Cat Welfare Research Articles

Priorities on treatment and monitoring of diabetic cats from the owners' points of view.

The aims of this study were to evaluate: owners' perceptions and priorities on the treatment and monitoring of feline diabetes mellitus (DM); the perceived effectiveness of the communication between veterinarians and clients regarding disease management; and the impact DM has on the owners' everyday lives and human-pet bonds. An initial questionnaire, then an adapted second questionnaire, were available to owners of cats with DM on vetprofessionals.com . A total of 748 questionnaires were completed. At diagnosis, fewer than half of veterinarians discussed how to recognise unstable diabetes (46%) or home blood glucose monitoring (HBGM) (40%). Owners were disappointed that the importance of diet on diabetic remission/stabilisation and HBGM were not discussed. Only 49% of respondents were supervised by a veterinarian/veterinary nurse while first drawing up insulin and injecting their cat. Websites/online forums that owners found themselves were most useful when learning about their cat's diabetes (76% agreed). Over a third of cats (39%) were not fed a 'diabetic' diet but, impressively, 71% of owners used HBGM. Initial concerns about costs, boarding, the effect on their daily life and potential negative impact on the human-pet bond reduced significantly after initiating treatment (P <0.0001). Caring for a diabetic cat requires significant owner commitment, plus support by the veterinary team for the owner and their cat. It is difficult to discuss all aspects of this complex disease with the owner in a single consultation; hence, it is important to involve the entire veterinary team in owner education and provide owners with informative material (eg, useful websites, printouts). Understanding owners' priorities, fears, and which monitoring methods have helped others, is paramount to achieve owner compliance and satisfaction, and so improve the health and welfare of diabetic cats. This study provides useful information on the management of feline DM, which can be instrumental in educating future owners.

Coping Styles in the Domestic Cat (Felis silvestris catus) and Implications for Cat Welfare.

Simple SummaryIt is important for cat caretakers to understand individual differences in response to stress. Identifying coping styles in cats may lead to improved health and welfare outcomes. In this study, we collected information from cat guardians pertaining to personality traits then singly-housed each cat for three days to mimic admittance to a veterinary hospital or shelter. Behavior was recorded hourly and response to approach of a familiar and unfamiliar person was assessed at the end of day 3. We found individual differences in the behavioral responses of cats to the acute stress of cage confinement. Additionally, guardian-rated personality traits agreed with the response of the cats when confined to a cage, suggesting that domestic cats have different coping styles. Identifying individual differences in response to stressful events or environments may provide caretakers with important information leading to improved welfare.Identifying coping styles in cats may lead to improved health and welfare. The aims of this study were to (1) identify individual differences in response to acute confinement, and (2) to assess the predictability of guardian-rated personality traits on behavior. Adult cats (n = 55) were singly housed in enriched cages and behavioral observations were recorded for three days. On day 3, familiar and unfamiliar person approach tests were conducted. Fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) were quantified from voided samples. A questionnaire assessing personality traits and sickness behaviors was completed by each guardian. Analysis identified two clusters—cats in Cluster 1 (n = 22) were described as shy, calm, mellow, and timid; cats in Cluster 2 (n = 33) were described as active, playful, curious, and easygoing. Multilevel mixed-effects GLM revealed significant differences between the clusters including food intake (C1 > C2, p < 0.0001), affiliative/maintenance behaviors (C2 > C1, p < 0.0001), vocalization (C2 > C1, p < 0.0001), hide (C1 > C2, p < 0.0001), perch (C2 > C1, p < 0.0001), and latency to approach a familiar (C1 > C2, p < 0.0001) and unfamiliar (C1 > C2, p = 0.013) person. No statistically significant differences in FGM concentrations were identified (cluster p = 0.28; day p = 0.16, interaction p = 0.26). Guardian-rated personality traits agreed with the response of the cats when confined to a cage, suggesting that domestic cats have different coping styles. Identifying individual differences in response to stressful events or environments may provide caretakers with important information leading to improved welfare.

