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The Scientific World Journal

The Scientific World Journal / 2016 / Article / Tab 5

Research Article

Body Condition Scores and Evaluation of Feeding Habits of Dogs and Cats at a Low Cost Veterinary Clinic and a General Practice

Table 5

Summary of responses from 229 dog and 86 cat owners from two veterinary clinics (general practice, ; low cost clinic, ). Number of owners providing each response, with percentage in parentheses.
VariableGeneral practiceLow income clinic value
(clinic)		 value
(species)
DogsCatsDogsCats
1074212244——
Know how many calories their pet eats daily1 (1%)1 (2%)1 (1%)1 (2%)0.9270.450
Source for how much to feed      
 Veterinarian66 (61%)
17 (41%)
38 (31%)
10 (23%)
<0.0010.291
 Product feeding directions38 (36%)
14 (33%)
31 (25%)
10 (23%)
0.0480.724
 Pet looks hungry12 (11%)9 (21%)25 (21%)
19 (43%)
0.0070.003
Veterinarian as source for nutrition information95 (89%)34 (81%)93 (76%)
32 (73%)
0.2840.644
Factors in selecting a diet      
 Food is healthy for the pet56 (52%)
21 (50%)
59 (41%)
18 (41%)
0.4940.395
 Ingredients58 (54%)
16 (38%)
55 (45%)
17 (39%)
0.2640.460
 Pet preference33 (31%)
17 (41%)
63 (52%)
30 (68%)
<0.0010.058
 Cost30 (28%)
13 (31%)
43 (35%)
17 (39%)
0.1690.688
 Pet health needs35 (33%)
16 (38%)
25 (21%)
18 (41%)
0.0630.008
 Manufacturer42 (39%)
13 (31%)
27 (22%)
12 (27%)
0.0090.490
 Availability18 (17%)
13 (31%)
14 (12%)
13 (30%)
0.2990.005
 Natural15 (14%)2 (5%)13 (11%)4 (9%)0.7390.769
 Convenience6 (6%)3 (7%)9 (7%)9 (21%)0.1280.037
Owners could select more than 1 answer.
Only the 3 most common answers are shown.
“Healthy” was not defined for owners and could have been selected for any reason the owner thought food was healthy for the pet.