Brachycephaly in cats : a silent problem in feline health

Jarnovič, Lana (author), Erjavec, Vladimira (author)

Brachycephaly, morphological trait characterised by a shortened skull relative to its width, is a prominent feature of certain feline breeds, including Persians, Exotic Short-hairs, Himalayans. British Shorthairs, British Longhairs, and Scottish Folds. While se-lective breeding has favoured this trait due to human preferences for neotenous ap-pearances, severe brachycephaly is associated with a wide range of health complica-tions. These include neurological, respiratory, ocular, dental, gastrointestinal, repro-ductive, and dermatological disorders. This literature review explores the systemic im-pact of brachycephaly on feline health, highlighting the need for ethical breeding prac-tices and improved veterinary care to mitigate its negative effects.

• Language: English
• Keywords: brachycephaly, feline health, ethical breeding, skull morphology, cat welfare
• Work type: Conference report
• Typology: 1.08 - Published Scientific Conference Contribution
• Organization: VF - Veterinary Faculty
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2025
• Number of pages: Str. 59-64
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-168088
• UDC: 636.09:616
• DOI: 10.55295/PSL.12.2025.I8
• COBISS.SI-ID: 230316547
• Publication date in RUL: 28.03.2025

Record is a part of a monograph

• Title: Socratic Lectures : 12th international symposium, Ljubljana, January 11, 2025
• Editors: Veronika Kralj-Iglič, Anna Romolo, Yelena Istileulova
• Place of publishing: Ljubljana
• Publisher: University of Ljubljana Press
• Year: 2025
• ISBN: 978-961-297-541-8
• COBISS.SI-ID: 227883267

Licences

• License: CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Description: This is the standard Creative Commons license that gives others maximum freedom to do what they want with the work as long as they credit the author.