Demography of small animal cases in Assiut between years 2007-2010 : a retrospective study of 312 cases

Abstract EN

The aim of this study was to analyze the demography of presented cases and owner’s attitudes towards veterinary care in the area.

Records of cases admitted to the Small Animal Clinic (SAC), Veterinary Teaching Hospital (VTH) at Assiut University, between 2007 and 2009 were analyzed for the following: total number of feline and canine cases in each year, sex, age and breed.

Case fatalities / year and most common presenting causes were also analyzed.

Compared to the very limited number of cases presented in 2007 (n=14), there was a triple and double increase in the number of both feline and canine cases in the following two years (n=48 & 138, n=40 & 72) respectively.

Case fatalities were higher in the first year compared to the following two years (7.14%, 5.68 % and 2.02% respectively).

The most popular cat breed was the Persian and the Angora (80%, 63% and 62%) and that for canines was the Griffon (75%, 28% and 24%) over the study period.

The most common cause for presentation was general health check (GHC) for cats (21.43% - 29.55%) followed by gastrointestinal problems (19%-21%) and dermatological problems (7%-32%).

The most common cause for presenting dogs at the clinic was similar, however in the first year, 67% of cases were presented with dermatological problems and 33% for reproductive problems and in the following two years, the third most common cause for presentation was trauma (9%-13%).

The age range over the three years for cats was 1-132 months (average= 16, median = 10), that for dogs was 0.5-132 months (average = 41, median = 8).

The increase in number of cats and dogs presented for GHC indicates an increase of owner-awareness of the importance of GHC and routine vaccinations to the health of their pets.

The frequency of cases presented with gastrointestinal and dermatological causes prompted us to invest in developing investigative tools and equipment in these two specialties.

Analyzing the case records yearly will help make important decisions to develop clinics across the country.