Breed differences of heritable behaviour traits in cats

Milla Salonen,Katriina Tiira,Katariina Vapalahti,Asko Mäki-Tanila,Hannes Lohi

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-44324-x

Milla Salonen, Katriina Tiira + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-44324-x

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Abstract

Cat domestication and selective breeding have resulted in tens of breeds with major morphological differences. These breeds may also show distinctive behaviour differences; which, however, have been poorly studied. To improve the understanding of feline behaviour, we examined whether behavioural differences exist among cat breeds and whether behaviour is heritable. For these aims, we utilized our extensive health and behaviour questionnaire directed to cat owners and collected a survey data of 5726 cats. Firstly, for studying breed differences, we utilized logistic regression models with multiple environmental factors and discovered behaviour differences in 19 breeds and breed groups in ten different behaviour traits. Secondly, the studied cat breeds grouped into four clusters, with the Turkish Van and Angora cats alone forming one of them. These findings indicate that cat breeds have diverged not only morphologically but also behaviourally. Thirdly, we estimated heritability in three breeds and obtained moderate heritability estimates in seven studied traits, varying from 0.4 to 0.53, as well as phenotypic and genetic correlations for several trait pairs. Our results show that it is possible to partition the observed variation in behaviour traits into genetic and environmental components, and that substantial genetic variation exists within breed populations.

Highlights

The domestication of the cat likely occurred 10 000 years ago in the Near East[1]
To examine whether cats show breed differences in behaviour, whether cat breeds can be grouped based on their behaviour, and whether cat behaviour is heritable, we used the data of 5726 home-living domestic cats in 40 breeds from our feline health and behaviour questionnaire[30]
We collected a large data with a survey directed to cat owners and conducted a breed-wise comparison of feline behaviour with over 5700 cats in 19 breeds and breed groups

Summary

Introduction

The domestication of the cat likely occurred 10 000 years ago in the Near East[1]. In recent years, selection through intentional breeding has resulted in tens of morphologically differing breeds. The personality of Ragdoll is described as relaxed, loving, and friendly[3], whereas Russian Blue cats are described as intelligent, playful, and reserved[4] These descriptions are usually based on owner and breeder notions and lack scientific basis. Marked breed differences have been discovered in, for example, aggression[17,18,19], social and non-social fear[17,19], playfulness and sociability[20], boldness[21], and compulsive behaviour[10,22]. Many similar morphological traits have been favoured around the world (for example, long hair, bright coloured eyes, short tail, “blue” coat, and white coat) and convergent evolution may lead to similar behaviour types in genetically distinct cat breeds. We used Bayesian methods on the behaviour data of three breeds with pedigree information and obtained the genetic and phenotypic correlations between the traits

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Conclusion