In this issue – November 2013

Abstract

Small animalsThe first paper this month is a retrospective look at 17 cases of cutaneous adverse food reactions in cats that were presented to a dermatology referral service. 1 Each case was confirmed by a clear worsening of the skin of the cats when they were re-challenged with normal food after completing an elimination diet. They then had to improve once the test diet was repeated. Cats typically presented with severe, perennial, non-seasonally flaring pruritus. Home-prepared elimination diets were completed by 16 cats and 8 cats had initial poor response to minimum 6-week commercial hydrolysed protein diets.The adverse foods that were identified included fish, chicken, beef, commercial dry, and some canned foods. The authors discuss the challenges of diagnosing the condition, as there had to be strict adherence to the dietary trials. They discuss the limitations of their study, including that the response was based on the owners' observations and veterinary interpretation, rather than objective measures. As many cats have other concurrent dermatoses, responses to these trials may be very difficult to unravel. The next paper looks at the haematological and biochemical profiles of 192 sighthounds including Whippet, Greyhound, Italian Greyhound, Sloughi, Saluki, Borzoi, Pharaoh Hound and Azawakh breeds. These were compared with non-breed-specific laboratory reference intervals. 2 bs_bs_banner EDITORIAL EDITORIAL