Developmental Programming in Cats and Dogs
A special issue of Life (ISSN 2075-1729). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Science".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 2774
Special Issue Editors
Interests: dog; cat; bond; companion animal
Interests: dog; cat
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
There is an abundance of evidence that links early-life risk factors with later health issues in humans.
According to the Developmental Origin of Health and Diseases concept, the perinatal period is a critical window for shaping long-term health. However, there is a clear knowledge gap regarding the impact of this period on dogs and cats. The wide range of dog and cat breeds, breeding practices and lifestyles complicates research in this field, which is compounded by the effects of neutering procedures, which can lead to the further revelation of certain health conditions.
During the growing period, preventive medicine and husbandry practices from preconception onwards are essential to ensure the sustained health and wellbeing of dogs and cats.
This Special Issue welcomes non-invasive research studies or literature reviews that investigate the perinatal and early growth factors that positively influence the later growth and adult life of dogs and cats.
Potential contributions can cover topics ranging from nutritional intervention to managing early weight gain, as well as assessments of the impact of the sterilization.
Dr. Franck Péron
Dr. Virginie Gaillard
Prof. Dr. Sylvie Chastant
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Life is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Publisher’s Note
The Article Processing Costs (APCs) of 5 of the published manuscripts in the Special Issue are funded by the Research and Development Center, Royal Canin, Aimargues, France. The Editorial Office and Editor-in-Chief of Life have approved this topic, and MDPI’s standard manuscript editorial processing procedure (https://www.mdpi.com/editorial_process) was applied to all submissions. As such, Royal Canin did not have any input into the research findings of individual publications or into the selection of articles that received this financial support, nor were they involved in any part of the editorial process. As per our standard procedure, Guest Editors are excluded from participating in the editorial process for their submission and/or for submission from persons for whom a potential conflict of interest may exist. For more details on MDPI’s Conflict of Interest policy for reviewers and editors can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/ethics#_bookmark22.
Keywords
- dog
- cat
- growth
- health
- prevention
- development
- susceptibility
- environment
- risk factors
- nutrition
- neutering
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