The aim of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QoL) in cats owned by owners of an academic veterinary institution based on the activities they considered important for their pet.
The questionnaire in French language, consisted of three types of questions: demographic, QoL and health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The questions on QoL were collected from 5 activities described by the owners and their relative importance by means of a score from 0 to 100. Healthy cats and possibly sick cats (with clinical symptoms) were distinguished. Activities were categorized into 8 behavioral domains and by their degree of activity (mobility). The questions related to HRQoL were collected by means of a validated questionnaire of 22 questions. A descriptive and statistical analysis was performed comparing activity distributions by means of frequencies and contingency tables with a test from χ2.
A total of 75 questionnaires were collected, but only 72 questionnaires (n = 61 healthy and n = 14 sick) and 360 items generated by the owners were evaluated. Without considering health status, 47% were active activities (involving mobility) and 49% were inactive activities (18% had implicit activity). There were no important differences between the group of healthy and sick animals.
In conclusion, we observed that for the evaluation of quality of life in cats it is necessary to investigate both \"active\" and \"inactive\" behavioral activities. The questionnaire used could be useful for assessing and exploring quality of life in owner cats.
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