Filling the Ark: Animal Welfare in Disasters

ABSTRACT

Populations of feral domestic cats and free-roaming, owned cats have increased throughout the United States, affecting wildlife and public health and warranting attention from a variety of management agencies. The contentious issue of feral cat management requires a greater understanding of public attitudes towards cats and preferences. We used an anonymous internet survey of randomly selected Athens-Clarke County, Georgia households to identify general public perceptions of domestic cats and preferences for cat management. We examined factors that may influence attitudes towards cats, and management including: knowledge about cats, experiences with cats and demographic variables. Results indicate that more residents have positive experiences with feral cats than negative, cat owners have greater knowledge of cats than non-cat owners, and animal welfare or conservation organization membership has a significant effect on attitudes towards cats. A majority of survey respondents agreed that more effective feral cat management is needed yet did not approve of trap-neuter-release (TNR) legislation recently passed in Athens-Clarke County. Logistic regression revealed that residents' attitudes were found to be more important than experiences or knowledge in supporting cat management legislation. Cat sanctuaries were found to be the most acceptable option to reduce feral cat populations (56%), followed by TNR (49%) and capturing and euthanizing cats (44%).     

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Cat Care and Needs Scale (CCANS)

The objective of this study was to develop a brief scale, primarily intended for research applications, that measures how well people report meeting the welfare needs of their pet cats. The practice of keeping cats as a companion animal has increased, and despite their popularity, many cats suffer from poor welfare and behavioral problems. The failure to meet their welfare needs and provide for natural behaviors impacts their quality of life and may affect cats’ retention in adoptive homes. We present three studies in which we developed, piloted, and psychometrically evaluated the Cat Care and Needs Scale (CCANS) by surveying cat guardians, examining their selfreported care-taking habits and interactions in regards to a pet cat. The final study (n = 1,591) resulted in a 15-item scale which shows high reliability, with application of item response theory indicating that individual items were all suitable for inclusion. Diverse evidence, including a factor analysis, parallel analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis, supports that the scale is unidimensional. The CCANS is scalable and allows for correlational comparisons with other scales which measure any variable of interest in research exploring human–companion animal relationships or cat welfare. We propose that the CCANS scale is a step forward in measuring how well pet owners understand and meet their cats’ behavioral, welfare, and basic care needs.     

Biopsychosocial Factors and Cognitive Function in Cat Ownership and Attachment in Community-dwelling Older Adults

ABSTRACT

Few studies consider the health benefits of pet ownership from a biopsychosocial perspective, and a paucity of studies investigate cat ownership. The current study was designed to determine if psychosocial factors (stress, loneliness, and depression), biological levels of stress and inflammation (salivary cortisol, interleukin-1β, and C-reactive protein [CRP]), and cognitive function were associated with companion cat ownership/attachment in community-dwelling older adults. Community-dwelling older adults (n = 96, mean age = 76.6 years) who either owned a cat and no dog (n = 41) or owned neither a cat nor a dog (n = 55) completed questionnaires (Perceived Stress Scale, Revised–UCLA Loneliness Scale, Geriatric Depression Scale-Short Form, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, and Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale) and provided saliva specimens which were assayed for stress and inflammatory biomarkers. The majority of participants screened positive for mild cognitive impairment, reported low levels of stress, loneliness, and depression, and the biomarkers reflected fairly low levels of stress and inflammation. Binary logistic regression analysis revealed that psychosocial factors, salivary biomarkers, and cognitive function were not significantly associated with cat ownership. Age was the only significant predictor of cat ownership (OR = 0.92, p < 0.01) with the odds of cat ownership decreasing by 8.3% per year of advancing age. On average, cat owners were “somewhat attached” to their cats; however, 26% were “strongly attached” to their cats. Correlation analyses revealed the level of attachment to cats was not associated with study outcomes. These results show that cat ownership declined with each advancing year, which lessens the opportunity for older adults to form attachment bonds. The level of pet attachment supports the consideration of cats as a source of an attachment relationship for older adults, including those with cognitive impairment.     

