Abstract
Behavioral problems are very important because they are one of the most common reasons for the relinquishment of cats. In this study, the frequency of behavioral problems in 167 cats attending Small Animal Hospital, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tehran, was evaluated with the use of a questionnaire. Interaction with other animals and people, outdoor access, breed, and sex of the cats were evaluated for association with the occurrence of the behavioral problems. Aggression towards people and other cats, Elimination problems, Scratching objects, Fearfulness, Attention seeking, Excessive grooming, Chasing small animals, Hiding, Vocalization in owner's absence, Obsessive behaviors and Eating fiber material were the behavioral problems evaluated in this study. Results showed that 94.6% of the cats were reported to have at least one behavioral problem with the mean number of behavioral problems for one cat being 2.71. Fearfulness, attention seeking, Aggression towards other cats/people, scratching, and Elimination problems were the most prevalent behavioral complaints reported by cats owners respectively whereas; obsessive behaviors were the least common behavioral complaints.Data analysis revealed that inappropriate elimination is significantly more common in cats with outdoor access while interaction with other cats and people showed an association with scratching in cats. Intact female cats tended to seek less attention from their owners than their other counterparts. Breed assessment, on the other hand, showed that Persian cats are reported to have more elimination problems and less aggression problems towards people than DSH cats.
Highlights
Cats has increased in number and even surpassed the number of dogs in some countries [1, 2, 3]
Behavioral problem by definition is any behavior shown by an animal that is unacceptable to the owner
From June 2008 to June 2009, owners who had referred their cats to the small animal hospital, University of Tehran for routine checkups, were interviewed and completed a questionnaire. 167 cats were included in the study
Summary
Cats has increased in number and even surpassed the number of dogs in some countries [1, 2, 3]. Behavioral problem by definition is any behavior shown by an animal (in this context a cat) that is unacceptable to the owner. It includes behaviors such as marking that are normal feline behaviors, yet, in domestic environment, they become undesirable [6]. Behavioral problems are very important because they are one of the most common reasons for the relinquishment of cats [8]. Among all behavioral problems aggression, scratching and inappropriate elimination have been the most common behavioral problems in cats, and have been associated with their relinquishment to shelters [11, 12]
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