The implications of social living in cats

Feline social behaviour is frequently misunderstood by owners, which can lead to people not meeting the species-specific needs of their cats (Felis sylvestris catus). Despite the fact that cats are adaptable and can at times form social bonds with other cats, it should not be forgotten that cats are not obligate social animals and as a result, regularly suffer from chronic stress associated with close, often forced, proximity to other cats. Cats are predators, but are also, being relatively small, preyed upon and thus are adept at hiding signs of stress. Therefore, subtle signs of conflict with other cats, both within the same household and in the local neighbourhood, are easily and frequently missed by the cat's owner. Veterinary practices are ideally placed to provide education on cats' needs, improve cat welfare and, where necessary, to refer to a Clinical Animal Behaviourist registered with the Animal Behaviour and Training Council (ABTC).

Prioritizing cat‐owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation

Behavior prioritization is underutilized but critical to the success of conservation campaigns. It provides an understanding of the target audience's values, transcending conflict, and informing the design of achievable and effective advocacy campaigns. Depredation by domestic cats may depress wildlife populations, leading to conflict between cat owners and conservationists. We surveyed veterinarians and cat owners at veterinary clinics to prioritize a list of nine cat‐management behaviors. Cat‐owner behaviors were ranked by their (a) likelihood of implementation and (b) current adoption rate by cat owners, (c) perceived effectiveness at reducing predation on wildlife, and (d) veterinarians' opinions about their impact on cat welfare. Bringing cats in at night, from before dusk until after dawn, was revealed to be the behavior most suited to a campaign to reduce cats' hunting. Behaviors ranked as more effective for conservation (e.g., 24‐hr cat confinement) were unlikely to be adopted by cat owners or not supported by veterinarians, whose expert and normative support may be critical to a campaign. Although more conservation‐effective behaviors received a lower priority, we discuss the repeated use of behavior prioritization to achieve incremental reductions in cat depredation by engaging with cat owners.

A survey of feeding practices and use of food puzzles in owners of domestic cats.

Food puzzles may provide enrichment to domestic cats. The purpose of our survey was to determine: (1) how respondents fed their cat (type[s] of food, amount and mode of delivery); (2) how many people used food puzzles to provide food for their cats; and (3) owner attitudes about food puzzles. We conducted an online survey from January to April of 2018 to ask cat owners (n = 3192) questions related to their cat feeding practices and use of food puzzles. Most cat owners fed their cats dry food, with half of those owners offering it ad libitum. Thirty percent of participants offered food puzzles to their cats; another 18% had tried food puzzles but were no longer using them. The remaining participants had never used a food puzzle with their cat. Reasons for not using food puzzles included perceptions about the cat (eg, being too lazy), multiple pets in the home, pets fed different diets, health issues and feeding an exclusively wet food diet. Many participants did not know how to choose or introduce a food puzzle to their cat, and many non-users saw no need or benefit to their cat. This survey provided information about the feeding habits of cat owners and why they do and do not use food puzzles with their cats. Because of the scarcity of empirical evidence about the effects of food puzzles on pet cat welfare, more research is needed to determine the role of food puzzles as part of an overall enrichment plan.

Cat Colony Caretakers' Perceptions of Support and Opposition to TNR.

Trap, neuter and return (TNR) is a non-lethal approach to urban cat management used effectively internationally to decrease urban cat numbers, but deemed illegal in Australia. We investigated perceived support and opposition to TNR experienced by respondents involved in TNR activities, as individuals or through organizations. TNR was initiated to reduce cat numbers, as a humane way to manage community cats, and to improve cat welfare. Many respondents sought permission from local authorities, and all received verbal permission. Perceived attitudes of stakeholders, for example authorities and neighbors, were polarized, with some supporting it and others antagonistic and threatening legal action. Respondents generally managed the colony themselves or with assistance from friends or family, and half obtained aid from a cat welfare agency. Some respondents received cash or food from stakeholders, subsidies for desexing and education on trapping. Complaints were most common from neighbors, and less from those working and living nearby the colony. Resolution was attempted with varying success, by face-to-meetings with complainants, educational flyers, cat deterrents, or relocating cats. Supportive stakeholders had similar motives to the respondents for supporting TNR, namely to reduce cat populations and improve cat welfare. These findings are important because they demonstrate the difficulty faced by individuals and organizations undertaking TNR in Australia. Given the reported effectiveness of well-managed TNR programs, and the lack of other acceptable methods for managing urban stray cats at a city level, it is recommended that TNR be legalized in Australia in urban and periurban areas to facilitate its implementation.

