PetPace, the provider of an innovative IoT collar for remote real-time monitoring and analysis of pet vital signs and activity, today released the findings of a new medical case study. The new feline Urethral Obstruction case study, available for download here, documents in detail how the PetPace collar enabled clinical staff to reduce stressful handling of a “blocked cat,” while still closely monitoring the patient’s critical condition and its response to treatment.
Max, a 5-year-old neutered male indoor Himalayan-cross cat, was brought to Emergency Veterinary Hospital in Rapid City, SD, and was diagnosed with a Urethral Obstruction – an acute obstruction of the urinary tract, causing blockage of urine flow. Most commonly affecting indoor male cats, which are referred to as “blocked cats,” this condition can quickly develop into a life-threatening emergency.
At the time of admission, caregivers determined that Max was in pain, under stress, mildly dehydrated and azotemic (high level of metabolic waste products in the blood, secondary to kidney blockage). He was anesthetized and a urinary catheter was inserted to relieve the obstruction. He was hospitalized for 48 hours, and fitted with a PetPace collar to more closely monitor his condition.
Feline Urethral Obstruction is one of the most common conditions seen by veterinary emergency services. Affected cats like Max are typically in pain and under stress, but still require aggressive treatment and close monitoring to ensure a positive outcome. The staff at the Animal Clinic of Rapid City routinely use PetPace collars to closely monitor such patients – not only raising the frequency and quality of vital sign monitoring, but also lowering staff overhead and stressful patient handling.
The data produced by the PetPace collar perfectly reflected Max’s medical course. Pulse and respiration data values showed gradual improvement over the course of Max’s hospitalization, which coincided with his clinical improvement and recovery.
“Taken together, vital signs, HRV and activity are useful indicators of pain, stress and overall condition during disease and recovery. This concept applies equally to cats, including during a Urethral Obstruction episode, as demonstrated in this case,” noted Dr. Asaf Dagan, DVM, Diplomate ABVP (Canine and Feline practice), and PetPace’s Chief Veterinarian. “Examining the data provided by the PetPace collar in the context of clinical observations and other tests, provides the attending clinician with a valuable tool to monitor in real-time the patient’s condition and response to treatment,” he continued.
Kim Earley, Director of Administration of Emergency Veterinary Hospital at Animal Clinic of Rapid City, SD, added, “We place PetPace collars on a lot of our hospitalized patients in this busy, regional emergency center, in the purpose of bringing the standard of care to a new level, while reducing patients stress.”
About PetPace
PetPace was founded in 2012 to bring peace of mind to pet owners and prevent unnecessary pain and suffering for dogs and cats through improved pet health and quality of life. PetPace specializes in the remote monitoring of pet vital signs by utilizing advanced analytical methods and alerting models. The company’s low power, wireless collar is fitted with an array of sensors that report abnormal vital signs within established physiological and behavioral parameters. Once an abnormal sign or behavior is detected, a sophisticated cloud-based analytical engine evaluates the signs and if needed, sends an immediate alert regarding any suspected condition. This allows the owner or the vet to take preemptive action to protect the pet’s health. For more information about PetPace real-time pet health monitoring, visit http://PetPace.com.
