Estimation of body weight and shoulder height and evaluation of sexual dimorphism in cats using metapodial radiogrammetric meauserements

In this study, the aim was to estimate body weight and shoulder height and to evaluate sexual dimorphism using radiogrammetric measurements of the metapodial bones in cats. A total of 60 healthy adult domestic cats (30 females, 30 males) were included. Age, sex, body weight, and shoulder height data were recorded, and single radiographic images were obtained from the left fore- and hindlimb metapodial bones of each cat. Measurement data were analyzed using the SPSS 26.0 software package. Independent sample t-tests, correlation analyses, simple regression models, ROC analyses, and logistic regression models were employed for data evaluation. The results showed that male cats had significantly higher body weight and shoulder height compared to females. In all metapodial parameters, bone length and width measurements were significantly greater in males, reflecting sexual dimorphism in skeletal morphology. Metatarsal bones were longer and wider than metacarpal bones, indicating distinct morphometric differences between the limbs. Correlation analyses demonstrated moderate-to-high significant associations between certain metapodial measurements and both body weight and shoulder height. Based on these findings, sex-specific regression equations were established; discriminative variables were identified through ROC analysis, and their explanatory power was assessed using logistic regression. Overall, the data can be considered as reference information for disciplines such as forensic veterinary medicine, forensic zoology, veterinary anatomy, and zooarchaeology, and support the applicability of the metapodial radiogrammetry method in both contemporary and archaeological materials.