Abstract
This study investigated whether the behavior profiles of cats with inflammatory gastrointestinal or skin diseases differ from those of healthy cats. We identified adult cats within the patient database at the University of Pennsylvania's veterinary hospital that had been diagnosed with inflammatory gastrointestinal (n = 22) or skin disorders (17) and a control group of healthy cats (58). We collected data via owner completion of the Feline Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire from March to May 2023 and conducted an observational study comparing the Feline Behavioral Assessment & Research Questionnaire scores between groups. Cats with inflammatory gastrointestinal or skin disease exhibited more etepimeletic (care-soliciting) behaviors than healthy cats, including purring (U = 1,396.50, Z = 2.03, r = 0.21, 95% CI, 0.00 to 0.50), trainability (U = 1,303.50, Z = 2.33, r = 0.24, 95% CI, 0.00 to 1.00), and sociability to people (U = 367.50, Z = 2.21, r = 0.26, 95% CI, 0.00 to 1.57). The inflammatory group also exhibited more anxious behaviors than the healthy group, including compulsive grooming (U = 1,736.00, Z = 4.91, r = 0.50, 95% CI, 0.33 to 1.00) and fear of novelty (U = 603.00, Z = 2.14, r = 0.25, 95% CI, 0.00 to 1.00). Additionally, cats treated with corticosteroids exhibited more anxious behaviors than healthy and nonsteroid treatment groups, including separation behaviors (χ2[2] = 8.22, η2 = 0.08) and compulsive grooming (χ2[2] = 25.35, η2 = 0.25). Chronic inflammatory response is associated with increased etepimeletic and anxious behaviors in cats, and corticosteroid treatment is associated with anxious behaviors. These findings suggest that monitoring anxious and etepimeletic behaviors may be relevant when assessing inflammatory disease in cats.
Published Version
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