Paw pressure and gait in middle-aged client-owned cats with and without naturally-occurring musculoskeletal disease

Dowgray, Nathalie, Comerford, Eithne ORCID: 0000-0002-5244-6042, German, Alexander J ORCID: 0000-0002-3017-7988, Gardiner, James, Pinchbeck, Gina ORCID: 0000-0002-5671-8623 and Bates, Karl T ORCID: 0000-0002-0048-141X (2024) Paw pressure and gait in middle-aged client-owned cats with and without naturally-occurring musculoskeletal disease PLOS ONE, 19 (12). e0314629-. ISSN 1932-6203, 1932-6203

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Abstract

Musculoskeletal disease (MSD) is common in ageing cats, resulting in chronic pain and mobility impairment, but diagnosis can be challenging. We hypothesised that there would be differences between cats with and without MSD in paw pressure and spatiotemporal and kinetic gait metrics. A cohort of 53 cats, aged between 7 and 10 years from the North West of the United Kingdom, underwent an orthopaedic examination and walked on a pressure sensitive walkway. Thirty-one of the cats (58%) were determined to be apparently-healthy, based on a normal orthopaedic examination and having no history of MSD, whilst the remaining 22 cats (42%) had findings consistent with MSD; 13/22 cats (59%) had multiple limb involvement, 7/22 (32%) had forelimb involvement and 2/22 (9%) had hindlimb involvement. Bodyweight (P = 0.048) and body condition score (BCS; P = 0.015) were both greater in cats with MSD (mean bodyweight 5.4 ± 1.35 kg; median BCS 6, IQR 6–7.75) compared with apparently-healthy cats (mean bodyweight 4.7 ± 0.94 kg; median BCS 5, IQR 4.5–6.5). There was a relatively large intra-cat variation in spatiotemporal and kinetic gait variables (coefficient of variation >3.0%), whilst a linear mixed-effects model suggested no significant difference in spatiotemporal or kinetic gait variables between apparently-healthy cats and those with MSD. Palmar and plantar pressure asymmetry was assessed by pedobarographic statistical parametric mapping (pSPM) within each individual cat, with no significant difference (P = 0.353) between the apparently heathy cats and those with MSD as to the presence or absence of asymmetry. Given the marked intra-cat variation and the ‘multi-limb’ nature of MSD in this cohort, it was not possible to differentiate healthy cats from those with MSD based on spatiotemporal and kinetic gait metrics or paw pressure asymmetry. Future work should examine gait in cats with defined musculoskeletal disorders (e.g. hip dysplasia) and also to track longitudinal changes within individual cats to better establish age-related trends.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Forelimb, Hindlimb, Animals, Cats, Musculoskeletal Diseases, Cat Diseases, Gait, Pressure, Female, Male
Divisions:	Faculty of Health & Life Sciences Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Life Courses & Medical Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	18 Nov 2024 08:30
Last Modified:	23 May 2026 09:31
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0314629
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3188049
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