind, maybe it's the mom in me, but I'm like multitasking, and I'm sitting there and I'm flip flopping all the things I need to think I need to do. So they're telling me a story, and all of a sudden they're like, Well, it started when they're really young. I'm like, oh, diet trial,” Bourgeois explained to attendees.

“Maybe think about diet trial. So I'm literally listening to history, doing my exam assessment, and all of that is assessing what diagnostics need to happen. You know? What do I really need to do for that patient? I love to do lots of things in my patients.

She also wanted that when you are first starting out with dermatology, especially if you are not as confident, to do tests that are negative. She explained to attendees that 13 years later, she is not doing as many skin scrapes or DTMs as she used to because there is a reasonable chance that the client has the condition, she is testing them for. Despite that, she is still okay with a negative. This can also help the clients save money on costs. If the history is indicating a diet trial is the way to go for the canine patient presenting with a dermatological condition, and it is effective, that could save the client money on running tests and performing biopsies.

There are other things that veterinary teams should be asking when it comes to history. If this is a client who has had a patient in need of dermatology services before, were there treatments or medications that worked or did not? By being able to eliminate will continue to help teams save clients money, time, and get to a diagnosis quicker. One other part of the history she mentioned was if the pets or owners have travelled lately.

“I got the privilege of going to teach in Thailand last month. It was phenomenal, an amazing experience. But we were talking they see sporotrichosis. Weekly. Sporotrichosis, is a horrific fungal infection I have never diagnosed for process, right? So, like, it's not on my radar unless I know that the cat was maybe visiting Thailand, and they came over. So travel history is important,” she explained.

When it comes to patients, Bourgeois wants veterinary professionals to consider 2 things, where and what is the lesion. She also wants veterinary professionals to know to look beyond where the client is telling you the lesions are because you could miss others that they might have missed or did not look at the full picture of the pet. If you are only focusing on the ones, this can also be misleading diagnostic clues. She explained to attendees these commonly overlooked areas.

“So commonly overlooked anatomical areas we see in the derm space, inter digital space. So actually separating the toes and looking at those interdigital webbings, the claw folds, doing cytology of those skin folds, so your brachiocephalics, peri-vuller folds, we need to check those, the pinna and then the perianal region,” she informed attendees.

“I mentioned this earlier today with the perianal region, if they are scooting, it doesn't have to just be anal sacs. If you check those anal sacs and they are normal, you need to be looking for other causes of infection around that area, or checking the vulva folds of female dogs, because that can cause a lot of scooting as well,” she continued.

She also explained to attendees that she understands a deep and thorough exam can take up time some professionals do not have. She recommended that as you are speaking to the client, continue to do the exam. This way you can be listening to what the client is saying about their pet as you are feeling it in real time and you can save the time.

Following the tips and asking the questions Bourgeois has laid out can help teams ensure they are putting their dermatologist coat on and getting to the bottom of the itchy cats and dogs in the clinic. By getting a good and extensive history on top of a through physical exam, time and money can be saved, but a pet can get the treatment they need faster.

Bourgeois A. Think Like a Dermatologist. Presented at: Fetch dvm360 Conference; Long Beach, CA. December 6-8, 2024.

A extensive patient history and thorough examination is crucial when it comes to dermatology patients in general practice