Causes of death and reasons for euthanasia in a hospital population of dogs and cats

Abstract

To determine the main causes of death in a population of dogs and cats from a University Veterinary Hospital, data from clinical records obtained from July, 2005 to July, 2009 were analyzed. During that period, 2,243 animals were taken to the hospital, 2,075 dogs and 168 cats. The percentage of death was 10.6% (220/2.075) in dogs, and 8.92% (15/168) in cats. The median age at death was 59.97 months for dogs and 82.79 months for cats. The main causes of death and reasons for euthanasia in dogs were infectious or parasitic diseases, diseases caused by physical agents and neoplasia. Except by their age, all other characteristics described did not have an effect on life expectancy or death causes in dogs. In cats, physical agents and urinary diseases were the main cause of mortality. The results observed in this work identify the need for prophylactic measures that will enable a better life expectancy, and consequently, change the frequency of the main causes of death and reasons for euthanasia in dogs and cats.