Spouses and cats and their effects on human mood

Abstract

Previous data indicated that cats influence the moods of singly living people only by decreasing negative moods, while not affecting positive moods. In this study, we asked if such an effect can be 1) replicated, 2) is comparable to the effect of a human partner, and 3) related to the owner's attachment towards the cat. Two hundred and twelve couples with cats, 31 couples without cats, singly living people with cats (47 women, 45 men) and singly living people without cats (43 women, 9 men) volunteered to participate. We used a list of adjectives (the “EWL”-Questionnaire) to assess their mood, which they responded to on an evening of their choice. The Lexington Attachment to Pets Scale (LAPS) was additionally completed by the cat owners. Selected adjectives were reduced by factor analyses and labeled bad mood, activity, good mood, and seclusion, according to the highest loadings of mood items within each factor. Each mood factor was explained by cat ownership, presence or absence of a partner, and the person's sex. Further, sex, partner status and attachment towards cats explained moods amongst the cat owners. Only the partner, but not the cat, enhanced positive moods. Cats alleviated negative moods, and this effect was comparable to the effect of a human partner. This compensatory effect of cat ownership on negative moods was not comparable to a similar effect of degree of attachment towards the cat on human mood. Possible reasons for the unidirectional effect of cats on human mood are discussed.     

Differences between vocalization evoked by social stimuli in feral cats and house cats

To investigate how socialization can affect the types and characteristics of vocalization produced by cats, feral cats (n = 25) and house cats (n = 13) were used as subjects, allowing a comparison between cats socialized to people and non-socialized cats. To record vocalization and assess the cats’ responses to behavioural stimuli, five test situations were used: approach by a familiar caretaker, by a threatening stranger, by a large doll, by a stranger with a dog and by a stranger with a cat.Feral cats showed extremely aggressive and defensive behaviour in most test situations, and produced higher call rates than those of house cats in the test situations, which could be attributed to less socialization to other animals and to more sensitivity to fearful situations. Differences were observed in the acoustic parameters of feral cats in comparison to those of house cats. The feral cat produced significantly higher frequency in fundamental frequency, peak frequency, 1st quartile frequency, 3rd quartile frequency of growls and hisses in agonistic test situations. In contrast to the growls and hisses, in meow, all acoustic parameters like fundamental frequency, first formant, peak frequency, 1st quartile frequency, and 3rd quartile frequency of house cats were of significantly higher frequency than those of feral cats. Also, house cats produced calls of significantly shorter in duration than feral cats in agonistic test situations.These results support the conclusion that a lack of socialization may affect usage of types of vocalizations, and the vocal characteristics, so that the proper socialization of cat may be essential to be a suitable companion house cat.     

Impact of predation by domestic cats Felis catus in an urban area

• 1 As companion animals, domestic cats Felis catus can attain very high densities, and have the potential to exert detrimental effects on prey species. Yet, there is a paucity of information on the impact of cat predation in urban areas, where most cats are likely to be present.
• 2 We quantified the minimum number of animals killed annually by cats in a 4.2-km² area of Bristol, UK, by asking owners to record prey animals returned home by their pets. The potential impact of cat predation on prey species was estimated by comparing the number of animals killed with published estimates of prey density and annual productivity.
• 3 Predator density was 229 cats/km².
• 4 Five mammal, 10 bird and one amphibian prey species were recorded. Mean predation rate was 21 prey/cat/annum. The most commonly recorded prey species was the wood mouse Apodemus sylvaticus.
• 5 Predation on birds was greatest in spring and summer, and probably reflected the killing of juvenile individuals. For three prey species (house sparrow Passer domesticus, dunnock Prunella modularis, robin Erithacus rubecula), estimated predation rates were high relative to annual productivity, such that predation by cats may have created a dispersal sink for juveniles from more productive neighbouring areas. The impact of cats on these species therefore warrants further investigation.

