Refinement of the Montreal Instrument for Cat Arthritis Testing, for Use by Veterinarians: detection of naturally occurring osteoarthritis in laboratory cats:

ObjectivesFeline osteoarthritis causes pain and disability. Detection and measurement is challenging, relying heavily on owner report. This study describes refinement of the Montreal Instrument for Cat Arthritis Testing, for Use by Veterinarians.MethodsA video analysis of osteoarthritic (n = 6) and non-osteoarthritic (n = 4) cats facilitated expansion of scale items. Three successive therapeutic trials (using gabapentin, tramadol and oral transmucosal meloxicam spray) in laboratory cats with and without natural osteoarthritis (n = 12–20) permitted construct validation (assessments of disease status sensitivity and therapeutic responsiveness) and further scale refinements based on performance.ResultsScale osteoarthritic sensitivity improved from phase I to phase III; phase III scale total score (P = 0.0001) and 4/5 subcategories – body posture (P = 0.0006), gait (P = 0.0031), jumping (0.0824) and global distance examination (P = 0.0001) – detected osteoarthritic cats. Total score inter-rater (intra-class c...