Urinary tract disorders are relatively common among domestic cats, and often require caregiver observation in order to be identified as well as to monitor treatment. This investigation utilized a video recording system to quantify urinary behaviors and compare to caregiver observations.
Eleven healthy cats as well as eight cats with urinary disorders were observed for 14 days. The number of urinations observed daily were significantly higher using the recording system that by caregiver observation. In fact, five cats were never observed in their litter box by caregivers. The number of daily urinations was higher among the cats with disorders compared to healthy cats, which would be expected. When observed by caregivers, no differences between these two groups were observed. The recording system documented longer cover-up times by healthy cats compared to abnormal cats, but caregivers noted no differences.
According to the investigators,” Caregivers commonly underestimate urination frequency in cats when compared to video-based observations. Video recording appears to facilitate objective assessment of urination behaviors and could be of value in future clinical studies of urinary disorders in cats.” (MK)