Common feline problem behaviours: Unacceptable indoor elimination

One of the reasons why cats enjoy such a high level of popularity as domestic pets is the fact that they are clean. When there is a breakdown in this fastidious behaviour and elimination occurs outside of the litter box or tray, the strain on the cat-owner bond and on human relationships within the household can be considerable. Indoor elimination behaviour is one of the most common reasons for cat owners to seek professional advice and there is a wide range of articles, book chapters and research papers that reference it. In many cases the topic of urination and defecation in unacceptable indoor locations is considered in combination with the deposition of urine or faeces as a marker, but this review focuses purely on problematic elimination. An accompanying article in this special issue discusses urine spraying. Indoor elimination problems necessitate a clinical approach combining knowledge from the fields of physical and emotional health and an understanding of normal feline behaviour. They also require comprehensive history-taking skills as well as effective communication skills and a degree of empathy for owners who are often finding their pet's behaviour very distressing. Early diagnosis of physical health disorders that are associated with indoor elimination is extremely important in terms of safeguarding feline welfare. As we become more aware of the interplay between physical and emotional health, the significance of identifying suboptimal social and physical environments in terms of optimising the welfare of domestic cats is also being recognised. The potential for indoor elimination problems to cause considerable human distress highlights the importance of the concepts of One Health and One Welfare.

A Preliminary Description of Companion Cat, Managed Stray Cat, and Unmanaged Stray Cat Welfare in Auckland, New Zealand Using a 5-Component Assessment Scale.

Free-roaming cats are a polarizing issue in New Zealand and there is strong need for a comprehensive evaluation of their welfare to better inform population management decisions. In this study, a 5-component visual health-related welfare assessment scale was developed and piloted on a convenience sample of 213 free-roaming companion cats (CC), 210 managed stray cats (MS), and 253 unmanaged stray cats (UMS) from various locations in Auckland, New Zealand. The welfare assessment was performed through distance observation and consisted of body condition score (BCS); coat condition score; nose and eye discharge score; ear crusting score; and injury score. The majority of cats in all groups appeared generally healthy with no nose or eye discharge, ear crusting, or injuries. Although there were no appreciable differences in the apparent welfare of CC and MS cats, future studies with more robust sampling designs are needed to draw accurate inferences. The scale also requires further validation by comparing the visual observations against more detailed physical examination and biochemical data. Nonetheless, the results from this study provide preliminary information about assessing the health and welfare of stray cats as well as considerations for developing and implementing robust assessment scales.

Evaluation of Unowned Domestic Cat Management in the Urban Environment of Rome After 30 Years of Implementation of the No-Kill Policy (National and Regional Laws).

Law no. 281, enacted by the Italian Parliament in 1991, was the first that aimed at managing urban free-roaming cats living in colonies, without killing and/or moving them from their site. It had been anticipated by the Lazio Regional Law no. 63/1988 and subsequently refined by the Lazio Regional Law no. 34/1997. These laws introduced: (i) the cats' right to live free and safe; (ii) the compulsory neutering of cats by the Veterinary Services of the Local Health Unit; (iii) the institutionalization of cat caretakers. Within this context, this paper intends to evaluate the effects of the application of the Italian laws on management of urban free-roaming cats for the years 1988 to 2018. To this end, some indicators have been built and applied to our activity data: number of censused colonies and number of cats; number of stable colonies due to neutering; number of hygiene and sanitary notifications; number of notifications to check cat welfare; number of bites by unowned free-roaming cats; number of notifications of cat poisoning. The number of citizens' requests for institutional interventions by public veterinary services in cat colonies management and, accordingly, the detection of cat colonies yet unknown, seem to confirm the interest of people to control the cat colonies in Rome in a humanitarian way, as evidenced in our data. This fact/phenomenon should be analyzed in its multiple dimensions, also including the many changes and social unrests which have affected the human-cat relationship in the last 30 years.

