Decoding Pet Health: How AI and Behavioral Science Are Transforming Early Detection and Care

Angie:
The way we understand pet health is changing, and it’s changing fast. For decades, veterinary care has largely been reactive. We wait for symptoms, we diagnose, and then we treat. But today, with advances in data, connected devices, and artificial intelligence, we’re beginning to shift toward something far more powerful: early detection, predictive care, and a deeper understanding of what our pets are actually experiencing, both physically and emotionally.

Welcome to the Veterinary Business Institute, a podcast where we explore the strategies, innovations, and leadership shaping the future of veterinary practices. I’m your host, Angie, and today I’m joined by Dr. Ragen McGowan. She is the Director of Global Digital and AI Product Development at Nestlé Purina PetCare.

Dr. McGowan is a leader in animal behavior, behavioral science, and digital innovation, with over 15 years of experience at the intersection of research, technology, and pet wellbeing. Her work focuses on using AI, connected technologies, and behavioral science to better understand pets, especially when it comes to detecting subtle changes in their emotional and physical health.

With a PhD in applied ethology and a track record of pioneering research in animal cognition and emotional states, she brings a truly unique perspective to the future of veterinary care.

In this episode, we’ll explore how subtle behavioral changes in pets can signal early health issues long before clinical symptoms appear, and how AI and connected technologies are transforming everyday pet data into actionable insights. We’ll also discuss real-world examples of how early detection is improving outcomes for pets, and how understanding emotional states in animals can reshape the way we think about health care and the human-animal bond.

This podcast is supported by Ekwa Marketing, helping veterinary practices build stronger, more resilient, and more profitable businesses. Now, let’s get into the conversation.

Dr. McGowan, welcome to the podcast. How are you doing today?

Dr. Ragen McGowan:
I’m doing well. Thank you so much for having me.

Angie:
Yes, of course. First of all, you’ve spent years studying animal behavior. How can subtle behavioral changes signal early health issues in pets that owners might overlook?

Dr. Ragen McGowan:
I’m glad that you asked about this. Pets are always telling us when something’s changing, but we’re just not always the best at listening to them.

Dogs are pretty great at giving us very boisterous signs to indicate what they’re feeling or how they’re experiencing something, like play bows or tail wags. They’re noticeably excited when something’s going well, and they also show us the other side, like when they’re lethargic or withdrawn when they aren’t feeling as well.

They can even be quite dramatic with things like sighs, nosing, or nudging us to pay attention. All the dog owners out there know exactly what I’m talking about.

Angie:
Oh my goodness.

Dr. Ragen McGowan:
Cats, on the other hand, are notoriously great about masking their symptoms, or people are just really terrible at noticing the subtle cues they’re giving us. Any way that we can help flag those signs for pet owners is a really great thing.

One of the clearest examples is elimination behavior. As unglamorous as it is, the litter box is actually a window into a cat’s health. Changes in weight, frequency of visits to the litter box, or time spent in the box often show up long before owners notice clinical symptoms, especially for diseases like chronic kidney disease, where usually it’s quite advanced by the time it’s diagnosed because pet owners just aren’t noticing those subtle signs.

With technology, we’re able to surface those subtle behavior changes that might otherwise go completely unnoticed. This is exactly what we’ve developed with some of our technology, namely the Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor, which sits quietly underneath your cat’s existing litter box and passively collects data on weight fluctuations, litter box frequency, visits, duration, and other behavioral patterns over time.

This technology helps surface those subtle trends, giving owners data to start earlier, much more informed conversations with their veterinarian.

Angie:
It’s actually kind of scary how easy it is to miss those subtle signs. Building on that, how are AI and connected tech helping turn that everyday data into something vets and owners can actually use?

Dr. Ragen McGowan:
This is such an important question because there’s no shortage of pet tech out there, and it’s collecting a lot of data. But data alone isn’t really the true value. The real value is turning that data into insights that pet owners and veterinarians can actually use.

It’s important to note that not all devices are created equal. High-performing AI depends on high-quality truth data because models are only as good as the data that’s been used to train them.

As an example, for our Petivity Smart Litter Box Monitor, that meant training our models on literally hundreds of thousands of real litter box events, where we carefully labeled videos of cats using the litter box and synchronized those labels with sensor data. That level of effort is what allows the system to be very reliable and make very reliable pattern detection.

That said, it’s important to call out that devices are not diagnosticians. They are really pattern detectors. A single data point doesn’t mean much, but consistent trends over weeks really do matter.

Things like gradual weight loss, increasing visit frequency, and shorter durations in the box are the kinds of changes that are easy to miss in an annual exam but can be very early signals of issues like kidney disease or diabetes.

