Cachexia has been associated with higher mortality in patients with chronic renal disease both in human and veterinary medicine. Body condition score (BCS) can be used along with body weight for a better evaluation of a patient's body composition. The objective of this study was to associate body condition score with prognosis of cats with chronic renal disease. One hundred and ten elderly cats were evaluated; of which 70 were healthy (Group I) and 40 had been diagnosed with chronic renal disease (Group II). In Group I, only 5.7% of the cats presented a BCS below ideal, though none were found to be cachectic. In Group II, 70% of the cats presented a BCS below ideal, where 32.5% were cachectic. Mortality was significantly higher within the cachectic patients of Group II. BCS below ideal indicates a poor prognosis for patients with chronic renal disease.
feline; weight loss; chronic nephropathy
