Pilot study to investigate whether a feline pheromone analogue reduces anxiety-related behavior during clinical examination of cats in a rescue shelter

Abstract

s 33 PILOT STUDY TO INVESTIGATE WHETHER A FELINE PHEROMONE ANALOGUE REDUCES ANXIETY-RELATED BEHAVIOR DURING CLINICAL EXAMINATION OF CATS IN A RESCUE SHELTER G. Patel*, S. Heath, K. Coyne, A.C. German Department of Clinical Veterinary Sciences, University of Liverpool, UK Behavioural Referrals Veterinary Practice, Chester, UK *Corresponding author: gemmapatel@hotmail.com Minimizing stress in cats in a shelter environment has many benefits, including improved welfare, minimizing disease recrudescence and transmission, and reducing the time-torehoming interval. Cats are most stressed on admission to the facility, when the environment is novel. This study investigated the effect of a synthetic feline facial pheromone (F4, Felifriend, Ceva Sante Animale, France) on anxiety-related behavior during clinical examinations at a feline rescue shelter (National Cat Centre, NCC, Cats Protection, UK). The F4 pheromone is shown to: reduce the probability of aggressive behavior (Pageat and Gaultier, 2003), make intraand inter-specific interactions easier (Pageat and Tessier, 1997a), reduce the restraint required to perform clinical examinations (Bonnafous et al., 2005), and reduce the restraint required in cats with phobias (Pageat and Tessier, 1997b). The study was a blinded, placebo-controlled trial using Felifriend (CEVA) or a placebo carrier base without F4 (CEVA). 58 cats admitted to the NCC over a 4 week period were randomly allocated to two groups; one group was exposed to solution 1 (n 5 33), the placebo carrier base, and one group was exposed to solution 2 (n 5 31), the F4 solution Felifriend (CEVA). The solutions were applied to gloved hands prior to handling cats, according to the manufacturer’s recommendations. An independent monitor observed the cats at two points: a preliminary examination and a later veterinary examination within the first week. Behavior was scored on a seven point scale based on a published cat stress score (CSS) (Kessler and Turner, 1997). All additional human-cat interactions, in between the preliminary and veterinary examination were accompanied with the appropriate solution allocated by the treatment group. Feral cats were excluded from the study due to risk of conflict leading to aggression on exposure to F4 in the presence of a learned threat. Comparisons were made between the solutions at both examinations. Comparisons were also made between the two examinations for both solutions. Extensive information about each cat’s history was collected upon arrival, including information on the previous home, owners, reason for rehoming and travel time to the rescue centre. In the placebo group (n 5 33), there were 17 females, 15 males, and 1 unknown sex, ranging from ages 1 week to 14 years old. The F4 solution group (n 5 31) had 10 females, and 21 males, with an age range of 12 weeks to 14 years. The Anderson-Darling normality test showed that the data was not normally distributed, and so the average CSS were log transformed to provide a more normalized distribution. A significant difference was observed in anxiety-related behavior (mean CSS 3.7 vs. 3.2) between the placebo solution and Felifriend (CEVA) during the preliminary examination (one way ANOVA, p 5 0.028). There were no significant differences in CSS between the solutions during the veterinary examination, or when the examinations were compared for both solutions. No further relationship was found between the other data collected and the CSS. Felifriend (CEVA) was associated with reduced anxietyrelated behavior during preliminary examination in a novel shelter environment; usage may improve feline welfare in the initial acclimatization period.