     

Cross-Sectional Study of Characteristics of Owners and Nonowners Surrendering Cats to Four Australian Animal Shelters

Unwanted cats surrendered to nonhuman animal shelters are generally categorized as either “owned” or “stray.” This classification is misleading because “stray” cats may include many “semiowned” cats, for which people provide care but who are not perceived as being owned. This differentiation is important because effective strategies designed to reduce cat admissions to, and euthanasia rates in, shelters rely on accurate information about cat populations contributing to shelter intake; cat semiowners will likely respond to different strategies than people with no relationship with the cats they surrender. People surrendering cats to four Australian animal shelters were surveyed to identify factors associated with perception of ownership. Many self-classified nonowners had fed the cats they surrendered, often for a considerable period of time. The factor most strongly associated with ownership perception was an increasing association time with the cat. These findings confirm that enduring relationships between surrenderers and cats, consistent with cat semiownership, are common for cats surrendered to Australian animal shelters. This finding should be taken into account when planning education messages and cat population management strategies aimed at reducing cat admissions.     

Human Perceptions of Coat Color as an Indicator of Domestic Cat Personality

ABSTRACT

Associations between mammalian coat color and behavior have been investigated in a number of species, most notably the study of silver foxes by the Institute of Cytology and Genetics at the Russian Academy of Sciences. However, the few studies conducted regarding a potential relation between coat color and domestic cat personality have shown mixed results, even though many people believe that differently colored cats have distinct personalities. Understanding how humans might perceive personality in relation to coat color may have important ramifications regarding whether cats are relinquished to shelters or adopted from them. In order to assess human perceptions of differently colored cats, we conducted an anonymous, online survey, using a 7-point Likert scale and 10 terms describing personality traits that were chosen based on previous studies of animal personality. This survey examined how people assigned these given terms (active, aloof, bold, calm, friendly, intolerant, shy, stubborn, tolerant, and trainable) to five different colors of cats (orange, tricolored, white, black, and bi-colored). There were significant differences in how participants in this study chose to assign personality terms to differently colored cats. For example, participants (n = 189) were more likely to attribute the trait “friendliness” to orange cats, “intolerance” to tri-colored cats, and “aloofness” to white and tri-colored cats. No significant differences were found for “stubbornness” in any colors of cats. White cats were seen as less bold and active and more shy and calm than other colors of cats. While survey respondents stated that they placed more importance on personality than color when selecting a companion cat, there is some evidence that they believe the two qualities are linked. We anticipate our findings will be relevant to further study in domestic cat personality and to those who work in animal rescue, particularly in how shelters promote differently colored cats and educate potential adopters.     

Empathy and attitudes to animals

Abstract

There is increasing support for the idea that human attitudes to animals may be indicative of human–human empathy. This has implications for the treatment of empathy deficits and related anti-social behaviors. The purpose of the present study was to explicitly investigate links between human–human empathy and attitudes to animals. The Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and Animal Attitude Scale (AAS) were administered to 194 undergraduate Sociology and Psychology students. A significant correlation between empathy levels, gender, companion animal ownership and attitudes to animals was found. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Personality Profiles of Users Sharing Animal-related Content on Social Media

Animal preferences are thought to be linked with more salient psychological traits of people, and most research examining owner personality as a differentiating factor has obtained mixed results. The rise in usage of social networks offers users a new medium in which they can broadcast their preferences and activities, including about animals. In two studies, the first on Facebook status updates and the second on images shared on Twitter, we revisited the link between Big Five personality traits and animal preference, specifically focusing on cats and dogs. We used automatic content analysis of text and images to unobtrusively measure preference for animals online using large datasets. In study 1, a dataset of Facebook status updates (n?=?72,559) were analyzed and it was found that those who mentioned ownership of a cat (by using the phrase “my cat” (n?=?5,053)) in their status updates were more open to experience, introverted, neurotic, and less conscientious when compared with the general population. Users mentioning ownership of a dog (by using “my dog” (n?=?8,045)) were only less conscientious compared with the rest of the population. In study 2, a dataset of Twitter images was analyzed and revealed that users who featured either cat (n?=?1,036) or dog (n?=?1,499) images in their tweets were more neurotic, less conscientious, and less agreeable than those who did not. In addition, posting images containing cats was specific to users higher in openness, while posting images featuring dogs was associated with users higher in extraversion. These findings taken together align with some previous findings on the relationship between owner personality and animal preference, additionally highlighting some social media-specific behaviors.     

