A New, Easy-to-Learn, Fear-Free Method to Stop Purring During Cardiac Auscultation in Cats
Background: Purring in cats can interfere with cardiac auscultation. If the produced noise is loud enough, purring makes it impossible to perform a meaningful auscultation as it is much louder than heart sounds and murmurs. Our study introduced and tested a new, simple, fear-free, cat-friendly metho...
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| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/2/236 |
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| Summary: | Background: Purring in cats can interfere with cardiac auscultation. If the produced noise is loud enough, purring makes it impossible to perform a meaningful auscultation as it is much louder than heart sounds and murmurs. Our study introduced and tested a new, simple, fear-free, cat-friendly method to stop purring during auscultation. Methods: The technique involves grasping the cat’s larynx from ventral with one hand, while simultaneously holding the stethoscope in the other hand to perform the auscultation. Results: The incidence of purring was evaluated in 582 cats, in a veterinary teaching hospital and in a cat-friendly private practice. Fifty-one (8.8%) cats were purring during their physical examination. The tested method had a success rate of 89% in terminating purring. A comparison between investigators (a veterinary student versus an experienced veterinary cardiology specialist) showed no significant difference in the effectiveness of the method (<i>p</i> = 0.57). The incidence of purring was not significantly different between the teaching hospital and the cat-friendly practice (<i>p</i> = 1.00). Sick and older cats purred more often than healthy and younger cats. Conclusions: This new, simple, easy-to-master method is an improvement over previously reported techniques and supports the need for stress-free, cat-friendly handling in veterinary practice. |
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| ISSN: | 2076-2615 |