LONG BONE FRACTURES IN CATS: A FIVE-YEAR RETROSPECTIVE STUDY (2016-2020)

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of long bone fractures among cats, presented at the Small Animal Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Trakia University, a center that attracts cases from all over Bulgaria, and to analyze their seasonal, breed-, sex- and age-related distribution. METHODS: The study cohort comprised 267 cats with long bone fractures. All patients were analyzed retrospectively for a period of five years (2016 to 2020). Data about cat signalment (breed, sex, age, body weight) and fractured bone were evaluated. RESULTS: The cases with fractured femur were statistically significantly (p=0.0001) more prevalent (n=139; 52.06%) than those of all other affected long bones. Long bone fracture tended to occur most commonly in male (54.68%), than female (45.32%) cats. Statistically significantly (p<0.0001) younger cats (65.54%) were presented with long bone fractures than adult animals (34.46%). In 71.54% of the cases the body weight was 2 – 4 kg, in 14.61% - 4 - 6 kg, in 12.36% under 2 kg and in 1.49 % over 6 kg. CONCLUSION: In general, young male cats with body weight more than 2 kg were mainly affected. Most commonly encountered fractures were those of the femur, followed in descending order by fractures of the tibia, radius/ulna and humerus.