Urban Cats: Their Demography,Population Density,and Owner Characteristics in Baltimore,Maryland

Abstract

A door-to-door questionnaire survey of 430 households in two areas of Baltimore showed significant differences in cat ownership that were attributable to racial composition. Overall, 29.9% of white households owned a mean of 1.9 cats per cat-owning household, compared to 6.8% of black households owning a mean of 1.0 cat per cat-owning household. The mean age of cats was 3.9 yrs and 1.8 yrs in white and black households, respectively. In contrast, dog ownership in the two areas was nearly identical, with 25.6% of white and 29.1% of black households owning a mean of 1.5 and 1.3 dogs per dog-owning household, respectively. Overall, 62.8% of owned cats were spayed/neutered, 51.8% had received a vaccination in the last year, and 34.7% had been wormed during their lifetimes. A total of 31.6% of households allowed their cats to free-range; 42.5% of the 87 owned cats were in this category. The estimated densities of owned free-ranging cats were 7.0 and 2.8 cats per hectare, for the two areas. Driving counts of free-ranging animals in the two areas suggested a larger population of stray or feral cats in the location with lower reported cat ownership.     

Animal Abuse in Massachusetts: A Summary of Case Reports at the MSPCA and Attitudes of Massachusetts Veterinarians

New Zealanders (n = 354) rated the acceptability of lethal and nonlethal cat control methods and the importance of conservation and welfare. Lethal control was more acceptable for feral cats than strays; for nonlethal control, the inverse was true. More than concern for the welfare of cats subjected to control, perceived conservation benefits, risk of disease transfer, and companion cat welfare dictated the acceptability of control measures. Similarly, the welfare consideration for groups of cats differed, transitioning from companion (highest) to feral (lowest). Differences in attitudes toward acceptability of control methods were evident. In particular, nonhuman animal professionals ranked lethal control as more acceptable than did nonanimal professionals. Cat caregivers (owners) considered both conservation and welfare issues of greater importance than did nonowners. Owners ranked the acceptability of nonlethal control methods higher for stray cats, but not feral, than did nonowners. This research indicates that the use of the terms stray and feral may have significant impact on cats in New Zealand. There is also a greater consideration of conservation values than of welfare in stray and feral cat control.     

Protecting wildlife from predation by owned domestic cats: Application of a precautionary approach to the acceptability of proposed cat regulations

Abstract While it is undeniable that owned domestic cats Felis catus (Mammalia: Felidae) kill large numbers of wildlife, it is contentious if this has significant impacts on wildlife populations. Under the precautionary principle such uncertainty does not preclude measures to reduce putative risk, but action should follow consultation with stakeholders. To initiate such consultation for the City of Armadale, Western Australia, we surveyed urban and rural residents to determine their opinions regarding putative impacts of owned cats on wildlife and the acceptability of proposed regulations. Key statements accepted by 70% or more of respondents, irrespective of their residence, gender or cat ownership status, included: (i) there is a need to regulate owned domestic cats; (ii) the presence of cats in nature reserves is harmful to wildlife; (iii) cats not owned by licensed breeders should be desexed; and (iv) local councils should be empowered to restrict the maximum number of cats per household. Seventy per cent or more of owners agreed to keep their cats on their property from sunset to sunrise and to register them if these measures became compulsory. All groups except urban men also indicated 70% or greater willingness to keep their cats on their property constantly if required. However, fewer than 40% of owners supported empowering local councils to enforce cat‐free zones. In this community, cat regulation excluding cat‐free zones should enjoy support. Similar approaches should be effective wherever the environmental impacts of owned domestic cats are debated, because compliance with such regulations should be high.     