The beauty of Purina is that we are experts in everything pet. I have the pleasure to work with experts in veterinary medicine, pet nutrition, behavior, genetics, endocrinology — you name it. Any topic pet-related, we have experts there.

Each of our experts can take the same dataset and interpret it from their unique lens. We then take all of that expert logic together and translate raw data into very meaningful, actionable insights for the pet owner and also for their veterinarian.

The goal really is to support, not replace, the vet-client relationship. Petivity surfaces trends, then the owners can start the conversation, and the veterinarian brings the clinical interpretation. Done right, this adds signal, not noise, and helps everyone work together to catch changes much earlier.

Angie:
That’s great. We’ve been talking about how the earlier signals are often the most valuable ones: a subtle shift in behavior, a small change in routine, a pattern in the data that might not mean much on its own but becomes incredibly important when someone knows how to interpret it. The same principle applies inside a veterinary practice.

Most clinics do not lose growth in one dramatic moment. It usually happens quietly. A website gets traffic, but not enough visitors turn into appointments. Ads generate clicks, but not always the right clients. Your reviews send signals, your booking flows send signals, but most practices do not have anyone translating those signals into a clear growth plan.

That is exactly why Ekwa Marketing created the complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting. Think of it less like a generic marketing call and more like a diagnostic for your practice’s growth.

You sit down with Lila, a veterinary marketing strategist who has worked with hundreds of veterinary clinics. Together, you look at what your marketing is actually telling you: what is bringing in new clients, what may be quietly costing you opportunities, where the leaks are in your client journey, and what a focused six-month growth plan could look like for your clinic, your market, and your goals.

Instead of guessing, adding more tools, or spending more budget without clarity, you walk away knowing where to focus next. You can book your complimentary Marketing Strategy Meeting at veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm/. Again, that’s veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm/.

Remember, Ekwa Marketing only takes a limited number of those each month, so if this resonates, book while a spot is open.

Let’s get back into the conversation because the next question takes the idea even further into real-world outcomes. Dr. McGowan, what are some real-world examples where early data-driven detection has significantly improved a pet’s health outcome?

Dr. Ragen McGowan:
This is where the practical impact of these tools really comes to life. One of the most compelling use cases is early chronic kidney disease detection in cats.

A cat owner notices a flag from something like a smart litter box system showing a meaningful uptick in visit frequency over, let’s say, three to four weeks. They bring this information to their veterinarian, blood work gets run, early-stage CKD is confirmed, and that’s a cat who is now managed proactively and not reactively.

For chronic kidney disease specifically, a smart litter box monitor is one of the most directly relevant tools we have out there. The behavioral markers of early kidney disease in cats are exactly the same variables that the system is tracking over time. That’s not just generating data; that’s really a clinically meaningful signal.

Another example is subtle weight loss. Let’s say we have a senior cat losing a quarter to half a pound over six weeks. This isn’t something that most pet owners will notice day to day, but a scale can show this data very clearly.

This is the kind of trend that prompts earlier blood work and a conversation about something like hyperthyroidism, diabetes, or GI disease — all conditions where early intervention really matters.

Weight gain tracking is another one with clear clinical utility. Obesity is one of the most underdiagnosed conditions in veterinary medicine, in part because we only capture weight at clinical visits, and all pet owners believe their pet is perfect.

They’re not great at noticing chronic weight gain, but chronic weight gain is something that’s easily missed at home without consistent data. Something like a smart litter box monitor weighing your cat every day can help with this problem.

If we think about activity monitoring, there’s a lot out there on the market, but activity monitors also add value, especially if we’re looking for early signs of mobility issues or arthritis.

Tracking changes in movement over time can give us a good functional baseline that’s hard to replicate in an exam room where a pet is stressed or not moving normally, but it’s something we can track day to day at home and then make meaningful interventions.

Angie:
We’re seeing how physical issues can be caught early, but what about the emotional side of things? How does that connect to overall health, and can technology actually help us measure that?

Dr. Ragen McGowan:
I think it’s safe to say that we’ve all likely experienced the direct connection between our emotions and our physical health, tied to the bidirectional communication that’s constantly happening between the gut and the brain.

As an example, when we’re stressed out, that often manifests as digestive upset, skin issues, hives, or rashes. The same is true for our pets. Chronic stress has been shown to compromise the immune system, making our pets more susceptible to chronic health issues.

On the other side, positive emotions manifest in ways such as play or social bonding, and they can actually have a protective effect on health.

Some work that I did a long time ago focused on what we call the Eureka effect in dogs. The Eureka effect is when you get a positive surge of excitement or emotion when you’ve been working really hard to solve a problem or learn a new task, and you finally get it. You get that “yes, I did it” feeling.

