Veterinary scene Down Under: Cat management and containment plus veterinary AI program

Veterinary advocacy on best practice cat management and containment

The Western Australia (WA) Feral Cat Symposium was held in Perth, Western Australia recently, and brought together experts and stakeholders from across the continent and globe to share knowledge, networks and plans of action for best practice cat management. Research by the Threatened Species Recovery Hub¹ has shown that in Australia, feral cats eat about 2 billion reptiles, birds, frogs, and mammals each year, and over a billion invertebrates. Pet cats that roam and hunt kill an additional 390 million mammals, birds, and reptiles annually.

A feral cat (Photo courtesy of Judy Dunlop).

The symposium featured presentations from government, industry, academia, conservation, and land management groups. It highlighted the need for coordinated action on the management of both feral and pet cats, including that veterinarians have a key role in educating the community on responsible cat ownership and the benefits of cat containment.

“The veterinary community are a critical part of the solution, given their frontline engagement with cat owners and their involvement in treating the victims of cat predation. Vets are well recognized as a trustworthy component of our community, so their ability to effectively share information is considerable regarding best practice cat ownership,” said Bruce Webber, BSc (Hons I), PhD, a member of the executive of the WA Feral Cat Working Group, which hosted the event.

Dr Bruce Webber (fourth from left) and members of the WA Feral Cat Working Group.

“Key issues where veterinary outreach could transform outcomes include helping owners understand why permanent cat containment is a win-win solution for pets, their owners and the local wildlife, dispelling myths about supposed downsides to permanent cat containment, helping to clarify why Trap-Neuter-Release (TNR) programs will never be a sensible solution for managing cats in Australia, and helping the community understand that considering humaneness in managing cats needs to consider the cat as well as all of the prey that they kill.”

Given the roaming nature of both feral cats and pet cats, Webber explained that effective progress towards best practice cat management would require a concerted effort from all stakeholders working together—across tenure boundaries, state boundaries, discipline boundaries and interests.

“There are many diverse stakeholders with skin in the game in this space. We have the knowledge on the diverse impacts that cats have on wildlife loss, human and agricultural health. We also have insight on the potential for improved outcomes for pet cats and stray cats with better management and responsible pet ownership, including cat containment,” said Webber.

“There is an increasing array of tools to control and manage cats, and outstanding examples of legislation and its implementation to support effective management. What we need now to increase the impact of cat management in the coming years is for stakeholder groups to work together to share this knowledge and ensure it is implemented across the country.”

The symposium heard that several states in Australia require urgent updates to their state cat management legislation to enable local councils to enact cat containment and cat control measures to protect both wildlife and pet cats.

“Research has shown that councils across Australia are keen to adopt regulations to help protect local wildlife and improve the wellbeing of pet cats. However, state laws, especially in Western Australia and New South Wales, are making it difficult for local councils to manage pet cats effectively. Veterinarians can assist by raising the need for reform with their state politicians and local councils, and by educating pet cat owners,” said Webber.

Further educational resources about responsible cat ownership are available at: https://www.perthsouthwest.com.au/natural-resource-management/happyathome

Artificial intelligence aids veterinary dental care

Veterinary dental procedures are a common occurrence in veterinary practice, and the identification of dental pathology can sometimes be challenging. Australian veterinary dental specialist David Clarke, BVSc, DAVDC, FAVD, MANZCVS, DAVDC-ZWD, has developed an innovative use of artificial intelligence (AI) software to help veterinarians enhance their dentistry.

Dr David Clarke, developer of Dental Artificial Veterinary Investigation Device (D.A.V.I.D.).

The Dental Artificial Veterinary Investigation Device (D.A.V.I.D) is a fast, advanced learning medical AI program which investigates and identifies pathology on dental radiographs and photographs. The veterinarian or veterinary technician can simply upload dental radiographic images or photographs directly to the www.davidxray.com website, with the program then instantly able to detect and highlight any pathologies present.

“D.A.V.I.D. provides an explanation of the pathology and a suggested treatment plan. The identification of oral pathology in the photograph helps veterinarians in the consulting room to educate clients and schedule appropriate time for the dental or surgical procedure,” explained Clarke to dvm360^®.

“Identification of dental pathology on the radiograph assists the veterinarian in treatment planning, decreases incorrect diagnosis and ultimately prevents unnecessary dental procedures being performed, thereby improving the health outcomes for the patient.”

An American Veterinary Dental College (AVDC) Board Certified veterinary dental specialist, Clarke has examined a lot of animal teeth during his career, which has included teaching at both the University of Sydney and Massey University, developing educational webinars and workshops, and through his current work in private referral practice in Melbourne.

D.A.V.I.D. radiograph marked up.

D.A.V.I.D. photograph marked up.

“From this experience, I realized that students are not taught dentistry well and the majority of practicing veterinarians and nurses do not understand dentistry principles and in particular radiology techniques and X-ray interpretation. D.A.V.I.D. was developed by collaborating with highly skilled IT developers to build a system using military software repurposed for veterinary dental radiology use,” said Clarke.

D.A.V.I.D is available to the veterinary community via subscription. Having recently returned from showcasing the program at the Veterinary Meeting & Expo Conference in Florida, Clarke explained that over the coming year, the system will grow with the addition of more pathologies and treatment options.

“One of my initial goals was to help veterinarians detect pathology and similarly not confuse normal anatomy with pathology and perform unnecessary treatments. But now, my primary goal is to provide affordability of advanced technology so that it doesn’t negatively impact the socio-economic situation of owners to afford advanced health and dental care,” shared Clarke. “Our system is positioned as a subscription model, and there is no limit on the number of photographs and radiographs which can be uploaded which makes it amazingly affordable. I like to think of D.A.V.I.D. as bottling the expertise I have built up over the years and distributing it around the world, all for the betterment of animal dental health.”

Reference

Science for saving species. Threatened Species Recovery Hub. Accessed February 28, 2023. https://invasives.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Fact-sheet-The-impact-of-cats-in-Australia-Threatened-Species-Hub.pdf