Reconciling actual and perceived rates of predation by domestic cats

The predation of wildlife by domestic cats (Felis catus) is a complex problem: Cats are popular companion animals in modern society but are also acknowledged predators of birds, herpetofauna, invertebrates, and small mammals. A comprehensive understanding of this conservation issue demands an understanding of both the ecological consequence of owning a domestic cat and the attitudes of cat owners. Here, we determine whether cat owners are aware of the predatory behavior of their cats, using data collected from 86 cats in two UK villages. We examine whether the amount of prey their cat returns influences the attitudes of 45 cat owners toward the broader issue of domestic cat predation. We also contribute to the wider understanding of physiological, spatial, and behavioral drivers of prey returns among cats. We find an association between actual prey returns and owner predictions at the coarse scale of predatory/nonpredatory behavior, but no correlation between the observed and predicted prey-return rates among predatory cats. Cat owners generally disagreed with the statement that cats are harmful to wildlife, and disfavored all mitigation options apart from neutering. These attitudes were uncorrelated with the predatory behavior of their cats. Cat owners failed to perceive the magnitude of their cats’ impacts on wildlife and were not influenced by ecological information. Management options for the mitigation of cat predation appear unlikely to work if they focus on “predation awareness” campaigns or restrictions of cat freedom.     

Factors Related to Preferences for Trap-Neuter–Release Management of Feral Cats Among Illinois Homeowners

ABSTRACT Populations of feral domestic cats have increased throughout the United States, affecting wildlife and warranting attention from a variety of management agencies. This contentious issue requires a greater understanding of public attitudes and preferences for population control. We used data from a 2004 mail survey of Illinois, USA, homeowners’ attitudes towards wildlife and conservation to investigate support for the trap-neuter–release (TNR) of feral cats and to examine factors (demographic, experience, and wildlife values orientations) that may influence preference for TNR as a management option. Age, gender, and wildlife rights values orientations were significant predictors of preference for TNR, while negative experiences with feral cats were correlated with preferences for management options other than TNR. Investigations of public perceptions of feral cat management can help wildlife managers understand the growing public debate regarding feral cat management and provide appropriate input and educational materials regarding cat management and wildlife.     

Responses of pet cats to being held by an unfamiliar person,from weaning to three years of age

Abstract

We have determined the extent to which individual responses of domestic cats on being handled by an unfamiliar person are stable between 2 and 33 months of age. Twenty-nine household cats from nine litters were tested at 2, 4, 12, 24 and 33 months of age, by being held for 1 minute by a standard, unfamiliar person. Between 4 and 33 months of age, individual differences in the number of attempts made by the cat to escape, and in whether or not it showed signs of distress, were stable, with the partial exception of the test at 12 months. There was no consistency between tests in whether or not a particular cat purred. At 2 months of age, the number of escape attempts was highest in cats which had been handled the least in the second month of life, but this trend was reversed in the number of escape attempts made at 4 months. The lack of distress exhibited by all cats in the test at 2 months indicated that all had received at least adequate socialization to people, and that none were therefore comparable with the unsocialized cats used in several previous studies. We conclude that under normal domestic conditions, the behavior of a cat when handled by an unfamiliar person reflects a stable character trait, and that extensive handling during the socialization period may be subsequently associated with a reduction in inhibited behavior when interacting with an unfamiliar person.     

Empathic Differences in Adults as a Function of Childhood and Adult Pet Ownership and Pet Type

