The Choice of Diet Affects the Oral Health of the Domestic Cat

Elevated pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in saliva of cats with feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion

Feline odontoclastic resorptive lesion (FORL) is an inflammatory oral disease of unknown aetiopathogenesis that affects between 20% to 75% of cats. Twenty immune-associated molecules were measured in saliva of 25 healthy and 40 cats with FORL using a multiplex assay. No statistically significant differences were observed in the levels of these proteins between the healthy group and the diseased group of cats. A two-step cluster analysis of the oral microbiome and salivary cytokine data identified two subgroups of cats with FORL: FORL-1 (subset of cats with a less diverse oral microbiome) and FORL-2 (diseased cats with a microbiome similar to that of healthy animals). The level of some key proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β, IL-12p40) and chemokines (IL-8, RANTES, KC) were significantly higher in the FORL-1 subgroup than in the FORL-2 subgroup and the healthy group. In addition, TNF-α levels were greater in the FORL-1 subgroup than in the FORL-2 subgroup. These increases in pro-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines indicate active ongoing inflammation that may promote the osteoclastic/odontoclastic activity associated with FORL.

Environmental risk factors for the development of oral squamous cell carcinoma in cats

BACKGROUND

Risk factors for oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) in cats are derived from a single study dated almost 20 years ago. The relationship between inflammation of oral tissues and OSCC is still unclear.

OBJECTIVES

To investigate previously proposed and novel potential risk factors for OSCC development, including oral inflammatory diseases.

ANIMALS

Hundred cats with OSCC, 70 cats with chronic gingivostomatitis (CGS), 63 cats with periodontal disease (PD), and 500 controls.

METHODS

Prospective, observational case-control study. Cats with OSCC were compared with an age-matched control sample of client-owned cats and cats with CGS or PD. Owners of cats completed an anonymous questionnaire including demographic, environmental and lifestyle information.

RESULTS

On multivariable logistic regression, covariates significantly associated with an increased risk of OSCC were rural environment (OR: 1.77; 95% CI: 1.03-3.04; P = .04), outdoor access (OR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.07-2.63; P = .02), environmental tobacco smoke (OR: 1.77; 95% CI: 1.05-3; P = .03), and petfood containing chemical additives (OR: 1.98; 95% CI: 1.04-3.76; P = .04). Risk factors shared with CGS and PD were outdoor access and petfood containing chemical additives, respectively. A history of oral inflammation was reported in 35% of cats with OSCC but did not emerge as a risk factor.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE

The study proposes novel potential risk factors for OSCC in cats. Although a history of inflammatory oral disease was not significantly more frequent compared with random age-matched controls, OSCC shared several risk factors with CGS and PD.

A Framework for Using Epidemiology in Animal Welfare Science

The potential advantages of using epidemiology in animal welfare research are substantial and are used with increased frequency. Collaboration between scientists of different fields, with different specific expertise is advantageous in the advancement of science. In this review, a framework to use epidemiology in animal welfare science is established. The different epidemiological study designs and analytical procedures are explored and put in an animal welfare scientific context. It is argued and demonstrated that epidemiology is used with advantage: in the identification of risk factors behind the development of maladaptation and abnormal behaviors; in the introduction of standardized procedures in research allowing comparisons between studies and facilitating the integration for evidence synthesis in systematic reviews and meta-analysis; by allowing animal welfare scientists to analyze complex settings such as farms or zoos. Mathematical modeling can also be used with advantage in risk assessment.