ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Animal Nutrition and Metabolism
Volume 12 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2025.1630963
Establishing Diagnostic Criteria for Feline Obesity Using a Highly Sensitive Serum Amyloid A Assay
Provisionally accepted
Toshiro Arai1*
Miki Kobayashi2
Motoo Kobayashi2Tomoaki Hirose2
Masashi Yuki3,4,5Satoru Imano6Yukari Asahi1
Takahiro Teshima1- 1Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Musashino, Japan
- 2Seijo Kobayashi Veterinary Clinic, Tokyo, Japan
- 3Yuki, Nagoya, Japan
- 4Yuki Animal Hospital, Nagoya, Japan
- 5Yuki Animal Hospitalya, Nagoya, Japan
- 6Eiken Chemical Co Ltd, Tokyo, Japan
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Introduction: The global increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity is associated with several chronic diseases. Obesity is characterized by systemic low-grade inflammation and oxidative stress caused by excessive fat accumulation. This study aimed to establish diagnostic criteria for pathological obesity in cats using a high-sensitivity serum amyloid A (SAA) assay. Methods: In this study, 29 client-owned cats (3–14 years old) with varying body condition scores (BCS) were included. These cats underwent medical checkups and were not treated for any specific diseases. They were divided into three groups: healthy control, simple obesity, and obesity disease. The plasma levels of metabolites, hormones, and enzymes were measured. Results: In the simple obesity cats, body weight, BCS, and plasma triglyceride (TG) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations were significantly higher than those in the healthy control cats. In the obesity disease cats, BCS was significantly higher than that in the simple obesity cats. In the obesity disease cats, plasma TG and SAA concentrations and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activities increased significantly compared to those in the simple obesity cats. Adiponectin concentrations in the obesity disease cats were significantly lower than those in the healthy control cats. Discussion: The novel criteria for feline obesity (overweight cats exhibiting two or more of the following symptoms: hyperlipidemia and high ALT and SAA levels) were based on biomarker values that were significantly higher than those in the simple obesity cats. These novel criteria may help detect pathological obesity at an early stage. Early and accurate diagnosis can prevent age-related diseases including obesity.
Keywords: ALT, cat, obesity disease, sAA, Triglycerides
Received: 19 May 2025; Accepted: 17 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Arai, Kobayashi, Kobayashi, Hirose, Yuki, Imano, Asahi and Teshima. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Toshiro Arai, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Musashino, Japan
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