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Cat Stress Score and hair cortisol concentrations are not associated with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Cat Stress Score and hair cortisol concentrations are not associated with subclinical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in cats

Joonbum Seo, Megan Williams, John S. Munday, David J. Connolly and Hayley Hunt
The veterinary journal (1997), 106910
2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2026.106910
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Open Access CC BY V4.0

Abstract

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common heart disease in domestic cats, but most lack an identifiable cause. This prospective case-control study tested the hypothesis that chronic stress predisposes cats to HCM. Ten cats with echocardiographically confirmed subclinical HCM were compared with 10 healthy cats, HCM-negative cats matched for husbandry, age, sex, and neuter status. Stress was assessed via visual Cat-Stress-Score and hair cortisol concentrations, measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from full-length hair samples collected from the lumbar region. Cat-Stress-Scores did not differ between groups across four time points (median 23.3 in the HCM group [range: 17.8-34.0] versus median 25.5 in the control group [range: 21.8-29.2], P = 0.241). Likewise, hair cortisol concentrations did not differ between groups (median 0.25ng/mL [range: 0.15-0.35] in the HCM group and median 0.19ng/mL [range: 0.09-0.29] in the control group, P = 0.267). In conclusion, cats with pre-existing subclinical HCM did not display greater stress than healthy controls on the measures of stress assessed.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common heart disease in domestic cats, but most lack an identifiable cause. This prospective case-control study tested the hypothesis that chronic stress predisposes cats to HCM. Ten cats with echocardiographically confirmed subclinical HCM were compared with 10 healthy cats, HCM-negative cats matched for husbandry, age, sex, and neuter status. Stress was assessed via visual Cat-Stress-Score and hair cortisol concentrations, measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay from full-length hair samples collected from the lumbar region. Cat-Stress-Scores did not differ between groups across four time points (median 23.3 in the HCM group [range: 17.8-34.0] versus median 25.5 in the control group [range: 21.8-29.2], P = 0.241). Likewise, hair cortisol concentrations did not differ between groups (median 0.25ng/mL [range: 0.15-0.35] in the HCM group and median 0.19ng/mL [range: 0.09-0.29] in the control group, P = 0.267). In conclusion, cats with pre-existing subclinical HCM did not display greater stress than healthy controls on the measures of stress assessed.

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