Premium
Effect of declining owned‐cat population on veterinary practices in Sydney
Author(s) -
MCGREEVY PD,
FOUGERE B,
COLLINS H,
BARTIMOTE KM,
THOMSON PC
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
australian veterinary journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.382
H-Index - 59
eISSN - 1751-0813
pISSN - 0005-0423
DOI - 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2002.tb11339.x
Subject(s) - veterinary medicine , population , promotion (chess) , distribution (mathematics) , data collection , work (physics) , demography , medicine , sociology , political science , social science , mechanical engineering , mathematical analysis , mathematics , politics , law , engineering
Objectives To investigate relationships between declining owned‐cat populations and cat‐related clinical work and practice activities. Design Sydney practitioners were interviewed, and practice records were examined, from small animal veterinary practices (n = 56) in Sydney. Using data that covered a 4 year period, the age distribution of cats was examined and associated trends in cat‐related clinical work were analysed. Results Important changes in the pet population attending veterinary practices were found, with 38.2% of respondents reporting a fall in cat desexings from 1996 to 2000. Conclusions While economic impact could not be determined, the qualitative data demonstrated that the majority of practices in the survey were active in the promotion of cat ownership. The study provides a useful model for future investigations. To facilitate this process and to enhance principals' knowledge of their practice's population dynamics, we advocate a minimum standard of data collection that records week‐by‐week activities and the deaths of pets.