Morbidity of insured Swedish cats during 1999-2006 by age, breed, sex, and diagnosis.
The aim of the study was to describe patterns of morbidity, as reflected by reimbursed claims for veterinary care among cats covered by a Swedish insurance company during 1999-2006. The annual incidence rates of having at least one veterinary care event were calculated overall and stratified by sex, age, breed, diagnosis and urban/other location. The total rate was 875 (95% CI 858-892) cats with claims per 10,000 cat-years at risk. The Siamese, Burmese, and the Abyssinians had high rates of claims, compared to the Norwegian Forest cat, the Maine Coon, the European Shorthair and domestic cats. The most common causes for insurance claims were trauma, gastrointestinal and lower urinary tract problems and there was substantial breed, sex and age variation for certain problems. For example, among cats under 9 years of age, the rate for lower urinary tract problems was 2-3 times higher in males than females.
Department of Clinical Sciences, Box 7054, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, SLU, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. Agneta.egenvall@kv.slu.se
Agneta
A
Egenvall
Brenda N
BN
Bonnett
Jens
J
Häggström
Bodil
B
Ström Holst
Lotta
L
Möller
Ane
A
Nødtvedt
D017677:Age Distribution; D000818:Animals; D002371:Cat Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology*; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D007348:Insurance, Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity / Q000639:trends; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013045:Species Specificity; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology