Most Owners Say Cats Are Part Of The Family

animal welfare behaviour cats research

Most Owners Say Cats Are Part Of The Family

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Most cat owners are confident in their ability to look after their pet, but feline welfare could be better in some respects.

New research by Tiffani Howell (La Trobe University) et al investigates how people care for their cats. A representative survey of pet owners in the Australian state of Victoria included questions from feeding and sleeping arrangements to how much cats cost over their lifetime.

“In general, Victorian cat owners appear to be meeting their cat’s welfare needs, with a few areas for improvement,” says Dr. Tiffani Howell. “For instance, nearly half of owners allow their cat to roam free outdoors, which could lead to injuries. 

“Female owners report higher levels of satisfaction with their cat’s behaviour, and fewer behavioural problems, than male owners. Older owners were less likely to have irretrievably lost a cat than younger owners, but they report more behavioural problems.”

There are some fascinating facts in the survey. Most people are confident they are able to look after their cat (94%) and consider the cat to be part of the family (89%). And most owners significantly underestimate the lifetime cost of caring for him or her.

A third of cats (34%) sleep on their owner’s bed at night, with 22% on other furniture and 20% on their own cat bed. Cats like to have places that are high up, and 94% of them did. 

61% of cats are said by their owners to exercise themselves while 14% of cats apparently get no exercise.  81% of owners think their cat is the right weight. Since vets report a higher proportion of overweight and obese cats, it seems likely some owners do not realize their pet is overweight.

The number of cats with no toys (11%) suggests some may be missing out on important enrichment activities, but most cats had over three (52%) or 1 - 3 (31%) interactions with their owner each day.

Only 17% of cats spent most of their time outside, with 45% mostly indoors and the remainder splitting their time. 

Although annual vet visits are recommended, 26% of cats had not been to the vet in the last year and 6% had never been to the vet. The numbers who were not vaccinated in the last year (24%) or ever (5%) almost mirror this. 3% of cats had never been checked for external or internal parasites, and some had not been checked in the last year (10% and 13%, respectively).

When people had two or more cats, 58% said they only had one litter tray, which is a concern since the standard advice is to have one tray per cat plus one extra.

13% of owners said it was more difficult than they expected to take care of their cat, but only 3% were dissatisfied with their cat’s behaviour, and 92% were satisfied or very satisfied. 

The most common behaviour problem was fear of loud noises, people or animals (18% of cats). 

Of particular interest to readers of this blog is where people turn for information if they need it. Since 87% of owners had never needed to, these answers are mostly hypothetical, but 66% would ask their vet, 44% would consult the internet and 24% would ask friends or family.

One worrying finding is that 10% said they had lost a cat (and not been able to find it) in the previous 5 years. At the same time, 15% of people had acquired their cat by finding it or taking in a stray.

The full report is packed with information about the lives of cats, including how often litter trays are scooped (once a day for 26% of cats), how many are fed table scraps (11%), and how many were obtained for free (51%).

448 pet cat owners took part in the study. It was part of a wider survey of pet-keeping practices; amongst the group as a whole, 79% live in Greater Melbourne, 53% are married and 46% work full-time.  Most of the cats are domestic shorthairs (also known as moggies), and almost all are spayed or neutered.

The survey is especially useful because the sample is representative of the people of Victoria. Other studies with convenience samples may not reflect the population as a whole, because some people – e.g. with a particularly strong interest in cats, or whose cats have problem behaviours – might be more likely to reply than others. The results will help in planning animal welfare campaigns.

If your cat is stressed at the vet, see less stress at the vet for dogs and cats for some tips. 

Where does your cat sleep at night?

Reference

Howell, T., Mornement, K., & Bennett, P. (2016). Pet cat management practices among a representative sample of owners in Victoria, Australia Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 11, 42-49 DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2015.10.006
Photos: john austin (top) and Mikhail Olykainen (both Shutterstock.com).

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Finding out if shelter dogs are friendly: testing the B.A.R.K. protocol

animal welfare behaviour dogs research shelter

Finding out if shelter dogs are friendly: testing the B.A.R.K. protocol

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Research shows the challenges of assessing behaviour in shelter dogs.

We know our pets well. My dog Bodger is bouncy and friendly; he sits to be patted, then jumps up with a surreptitious kiss; he likes zucchini and hates thunder. We form these observations through time spent with our dogs. But at animal shelters it’s not so easy. How do you assess the temperament of a dog you’ve only just met?

Research by Kate Mornement(Monash University; Pets Behaving Badly) et al investigates this problem. Many shelters in Australia (and elsewhere) use assessments that are not scientifically validated, so the team set out to develop and assess a new test of canine behaviour. Such tests are often used to make decisions about whether or not dogs are adoptable, but the results show they may not be as useful as people think.

The scientists looked at tests already in use, convened a focus group of relevant experts, and developed the behavioural assessment for rehoming K9s (B.A.R.K.). It is a two-part test with 12 subtests that assess the dog for anxiety, friendliness, fear, compliance, and activity level. It is designed to see how dogs behave in situations equivalent to real life, and to be safe for shelter staff to carry out. 

Having designed the test, it was time to see how well it worked.  

“I think the results mean that we need to be really careful about how we interpret the results of behaviour assessments conducted in shelters,” says Dr. Mornement, “especially if these are only done once and the results are used to inform adoption/euthanasia decisions. Our study showed that results can vary over a 24 hour period. In addition, research tells us that the shelter environment is stressful for dogs. This means the results of in-shelter assessments may not be indicative of behaviour in the home environment.”

48 adult shelter dogs of 23 breeds or mixes were assessed using the B.A.R.K., including JRTs, Kelpie crosses, Labrador crosses, and Australian Cattle Dog crosses. They had had at least 3 days to adjust to the shelter first. All were considered safe for the researcher to work with (already assessed as adoptable (39 dogs) or deemed friendly).

One thing we want from a test is that different people should be able to do it and get the same results. This is called inter-rater reliability.  This is important because in a shelter environment, it won’t always be the same staff member assessing dogs. Here, the test did well; there was good agreement between the two testers on all five of the traits. The highest levels of agreement were on fear, anxiety, and compliance.

Another thing we want is that if the same person applies the test to a dog on two different occasions, the results should be the same. This is called test-retest reliability. So the dogs were tested once, and then again 24 hours later. Here, the results were not as good. The best results were for fear, anxiety and activity level. The results were weaker for friendliness and compliance.

Finally, we also really want to know if the test tells us how dogs will behave in a home environment after adoption. This is called predictive validity. 74 dogs were assessed after being at the shelter for 3 days, and their new owners completed a survey several months after adoption. The telephone interview asked them to rate the dogs on each of the 5 behavioural traits. 

There was agreement between the B.A.R.K. scores and owner ratings for fear and friendliness. However, it did not predict activity level, anxiety or compliance. So the predictive validity is “quite weak.”

These results are surprising given the care taken to develop the B.A.R.K., and show the challenges of assessing canine behaviour in a shelter environment. The scientists say the stress of arriving at the shelter may affect dogs’ behaviour on the test, and recommend strategies to help promote successful adoptions, including obedience classes for new owners and the use of foster carers by shelters. 

Dr. Mornement says, “I’d encourage shelters to seek help from behavioural experts in developing and/or reviewing their assessment protocols. Recent research has progressed our knowledge and understanding of shelter dog assessments and it’s important that shelters continue to refine their methods to determining adoption suitability. This will help to ensure best practice and safeguard the welfare of the dogs in the shelter system.”

This research is especially important because of the weight placed on shelter assessments, and it shows we need a better understanding of what makes a successful canine adoption. 

Come back next week to learn more about how new owners rate their adopted dog.

Reference

Mornement, K., Coleman, G., Toukhsati, S., & Bennett, P. (2014). Development of the behavioural assessment for re-homing K9's (B.A.R.K.) protocol Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 151, 75-83 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2013.11.008
Photo: Kellymmiller73 (Shutterstock.com).
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Make Your Dog Happy: Enrichment

#makeyourdoghappy animal welfare dogs enrichment

Make Your Dog Happy: Enrichment

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Easy ways to provide enrichment for your dog.

Although we love our canine friends, many dogs have a relatively boring life in which they spend a lot of time hanging around the house or yard, perhaps on their own. Dogs that are bored or under-exercised can easily find their own entertainment, which might not be so pleasing to their human companions. Luckily there are many easy ways to add enrichment to our dog’s lives.

Dog Walks

If you are one of those people who walks your dog whatever the weather, you may be surprised to learn that not everyone takes their pooch for walks. Estimates vary, but a recent meta-analysis found that only 59% of dog owners walk their dogs (Christian et al 2013). The obvious benefit is physical exercise for both dog and human. Remember to allow for sniffing time, because dogs like to spend time ‘reading’ all the local news with their nose. 

