Top 10 Cat and Dog Medical Conditions of 2011

Nation's Largest Pet Insurer Reveals Most Common Causes of Veterinary Visits

Veterinary Pet Insurance Co. (VPI), the nation's oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, recently sorted its database of more than 485,000 insured pets to determine the top 10 dog and cat medical conditions in 2011. Click here to see the original report from VPI or see the lists below.

For cats, notice that two endocrine problems, hyperthyroidism and diabetes, were among the top 5 most common feline diseases. For dogs, the only endocrine problem that made the top 10 list was hypothyroidism, but I suspect that hyperadrenocorticism Cushing's syndreome) and diabetes were not far behind.

Top 10 pet medical conditions, according to Veterinary Pet Insurance's database of more than 485,000 insured pets:

Cats

Palpating the thyroid tumor
in a hyperthyroid cat

1. Lower urinary tract disease 
2. Gastritis 
3. Chronic renal failure 
4. Hyperthyroidism 
5. Diabetes mellitus
6. Enteritis/diarrhea 
7. Skin allergy 
8. Periodontitis/dental disease 
9. Ear infection 
10. Upper respiratory infection 

 Dogs

Truncal hair loss
in a hypothyroid Doberman

1. Ear infection 
2. Skin allergy 
3. Skin infection/hot spots 
4. Gastritis/vomiting 
5. Enteritis/diarrhea 
6. Arthritis 
7. Bladder infection 
8. Soft tissue trauma 
9. Non-cancerous tumor 
10. Hypothyroidism