Attitudes of veterinarians and veterinary students to recommendations on how to improve dog and cat welfare in veterinary practice

The veterinary profession is an ambassador for the welfare of animals, but the visit to a veterinary practice is in itself stressful for many animals. A multitude of recommendations how to reduce stress during a visit to the veterinarian is available, but they are often not implemented in practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to survey veterinarians and veterinary students regarding their attitudes toward recommendations to improve cat and dog welfare in veterinary practice. We conducted 2 similar online surveys asking veterinarians and veterinary students to rate 20 statements about pet-friendly handling and practice environment and other measures to improve animal welfare on a scale ranging from 1 to 6 regarding their importance for animal welfare and their feasibility in practice. Single items were averaged to overall importance and feasibility scores. These scores and single items were compared between veterinarians and veterinary students using Mann-Whitney U tests. In general, the rating of importance was high and the overall score did not differ between veterinarians (N = 342) and veterinary students (N = 258) after correction for multiple testing (mean ± SD: 5 ± 0.63 vs. 4.93 ± 0.51, P = 0.046). The recommendations rated as most important were “dog ward: possibility to urinate/defecate at least 3 times a day,” “separate cats from dogs during hospitalization,” and “cat ward: provide hiding possibility.” Regarding feasibility, veterinarians had higher overall scores than students (4.82 ± 0.65 vs. 4.62 ± 0.48, P < 0.001). The rating of 9 single items was higher than that of veterinary students (P ≤ 0.001). Higher feasibility ratings in students were only found for the items “Advise owner on how to reduce stress during transport,” “use muzzle training with dogs and advise owner on how to do it,” and “report animal abuse to the authorities.” The items “separate cats from dogs in the waiting room” (3.63 ± 1.54), “exam table: let cats exit carrier on their own” (4.31 ± 1.42), “separate cats from dogs during hospitalization” (4.41 ± 1.67) received the lowest feasibility ratings by veterinarians. In conclusion, the greatest barriers for the implementation of recommendations aiming to increase animal welfare in veterinary practice seem to be related to constructional aspects or perceived time constraints. Furthermore, veterinarians might have experienced low compliance of owners to their advice and might find reporting of suspected abuse cases challenging.

Hunting behaviour in domestic cats: An exploratory study of risk and responsibility among cat owners

Abstract The potential impact of domestic cats on wildlife is the subject of growing international interest and concern. While feral cats are often the primary focus of research and debate, in many societies a substantial proportion of domestic cats are owned by private individuals. We present a typology that classifies domestic cats in relation to varying degrees of human control over their reproduction, movement, and provisioning. Understanding the perceptions and practices of cat owners will be key to identifying and mitigating any negative ecological effects of cat hunting behaviour. To investigate how cat owners perceive (a) their pets’ hunting behaviour, (b) their responsibilities for managing this, and (c) the mitigation strategies available, we conducted detailed interviews with a diverse sample of cat owners in the United Kingdom. We identified a spectrum of views on hunting behaviour, from owners who perceived hunting as positive (for pest control, or as healthy cat behaviour) to those who were deeply concerned about its consequences for wild animals, their populations, and welfare. However, hunting was widely understood as a normal, natural component of cat behaviour, and owners rarely perceived a strong individual responsibility for preventing or reducing it. Those who did wish to manage hunting perceived several barriers to this, including concern that they were unable to control behaviour effectively without compromising cat welfare, doubt about the efficacy and practicality of popular mitigation measures, and unfamiliarity with alternative options. We recommend that (a) initiatives directed at changing cat owners’ behaviour consider the multiple factors and competing priorities that inform their decision‐making (particularly cat health and welfare and practicality or cost of interventions); (b) researchers work collaboratively with cat owners and veterinary, cat welfare, and conservation organizations to identify effective solutions, and (c) some degree of accountability for managing problematic hunting behaviour should be promoted as a part of “responsible pet ownership” initiatives. A plain language summary is available for this article.

Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus

BackgroundCats are the most popular pets in the UK, yet relatively little research has been conducted into the welfare of cats living in a home environment. The purpose of this...