Dogs experience the same, and this showcased that direct tie between positive emotions and cognition. There’s evidence that those dopamine spikes we get when we’re feeling positive emotions while learning really cement those memories in the brain.

Any tools that can help us measure both behavioral and physiological changes in our pets can help us better understand their emotions and what they’re experiencing.

Currently, with the development of lots of new sensors and new digital signal processing capabilities, we’re starting to measure and track physiological signs such as changes in heart rate, heart rate variability, respiration, and body temperature, and map those together with behavioral or sleep pattern changes in a very meaningful way.

This is the direction of being able to actually measure emotion through changes in behavior and physiology, and that’s a very exciting one.

Practically, though, for pet owners and veterinarians alike, the answer isn’t trying to directly measure emotion. It’s more about capturing those behavioral fingerprints that correlate with emotional states over time.

With technology that we can bring into the home, like our litter box monitor, we’re looking for changes in visit frequency, duration, weight, and elimination patterns. These are sensitive and very early indicators of both physical health conditions, like kidney disease, lower urinary tract issues, or diabetes, but also behavioral health conditions like stress.

Cats are super susceptible to stress, so any change going on in the cat’s world — visitors to the home, rearranging furniture, introducing new pets — can also manifest as changes in litter box behavior.

In a very direct and meaningful way, changes in litter box behavior patterns can help us track the manifestation of stress-related conditions, like feline idiopathic cystitis, which is a perfect example of a health state tied directly to emotional state in cats.

By looking at changes in behavior, we can understand changes in emotion and how that ladders to health. It’s very exciting, showing how this technology can track more than just health metrics, but also be a window into emotion and what our pets are experiencing at home.

Angie:
That’s a really fascinating way to look at it. As a pet owner myself, that has helped me a lot as well. To wrap us up, looking ahead, how do you envision the role of pet health data evolving in veterinary care and strengthening the human-animal bond?

Dr. Ragen McGowan:
I think the human-animal bond is really key here. We hear over and over from pet owners that what they really want is to understand how their pets are feeling, and they want reassurance that they’re doing the right things to keep them healthy and happy.

Well-designed technology can help with both of these things by giving a pet a voice and empowering pet owners with meaningful data.

An important part of that is keeping owners engaged when their pet is doing well. If the only value for integrating pet technology into your home shows up when something’s wrong, then people will tune out for sure.

With Petivity, we’ve been doing a lot of integration by sharing interesting insights, like litter box preferences or multi-cat dynamics within a home. Owners feel more connected and pay attention, so when something warranting an alert happens, they’re paying attention to those meaningful changes.

We hear feedback all the time that owners feel like they’re learning much more about their pet, they understand their pet much better, and they feel closer than they ever have before with their pets.

When we think about how data from pets at home fits into the future of veterinary care, we can think about integrating this in-home data into practices at the clinic. The trajectory is really looking toward full integration.

Right now, a lot of the tools exist in parallel. We have in-home data that the owner has access to, and then we have vet data that’s happening during the exam and is held by the clinic.

The exciting evolution is where these two lanes merge together, where at-home data can potentially feed straight into practice management systems to inform care plans in real time.

For Petivity specifically, right now, we’re at the stage where pet owners are responsible for sharing their pet’s data with their vet.

In the future, we imagine that we might have a vet portal where vets can log in directly and track their patients — any patient they’re interested in tracking more closely — or have direct integration into something like a PIMS system, so that data is at the fingertips of the clinical staff anytime they want it.

Practices that lean into in-home monitoring now, especially for early disease detection, are going to be the ones that stand out. Clients want to feel cared for continuously, not just at the annual visit, and this is one of the most powerful ways clinics can do that: having a direct connection to the pet in the home, strengthening the bond, and having that emotional connection with the pet owner as well.

Angie:
That’s a really exciting note to end on. Thank you so much, Dr. McGowan, for sharing your insights. It’s been such an interesting conversation.

If there’s one big takeaway from today, it’s this: the future of veterinary care is shifting from reactive treatment to proactive understanding.

When we can detect subtle behavioral and emotional changes earlier, we’re no longer just treating illnesses. We’re preventing them, improving outcomes, and strengthening the bond between pets and the people who care for them.

For veterinary professionals, this shift represents both an opportunity and a responsibility. As technology continues to evolve, the practices that embrace data, insight, and innovation will be better positioned to deliver higher-quality care while building more sustainable, forward-thinking businesses.

A big thank you to Dr. Ragen McGowan for sharing her expertise and perspective with us today.

If you’re looking to build a more resilient, scalable, and profitable practice, it starts with making intentional, strategic decisions in how you operate and grow.

You can book a complimentary strategic session at veterinarybusinessinstitute.com/msm/.

I’m Angie, and this has been the Veterinary Business Institute Podcast. Thank you.