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Year 2019 - Volume 39, Number 3
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Causes of death and euthanasia in domestic cats in the Santa Catarina plateau (1995-2015), 39(3):192-200
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ABSTRACT.- Withoeft J.A., Cristo T.G., Biezus G., Costa L.S., Dal Pont T.P., Freitas, A.C., Traverso S.D. & Casagrande R.A. 2019. Causes of death and euthanasia in domestic cats in the Santa Catarina plateau (1995-2015). Pesquisa Veterinária Brasileira 39(3):192-200. Laboratório de Patologia Animal, Centro de Ciências Agroveterinárias, Universidade do Estado de Santa Catarina, Av. Luís de Camões 2090, Bairro Conta Dinheiro, Lages, SC 88520-000, Brazil. E-mail: renata.casagrande@udesc.br
Knowledge about the causes of death in felines constitutes important information to owners, veterinarians, and researchers, aiming at reducing the number of deaths in this species. In order to determine the main causes of death or euthanasia in cats in the Santa Catarina plateau, data from 1995 to 2015 available in necropsy files of the Laboratory of Animal Pathology (LAPA) of the State University of Santa Catarina (UDESC) were collected and evaluated. In that period, 1,728 cats were necropsied, mainly males (46.12%) and adults (50.11%). The mean ages at death for kittens, adults, and elderly were 5.07 months, 3.9 years, and 13.9 years, respectively. Of the 1,728 necropsy reports assessed, the cause of death was identified in 1,184 (68.52%) cases. The main cause of death was associated with infectious diseases (15.8%), with prevalence of feline infectious peritonitis (29.76%), followed by neoplasms (11.98%) with lymphoma (44.93%) and leukemia (16.91%) as the most common, and traumas (11.81%) mainly caused by motor vehicle accidents. These results show the need for owner awareness, as well as establishment of prophylaxis and vaccination programs, aimed at reducing the number of deaths and thus increasing life expectancy in the feline population. |
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