Nutritional assessment
Muscle condition score
Assess muscle mass across 4 body regions for dogs and cats. Combine with BCS for complete nutritional evaluation.
Safety checks
- This tool supports assessment and education only.
- It does not diagnose or replace nutritional or clinical evaluation.
- Muscle loss may indicate serious underlying disease requiring full workup.
- Verify decisions with current veterinary nutrition references.
Basis and limits
- Basis: WSAVA Nutritional Assessment Guidelines. MCS evaluates muscle mass at 4 key anatomical sites.
- Scale: 0–3 per region, with overall MCS reflecting the worst-scoring region or average.
- Normal (3): normal muscle mass with no visible bony prominences.
- Mild (2): mild muscle loss with slight prominence of bony structures.
- Moderate (1): moderate loss with obvious bony prominences and concave muscle areas.
- Severe (0): severe loss with prominent bones and minimal muscle coverage.
- Scope: screening tool. Serial assessment is more valuable than a single score.