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Cognitive and Composite Behavioural Welfare Assessments of Pet Cats between the Ages of 9-22 Months, Living in Single and Multi-Cat Households.

ABSTRACT: Although agonistic interactions between cats are often regarded clinically as a source of stress, there is currently limited research evidence regarding the welfare impact of keeping multiple cats as pets. The aim of this study was to compare welfare indicators between cats living in domestic single and multi-cat households, as well as between multi-cat households where agonistic behaviour was/was not reported by owners. Indicators included a spatial judgment bias task (JBT), where longer latencies to ambiguous probes are interpreted as being related to a more 'pessimistic' mood state, and the cat stress score (CSS), where high scores are indicative of high stress levels. Of 128 focal cats between the ages of 9-22 months, 94 were from multi-cat households, 126 had useable CSS data and 42 had JBT results suitable for analysis. CSSs were significantly lower for cats showing a more 'pessimistic' response in the JBT. It is possible that the cats that appeared to be the most relaxed may have been showing inactivity relating to negative affective states and/or were the least active/food motivated, and therefore slower in the JBT. CSSs were significantly higher in cats from single compared with multi-cat households, and did not vary with reports of agonistic interactions in multi-cat households. JBT results did not vary depending on the presence of, or reports of agonistic behaviours between, cohabiting cats. These data suggest that cats from single-cat households may be more likely to show signs of acute stress than those in multi-cat households. Alternative explanations are possible. For example, lower CSSs in the multi-cat group may reflect 'relief' effects resulting from separating cats for the test period, or inactivity relating to negative affective states. Due to the narrow sample population and broad scope of husbandry conditions, the potential for confounding variables limits the degree by which results can be used to inform causation of the relationships identified. Further research is warranted to replicate this work and explore potential confounders.

SUBMITTER: Ozgunay S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8234069 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:ObjectivesThe objective of this study was to collect information from cat owners about the frequency of conflict and affiliative signs in their households in order to: (1) assess correlations with the owners' ratings of household cat-cat harmony; and (2) determine if relationships exist between household variables, cat population variables and behavior frequencies.MethodsResponses to an online survey of adult residents of the USA who were the primary caregiver of 2-4 indoor or indoor-outdoor cats were included in the analysis. Spearman's correlations and χ2 tests were used to compare behavior frequencies with household and cat population variables.ResultsOf 2492 owners of multiple cats, 73.3% noted conflict signs from the very beginning when introducing the cats. The more cats in the house, the more frequent the conflict signs. Staring was the most frequently observed conflict sign, occurring at least daily in 44.9% of households, followed, in order of decreasing frequency, by chasing, stalking, fleeing, tail twitching, hissing and wailing/screaming. Hissing occurred at least daily in 18% of households. Affiliative signs were observed more frequently than conflict signs. Physical contact between cats was observed at least daily in around half of the multi-cat households. Higher harmony scores were correlated with less frequent conflict signs and more frequent affiliative signs. No household or cat population variable, including home size or numerically adequate resources provision, was strongly predictive of the frequency of conflict or affiliative signs.Conclusions and relevanceThis is the first large-scale online survey to obtain frequencies of conflict and affiliative behaviors and compare them with factors linked to the cats or the home settings. The study confirmed that feline relationships are correlated with the owner's perceived impression of the initial introduction, but other household factors and cat population variables included in the study were not strongly predictive of the frequency of conflict or affiliative signs.

Project description:BackgroundDomestic cats have evolved from solitary, asocial predators and whilst they may display social behaviours, they can still exist as solitary survivors. Over-population and relinquishment of pet cats are ubiquitous problems worldwide, and rehoming centres (also known as rescues/ shelters) aim to ameliorate this by holding cats in confinement for a variable period until a new home is found. The provision of optimal housing for large numbers of cats in close confinement, such as in rehoming centres, is therefore inherently difficult. Under these conditions there is the potential for individuals to develop signs of physical and psychological ill health, and thus experience compromised welfare. Available information regarding housing practices that maximise welfare currently provides conflicting results, and as a consequence there are no unanimous housing recommendations. The aim of this study was therefore to review the evidence on the impact of single housing compared to multi-cat housing on stress in confined cats, as measured by physiological and/or behavioural outcomes. The review was conducted using a Critically Appraised Topic (CAT) format. A systematic search of electronic databases (CAB Abstracts, Zoological Records and Medline) was carried out to identify peer-reviewed literature comparing single and multi-cat housing in confined environments.ResultsA total of 959 papers were initially identified, six of which met sufficient criteria based on their relevance to be included within this review. All of the studies had significant limitations in design and methodology, including a lack of information on how groups were assigned, inconsistent handling and enrichment provision between groups, and lack of information on the socialisation status of cats.ConclusionsWhilst some studies suggested that single housing may be less stressful for cats, others suggested group housing was less stressful. Several other important factors were however identified as potential mediators of stress within the different housing systems, and recommendations based upon these findings are presented.

Dataset Information

Cognitive and Composite Behavioural Welfare Assessments of Pet Cats between the Ages of 9-22 Months, Living in Single and Multi-Cat Households.

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