Practical relevance: Pet owners want dietary recommendations from their veterinarian. Providing a brief nutritional assessment for every cat at every visit will result in better medical care and build trust with clients.
Clinical challenges: Examination time is limited, and it can be challenging to ensure appointments are efficient, yet thorough. A range of practical assessment tools is available that can assist with this process.
Patient group: Every cat can benefit from a screening nutritional evaluation as the fifth vital assessment (after temperature, pulse, respiration and pain assessment). Identifying patients with nutritional risk factors or nutrition-responsive diseases should prompt a more in-depth review of dietary needs.
Audience: This article is aimed at all veterinary health professionals and is accompanied by videos demonstrating the body condition scoring process for a series of cats ranging from ideal body weight through to obese.
Evidence base: Information in the review is drawn from the current scientific literature, as well as the clinical experience of the authors.
Keywords: Nutrition; body condition score; diet; nutritional assessment.