A less obvious reason to take your dog for walkies is that it provides ongoing socialization, as the dog has the chance to observe or interact with other people and dogs. It’s also been shown that walking the dog is a good way for people to make friends (Wood et al 2015).

If you like you can up the pace by taking your dog along when you go on a bike ride, or take up dog sledding, skijoring or canicross.

Food Toys

These are an easy way to make the provision of food more interesting for your canine friend. There are many excellent toys to choose from, including Kongs, Kong Wobbler, Nina Ottosson toys, Slo-Bowl feeders, and many many more. Some are designed for treats while others are suitable for a whole ration of kibble. 

A small study of feeding enrichment toys (the Kong Extreme) for dogs kept in kennels (Schipper et al 2008) found they increased exercise and appetitive behaviours, and decreased barking. 

Chew toys

Dogs love to chew and if they don’t have chew toys available then they might decide to chew on some of your items instead. So it’s better to teach them to chew their own toys.

Dogs can lose interest in toys over time (Pullen, Merrill and Bradshaw 2012), so it’s a good idea to give them new toys from time to time, have toys out on rotation, or play with the toy yourself to make it seem more interesting again.

Hanging out with canine friends

Many dogs are social creatures, and enjoy spending time with their canine friends, or even making new friends. This can be as simple as going for walks with a friend who also has a dog, to going to the dog park or letting your dog spend time at doggy day care.  

However, not all dogs are social. If your dog prefers not to meet other canines, find ways for him or her to have nice times outdoors without having to interact with other dogs. 

Fetch, Frisbee etc

If you teach your dog to fetch you will soon find out if you have a fetch-mad dog or not. Some dogs love it so much they never want to stop! All that running is also great exercise.

Swimming

Some dogs love to swim, and again this is good for physical exercise too. There may be ponds or lakes near you that are safe and suitable for swimming, or you might have a canine swimming pool nearby where your dog can take swimming lessons or go for physical therapy. A recent study by Tavares et al (2015) found that some Labradors will choose to spend time in the water over interactions with another dog, and suggests that the opportunity to swim may even be important for their welfare.

Sports and hobbies for dogs

These days there are many options for classes to try with your dog, including agility, obedience, flyball, nose work, Triebball, dock diving, and so on. Many people say they find that dog sports improve their bond with their dog, and that they love meeting fellow dog-lovers through these activities (Farrell et al 2015).

Training for rewards 

Reward-based training is another way to engage your dog’s brain. It’s easy to get started and you can train on your own at home, or take your dog to class (make sure it is a class that uses positive reinforcement, as there are no standards in dog training). See our first post in the ‘Make your dog happy’ series for more information. 

Your dog probably also enjoys just spending quality time with you.

Enrichment is about finding things that your dog will enjoy. Some of the activities listed are also beneficial to the human, and to the human-animal bond. 

What does your dog like to do?

References

Christian HE, Westgarth C, Bauman A, Richards EA, Rhodes RE, Evenson KR, Mayer JA, & Thorpe RJ Jr (2013). Dog ownership and physical activity: a review of the evidence. Journal of physical activity & health, 10 (5), 750-9 PMID: 23006510 
Farrell, J., Hope, A., Hulstein, R., & Spaulding, S. (2015). Dog-Sport Competitors: What Motivates People to Participate with Their Dogs in Sporting Events? Anthrozoos: A Multidisciplinary Journal of The Interactions of People & Animals, 28 (1), 61-71 DOI: 10.2752/089279315X1412935072201 
Pullen, A., Merrill, R., & Bradshaw, J. (2012). Habituation and dishabituation during object play in kennel-housed dogs Animal Cognition, 15 (6), 1143-1150 DOI: 10.1007/s10071-012-0538-2 
Schipper, L., Vinke, C., Schilder, M., & Spruijt, B. (2008). The effect of feeding enrichment toys on the behaviour of kennelled dogs (Canis familiaris) Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 114 (1-2), 182-195 DOI: 10.1016/j.applanim.2008.01.001 
Tavares, S., Magalhães, A., & de Sousa, L. (2015). Labrador retrievers are more attracted to water than to social stimuli: A pilot study Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2015.07.041 
Wood, L., Martin, K., Christian, H., Nathan, A., Lauritsen, C., Houghton, S., Kawachi, I., & McCune, S. (2015). The Pet Factor - Companion Animals as a Conduit for Getting to Know People, Friendship Formation and Social Support PLOS ONE, 10 (4) DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0122085

Photo: Petr Lurch (Shutterstock.com)
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