ABSTRACT

Prompted by interesting but ambiguous findings that empathic differences in children may relate to pet preference and ownership, we extended the issue to an adult population. We investigated empathic-type responses in adults who lived with cats and/or dogs in childhood (Child-Pet) and currently (Adult-Pet), using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI), the Empathy Quotient (EQ), and the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS). Multivariate analyses of covariance, with Sex as the covariate (MANCOVA), revealed differences on the AAS, the IRI-Personal Distress scale, and the EQ-Social Skills factor. For the Child-Pet data, the Dog-Only and the Both (dog and cat) groups, compared with those in the Neither (no dog or cat) group, scored lower on the IRI-Personal Distress scale and higher on the EQ-Social Skills factor. On the AAS, all three pet groups (Dog-Only, Cat-Only, and Both) had higher ratings than the Neither group. For Adult-Pet data, the analyses revealed the Dog-Only group was lower on Personal Distress than the Neither group, and higher on Social Skills than the Neither group and the Cat-Only group. On the AAS, the Neither group was lower than all three pet-owning groups, like the childhood data, but strikingly, adults with both dogs and cats were higher on the AAS. The findings support research linking companion animals with empathic development. They warrant the continued exploration of the nature of empathic development (i.e., nature vs. nurture) and contribute to the increasing research field exploring the value of companion animals.     

Who's behind that mask and cape? The Asian leopard cat's Agouti (ASIP) allele likely affects coat colour phenotype in the Bengal cat breed

Coat colours and patterns are highly variable in cats and are determined mainly by several genes with Mendelian inheritance. A 2‐bp deletion in agouti signalling protein (ASIP) is associated with melanism in domestic cats. Bengal cats are hybrids between domestic cats and Asian leopard cats (Prionailurus bengalensis), and the charcoal coat colouration/pattern in Bengals presents as a possible incomplete melanism. The complete coding region of ASIP was directly sequenced in Asian leopard, domestic and Bengal cats. Twenty‐seven variants were identified between domestic and leopard cats and were investigated in Bengals and Savannahs, a hybrid with servals (Leptailurus serval). The leopard cat ASIP haplotype was distinguished from domestic cat by four synonymous and four non‐synonymous exonic SNPs, as well as 19 intronic variants, including a 42‐bp deletion in intron 4. Fifty‐six of 64 reported charcoal cats were compound heterozygotes at ASIP, with leopard cat agouti (A^Pbe) and domestic cat non‐agouti (a) haplotypes. Twenty‐four Bengals had an additional unique haplotype (A2) for exon 2 that was not identified in leopard cats, servals or jungle cats (Felis chaus). The compound heterozygote state suggests the leopard cat allele, in combination with the recessive non‐agouti allele, influences Bengal markings, producing a darker, yet not completely melanistic coat. This is the first validation of a leopard cat allele segregating in the Bengal breed and likely affecting their overall pelage phenotype. Genetic testing services need to be aware of the possible segregation of wild felid alleles in all assays performed on hybrid cats.     

Consumption of Domestic Cat in Madagascar: Frequency,Purpose, and Health Implications

ABSTRACT

The domestic cat Felis catus has a long history of interaction with humans, and is found throughout the world as a household pet and a feral animal. Despite people's often sentimental association with cats, cat meat is sometimes consumed by them; this practice can have important implications for public health. In Madagascar, a least developed country that has experienced recent political instability, cat consumption is known to occur, but remains poorly understood. To improve our understanding of cat consumption practices in Madagascar we interviewed 512 respondents in five towns. We used semi-structured interviews to: 1) clarify the preference for, and prevalence, correlates, and timing of, cat consumption; 2) describe methods used to procure cats for consumption; 3) identify motives for consuming cat meat; and, 4) evaluate to what extent patterns of cat-meat consumption are influenced by taboos. We found that, although cat was not a preferred source of meat, many (34%) Malagasy respondents had consumed cat meat before, with most (54%) of these indicating such consumption occurred in the last decade. We did not detect a link between consumption of cat meat and recent access to meat (a proxy for food security). Cat meat was almost never purchased, but rather was obtained when the owners consumed their own pet cat, as a gift, or by hunting feral cats. Cat meat was usually consumed in smaller towns following cat–human conflict such as attacks on chickens, but in the large capital city, cat meat was procured primarily from road-killed individuals. These results suggest cat-meat consumption is typically an opportunistic means to obtain inexpensive meat, rather than principally serving as a response to economic hardship. These results further suggest cat handling and consumption may present a potential pathway for transmission of several diseases, including toxoplasmosis, that may warrant heightened public health efforts.