Welfare of feral cats and potential influencing factors

The aim of the study was to investigate the habitat, characteristics, and the health status of cat colonies under supervision of a trap-neuter-return program, the distance of the cats maintained with respect to their caregivers as a measure of the animals’ fear of or confidence in humans, and relationships between these factors with regard to animal welfare. Thirteen managed cat colonies in different urban habitats were visited twice (1st and 2nd visit) by a team of two observers. The assessment of health and other welfare parameters was based on direct observation at the feeding sites, caregiver inquiry, and photo analysis. Potential associations between the parameters were analyzed at an individual level (e.g., injuries related to sex and neuter status) or at group level (e.g., percentage of animals with impaired health). Interobserver reliability was high for all indicators. Most cats were in a good state of health, and most were already neutered. The lower the percentage of clean feeding places, the higher was the percentage of thin animals (1st/2nd visit: rs = −0.72/−0.58, P = 0.01/0.04) and the percentage of cats showing apathetic behavior (1st/2nd visit: rs = −0.54/−0.58, P = 0.06/0.04). The larger the group size, the higher was the percentage of cats with hair coat deviations (1st/2nd visit: rs = −0.73/−0.79, P = 0.01/<0.01). There were also some associations between sex/neuter status and health. Intact males were most likely to be injured, whereas no injuries were observed in females. The results suggest that feeding site characteristics, such as group size and cleanliness of feeding places, as well as sex and neuter status can have an impact on the health status and thus welfare of colony cats. If caregivers offered diluted milk or treats, a higher percentage of cats approached to close proximity (1st/2nd visit: diluted milk: P = 0.02/0.01; treats: P = 0.04/0.04). The offering of treats likely strengthened the animal-human relationship. Indicators such as the percentage of very thin animals, cats showing altered, apathetic behavior, cats with hair coat deviations, injuries, as well as the percentage of animals approaching within close proximity to their caregiver seem to be useful indicators for the welfare surveillance of cats in managed colonies in terms of validity, because we found associations with environmental factors, the care provided to the cats, or cat colony characteristics.

Free-Roaming Cat (Felis Catus) Management and Welfare Policies in Two University Campuses in Beirut, Lebanon: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Opportunities

ABSTRACTLittle information has been reported about the welfare and management of free-roaming animals in Middle Eastern countries. Here we describe a case study of free-roaming cat (Felis catus) management policies in two universities in Beirut, Lebanon whereby cats are immensely valued for their presence and the benefits they bring to students and employees. Guided by concern for animal welfare, the innovative, humane approaches by the universities include arranging adoptions, discouraging pet abandonment, food provision, health monitoring, nurturing a social responsibility consciousness among young people, formal endorsement of animal rights and humane treatment in student conduct expectations, sterilization, and veterinary care. The policies serve as blueprint for universities and other institutions across the globe to adopt proactive approaches to free-roaming cat management as well take responsibility for the welfare of all animals on campus (rather than only for ethical conduct in use of animals in scientific research). They also inspire students, as the next generation, to safeguard animals and the environment.

Integrating Trap-Neuter-Return Campaigns Into a Social Framework: Developing Long-Term Positive Behavior Change Toward Unowned Cats in Urban Areas.

Cat management is often discussed in terms of population reduction, with trap-neuter-return (TNR) campaigns commonly organized to manage unowned urban cat populations. However, long-term effectiveness is only possible if positive neutering practices are continued by local residents. Here we discuss how implementing TNR within a wider framework of social engagement has the potential to tackle cat overpopulation and instill long-term positive behavior change toward them. We demonstrate how community engagement pre-TNR can help establish a baseline of the attitudes, knowledge and behavior concerning cats. Using a case study, we explore whether this information can be linked with positive intended behavior based on intentions to arrange for neutering of unowned cats. Structural equation modeling indicated that negative attitudes toward cats and reduced knowledge around neutering reduced the likelihood of positive intended behavior. This result was underpinned by the indirect effects of perceptions of unowned cats and reduced understanding of their needs. Utilizing these results alongside an understanding of the values and motivation of the community allows for tailored and targeted education and intervention. In turn, this addresses the underlying knowledge gaps and perceptions regarding cat welfare. This framework can help address the challenge of cat management because it: (1) takes an integrative approach to identifying the motivations of communities to take responsibility for unowned cats; (2) changes the structure of the social environment, encouraging positive neutering practices for unowned cats. In turn this improves the impact and longevity of TNR campaigns whilst promoting positive welfare change for unowned and owned cats; and (3) appreciates that opinions are likely to vary hugely between areas, therefore providing an adaptable community level approach.

