Cannabidiol (CBD), a non-psychotropic cannabinoid derived from Cannabis plants, is increasingly explored for its potential therapeutic applications in veterinary medicine. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of CBD oil on the minimum alveolar concentration of isoflurane (MAC_iso) in cats. Sixteen healthy cats underwent isoflurane anesthesia, and the MAC_iso was determined using the tail-clamping technique both at baseline and 30 min after the administration of CBD oil (2 mg/kg) via a stomach tube. CBD administration resulted in a significant 11% reduction in the MAC_iso, from 1.77 ± 0.14% to 1.62 ± 0.21% (p < 0.001). Following CBD administration, heart and respiratory rates were elevated at the time of MAC_iso determination compared to baseline whereas other physiological parameters remained unchanged. Serum biochemical analysis conducted two weeks post administration revealed a significant decrease in blood urea nitrogen (BUN) levels while one cat exhibited a mild increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT). Proteomic analysis identified 12 CBD-associated proteins in feline serum 30 min post administration, with CBDA and THCA synthases demonstrating significant upregulation. These findings indicate that CBD oil reduces anesthetic requirements in cats without inducing significant physiological disturbances. Further research is warranted to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of CBD’s anesthetic-sparing effects and its implications in veterinary anesthesia.

This study aimed to explore prognostic factors for mortality in dogs and cats following traumatic diaphragmatic herniorrhaphy using both multivariable logistic regression, a traditional statistical method, and the random forest algorithm, a machine learning approach. Associations between demographic and clinical variables and mortality were examined. Overall survival was 78.8% (149/189), 77% (97/126) in cats and 82.5% (52/63) in dogs. Key findings revealed that chronic diaphragmatic hernia (DH) significantly increased the odds of death compared to acute cases (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 4.01, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.69–9.53). Elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) increased mortality (adjusted OR = 3.24, 95% CI: 1.22–8.57). Cox proportional hazards analysis revealed that chronic DH (adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 3.31, 95% CI: 1.51–7.30) and elevated BUN (HR = 2.88, 95% CI: 1.23–6.77) were associated with increased one-year mortality risk. The random forest analysis reinforced these findings, identifying hernia duration (Gini importance: 1.90) and BUN (Gini importance: 0.94) as the most crucial predictors. Among chronic DH patients, 55% of those with elevated BUN experienced fatal outcomes based on classification and regression tree (CART) analysis. The consistency of random forest results with logistic regression strengthens the reliability of these prognostic insights for DH patients.

This study explored the effects of cannabidiol (CBD) on clinically relevant parameters, including sedation, compliance, and temperament, as well as mechanical nociceptive thresholds in healthy cats. Nine client-owned cats (3.44 ± 2.35 years, mean ± standard deviation) were assessed prior to (baseline) and 30 min, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 h after oral administration of 8 mg/kg CBD oil via capsule. Sedation scores increased significantly 2, 4, and 8 h post administration compared to baseline (all medians = 1 vs. 0 at baseline; p < 0.001). Compliance and temperament scores were significantly reduced 2 and 4 h post dosing, with median scores decreasing from 1 at baseline to 0 after 2 and 4 h for both parameters (p < 0.001 and p = 0.012, respectively). Mechanical nociceptive thresholds and sensitivity, assessed using an algometer and von Frey filaments, respectively, along with physiological parameters (heart rate, respiratory rate, and body temperature), remained unchanged across timepoints. These results indicate that 8 mg/kg CBD induces mild sedation and reduces handling resistance in healthy cats without affecting nociceptive thresholds or physiological stability. Therefore, CBD may facilitate non-painful procedures requiring animal cooperation; further controlled studies are warranted to confirm these findings.

Pain assessment in cats is challenging, especially for non-veterinarians. Most validated acute pain scales are designed for clinical use, limiting their applicability for pet owners. This study developed a feline acute pain assessment scale for owners and evaluated its criterion validity, internal consistency reliability, and agreement with three veterinary scales: Glasgow Composite Measure Pain Scale-Feline (CMPS-Feline), Feline Grimace Scale (FGS), and Colorado State University Feline Acute Pain Scale (CSU-FPS). Of 146 enrolled cats, 130 were analyzed after exclusions. The owner-assessed scale showed strong correlation with CMPS-Feline (rho = 0.66) and moderate correlations with FGS (rho = 0.53) and CSU-FPS (rho = 0.57) (all p < 0.001). Agreement was substantial with CMPS-Feline (kappa = 0.74), moderate with FGS (kappa = 0.44), and fair with CSU-FPS (kappa = 0.28) (all p < 0.001). Internal consistency was acceptable (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.76). Receiver operating characteristic analysis demonstrated good discriminatory ability for identifying cats requiring analgesia, with area under the curve values of 0.87 (CMPS-Feline), 0.79 (FGS), and 0.75 (CSU-FPS). A cut-off score of 9 achieved 96% sensitivity and 78% specificity relative to CMPS-Feline. These results support the scale’s potential as a valid tool for pain detection by cat owners in non-clinical settings.

Background and Aim: Sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome (SARDS) is an important cause of acute, irreversible blindness in dogs and is frequently accompanied by systemic clinical and biochemical abnormalities. Despite numerous studies describing the disease, no clinically applicable prediction tool has been developed to facilitate early recognition before electroretinographic confirmation. This study aimed to identify demographic, hematological, and biochemical factors associated with SARDS and to develop and internally validate a practical clinical risk score for early identification of affected dogs. Materials and Methods: A retrospective case–control study was conducted using medical records of dogs that underwent electroretinography between January 2018 and December 2023 at the Kasetsart University Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Thailand. Fifty-three dogs with electroretinography-confirmed SARDS were compared with 219 breed-frequency-matched cataract patients exhibiting normal electroretinographic responses. Demographic characteristics, complete blood count results, and serum biochemical parameters were analyzed. Variables associated with SARDS in univariable logistic regression (p < 0.20) were entered into multivariable logistic regression using a manual purposeful selection approach. Independent predictors were incorporated into a weighted clinical risk score. Diagnostic performance was evaluated using receiver operating characteristic analysis, sensitivity, specificity, and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AuROC). Results: Dogs with SARDS exhibited significantly higher neutrophil counts, alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, plasma protein concentration, alanine aminotransferase activity, creatinine concentration, and white blood cell counts than control dogs. Multivariable logistic regression identified elevated neutrophil count (odds ratio [OR] = 8.80; p < 0.001), elevated ALP activity (OR = 6.80; p < 0.001), and increased plasma protein concentration (OR = 3.94; p = 0.004) as independent predictors of SARDS. Based on optimal cutoff values (neutrophils ≥10,525 cells/μL, ALP ≥74 U/L, and plasma protein ≥7.3 g/dL), a weighted clinical risk score ranging from 0 to 5 points was developed. A threshold score of ≥3 demonstrated good discriminative ability, with an AuROC of 0.83 (95% confidence interval: 0.76–0.90), sensitivity of 74.47%, and specificity of 79.79%, outperforming each individual laboratory parameter. Conclusion: This study identified readily available hematological and biochemical variables that are independently associated with SARDS and developed the first weighted clinical risk score for early identification of the disease in dogs. The proposed model demonstrated good diagnostic performance and may assist veterinarians in prioritizing dogs for ophthalmic evaluation and electroretinography. Although external validation in independent populations is warranted, this practical scoring system represents a valuable adjunct for improving early clinical suspicion and diagnostic decision-making in canine SARDS. Keywords: alkaline phosphatase, clinical prediction model, dogs, electroretinography, hematology, risk factors, sudden acquired retinal degeneration syndrome.