Obesity is considered one of the most common forms of malnutrition occurring in dogs. Laboratory methods of evaluation of body composition in live dogs have included dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) and deuterium oxide (D(2)O) dilution. Clinical methods of evaluation include assigning a body condition score (BCS) based on visual observation, palpation, and morphometric measurements. This study used these four methods to evaluate 23 healthy, adult, client-owned dogs. Good correlation (coefficient of determination [r(2)]=0.78) was found between measurements of percent body fat (%BF) determined by the D(2)O dilution method and the DEXA scan. Percent body fat can also be estimated using BCS (r(2)=0.92 comparison with DEXA) or by using morphometric measurements with simple calculations (r(2)=0.92 comparison with DEXA).

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BackgroundChronic proton pump inhibitor administration has been associated with electrolyte and cobalamin deficiency, disrupted bone homeostasis, hypergastrinemia, and rebound acid hypersecretion in humans. It is unknown if this occurs in cats.ObjectivesProlonged oral omeprazole results in altered bone mineral density or content, serum calcium, magnesium, cobalamin, and gastrin concentrations in healthy cats.AnimalsSix healthy adult DSH cats.MethodsIn a within subjects, before and after design, cats received placebo followed by omeprazole (0.83–1.6 mg/kg PO q12h) for 60 days each. Analysis of serum calcium, magnesium, cobalamin, and gastrin concentrations was performed on days 0, 30, and 60. Bone density and content were evaluated on days 0 and 60 of each intervention. Continuous data were analyzed using a two‐way ANOVA (α = 0.006). On day 60 of omeprazole administration, continuous intragastric pH monitoring was performed in 2 cats to evaluate the effects of abrupt withdrawal of omeprazole.ResultsNo significant changes were detected between treatments for any variables, except serum gastrin, which was significantly higher during omeprazole treatment in comparison to placebo (P = 0.002). Evidence of gastric hyperacidity was seen in both cats in which intragastric pH monitoring was performed following cessation of omeprazole.Conclusions and Clinical ImportanceAlthough further studies with larger populations of cats will be needed to draw any definitive conclusions, these preliminary results suggest that prolonged PPI treatment results in hypergastrinemia and abrupt PPI withdrawal might result in RAH in cats.