Testing two behavioural paradigms for measuring post-handling cat aversion behaviour

Owned, shelter, and laboratory cats undergo handling and restraint throughout their lifetime for routine health examinations and necessary procedures. Many cats display fear and aggressive behaviour during health examinations, and there is potential for these behaviours to result in incomplete examination, and inadequate diagnosis and treatment, which are cat welfare concerns. Given the lack of validated methods to assess cat responses to restraint, the current study aimed to validate two behavioural paradigms: 1) a Handler Aversion Test, and 2) a Conditioned Place Aversion (CPA) test, to assess aversion response differences between passive restraint (the control) and full-body restraint (known to be negative). Cats were initially assessed as either friendly or unfriendly during interactions with a stranger, and this was included as a covariate in analyses. During the Handler Aversion Test, cats were restrained with the passive (n = 20) or full-body (n = 18) restraint, and aversion was assessed by measuring cat latency to approach the handler. CPA testing was carried out separately in laboratory (n = 10) and shelter (n = 42) cats using an apparatus made up of two visually-distinct compartments: cats were handled with passive restraint on one side, and full-body restraint on the other side, with handling methods counter-balanced between compartments. After handling, cats were placed into the apparatus and dwelling time was assessed for each compartment. For the Handler Aversion Test, only 38 out of 51 cats could be trained to walk the required runway, and latency to approach the handler was not significantly different between treatments (P > 0.1). During CPA testing, laboratory cats and friendly shelter cats showed aversion towards the full-body restraint compartment, spending most of their time in the passive compartment (P = 0.043, P = 0.035, respectively); a result not seen in unfriendly shelter cats. The current results suggest that, as assessed in the current study, the CPA test is more sensitive than the Handler Aversion Test for detecting differences in cat aversion responses between a known negative and control restraint technique.

The socio-cognitive relationship between cats and humans – Companion cats (Felis catus) as their owners see them

Although domestic cats are among the most common companion animals, we still know very little about the details of the cat-human relationship. With a questionnaire, we asked 157 Hungarian cat owners about their pet’s behavior, cognitive abilities and social interactions. We analyzed the responses with PCA resulting in 11 traits. The effect of cats’ and owners’ demographic variables on the main components was further analyzed with GLM. The results showed strong similarity to the surveys performed with companion dogs, but we also found features that were mainly cat-specific. We found that women considered their cats to be more communicative and empathetic, than men did (p = 0.000). The higher education owners also considered their cat as being more communicative and empathetic (p = 0.000). We also found that owners use pointing signals more often if the cat is their only pet (p = 0.000), and otherwise they do not give verbal commands often to the cat (P = 0.001). Young owners imitated cat vocalization more often (p = 0.006); while emotional matching of the cat was more commonly reported by elderly owners (p = 0.001). The more an owner initiated playing with his/her cat, the imitation of cat vocalizations was also more common in his/her case (p = 0.001). Owners think that their cat shows stronger emotional matching if otherwise they experience human-like communicative capacity from the cat (p = 0.000). Owners use more pointing signals in the case of those cats that show attention-eliciting signals in more than one modality (p = 0.000). Owners who react to the meows of unfamiliar cats, initiated interactions more often with their own cats (p = 0.000). Owners also think that cats vocalize in every possible context, and this result was not affected significantly by any of the independent factors. Our results show that owners considered their cat as a family member, and they attributed well developed socio-cognitive skills to them. Because cats have an important role as a companion animal, it would be worthy to study cat behavior with similar thoroughness as with dogs. Our questionnaire may provide a good starting point for the empirical research of cat-human communication. The deeper understanding of cats’ socio-cognitive abilities may also help to improve cat welfare.

Shelter housing for cats: Principles of design for health, welfare and rehoming.

This review, the first in a two-part series, discusses practical aspects of housing and shelter design for the health, welfare and adoption of shelter cats. Evidence base: There is a relatively small body of empirical evidence to inform shelter design recommendations. The recommendations in this article are based on a careful review of the available evidence, some of which has come from allied fields such as the care of experimental animals. Where evidence is not yet available, recommendations have been based on field experience and collective expert opinion.

Association of neutering with health and welfare of urban free-roaming cat population in Israel, during 2012-2014

'Trap-Neutering by gonadectomy-Return' (TNR) is currently becoming an accepted method for managing free-roaming cat (FRC) populations, especially in human habitation. However, data regarding its impact on cat welfare are limited. In order to determine the demographic risk factors for FRC morbidity, we followed FRC populations in the city of Rishon LeZion during 2012–2014. Their age status (kitten/adult), contraceptive status (neutered/intact), sex, body-condition-scoring (BCS 1-5/5; 1= emaciation, 5= obesity), skin lesions, and external signs of disabilities and injuries were recorded and analyzed. We fitted a mixed effects generalized linear model to each cat-condition. Overall, 4615 cat-observations were recorded, of which 692 were kittens, 2365 neutered adults and 1445 intact adults. In comparison to intact adults, kittens had a significantly higher prevalence of emaciation (BCS 1; OR of 4.61, CI95% 2.67–7.6, p < 0.001) and severe disability or injury (OR of 3.65, CI95% 1.44–9.25, p = 0.006). Among adult cats, neutered cats had higher prevalence of obesity (BCS 5; OR 30.6, CI95% 10.06–93.09, p < 0.001), lower prevalence of skin lesions (OR of 0.51, CI95% 0.3-0.86, p = 0.011), and close to significant lower prevalence of severe disability or injury (OR of 0.4, CI95% 0.15–1.07, p = 0.068). However, these neutered adults also had a higher prevalence of permanent disability (e.g. anophthalmia, tail or limb absence) (OR of 1.67, CI95% 1.12–2.49, p = 0.012). A higher ratio of neutered FRCs in the geographical surroundings was correlated with a reduced prevalence of emaciated (BCS 1; OR of 0.85 for the increase of 10% in proportion of neutered cats, CI95% 0.74-0.97, p = 0.020) and thin adult cats (BCS 2; OR of 0.94 for the increase of 10% in proportion of neutered cats, CI95% 0.90-0.98, p = 0.010), among both neutered and intact cats. The results suggest that neutering has a favorable effect on FRC health. Such effect can be due to both a direct influence on the neutered cats themselves, as well as to an indirect effect on the general cat population (intact and neutered cats) by reducing competitive behavior of the neutered cats, which may enable other cats to gain additional access to vital resources. A higher prevalence of permanent disability found among the neutered FRCs does not necessarily represent a higher risk of injury but can rather be attributed to their potentially prolonged lifespan.

A comparative study analysing two pain score scales pre and post operatively on felines undergoing surgery for ovariohysterectomy

Background: Over time, the implementation and utilisation of pain scoring has increased in veterinary practice and is now regularly performed on cats, dogs and rabbits helping to increase welfare standards. There are a number of different types of pain scales including the visual analogue scale (VAS), the dynamic interactive visual analogues scale (DIVAS) as well as simple descriptive scale (SDS). Aim: The Colorado State University feline acute pain scale (DIVAS) and the Vetergesic composite pain scale for cats (SDS) are two pain scoring models which use a different method in order to assess pain levels in feline patients. This blind study aimed to compare the use of each pain scale model pre and post operatively on feline patients undergoing surgery for ovariohysterectomy, to ascertain if either pain score model posed any benefit over the other in terms of its accuracy. Methods: A total of 14 female cats participated and were randomly assigned a group. In order to compare the results the scales were converted into comparable numerical values as each model used a different scale; the scales were compared using the statistical software package ‘Minitab’. Results: The results were not statistically significant (Man Whitney U test p value of &gt;0.05) suggesting that both pain score models used within this study in felines patients undergoing ovariohysterectomy can be relied on to give an accurate reflection of the cat's pain level and are therefore beneficial to the cat's welfare.