Companion Animal Psychology News November 2017

cats dogs news

Companion Animal Psychology News November 2017

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Make sure you haven't missed a thing with the latest newsletter from Companion Animal Psychology.

Some of my favourites from around the web this month

“Nobody wants to say goodbye to these adorable dogs for ever, but the truth is that it’s wrong to create animals that are destined to suffer.” Veterinarian Pete Wedderburn on how to improve the health of brachycephalic breeds such as Pugs and Bulldogs.

Dogs can promote friendliness just by hanging out by John Bradshaw PhD

Important take-aways from a separation anxiety journey by Tracy Krulik CTC. Emma’s Separation Anxiety Story: Epilogue.

“When people don’t notice fear in dogs, it can cause trouble.” The scariest thing, according to dogs by Julie Hecht.

Do dogs really manipulate us? Beware misleading headlines. Marc Bekoff PhD engages with his readers about reporting on two recent studies.

“Say you and I both live in houses made of banana peels….” Self-help for humans is good for dogs by Kristi Benson CTC. 

“The ginger creature appeared in my life randomly. Then, little by little, it wormed itself into my home and my heart.“ I adopted a stray cat. I had no idea what I was letting myself in for by Nigel Kendall in The Guardian

How much is that doggie on the website? It might not even exist.  Karin Brulliard on online pet sales scams.

Two nice DIY food toys for cats by Pawculture.

How to care for your older cat by Cats Protection, part of their campaign for #MatureMoggies.

It can be an especially upsetting problem to have... Why does my cat pee on the bed? by Pam Johnson-Bennett has some tips to help people understand and resolve this behaviour.

"Sometimes bad behavioral traits develop and no one’s to blame. And other times dogs overcome difficult situations to grow into the soul of friendliness. That’s nature. And that’s nurture." Jessika Hekman DVM PhD on untangling nature and nurture.

Photos, videos and podcasts

Photos of cats doing martial arts by Japanese photographer Hisakata Hiroyuki.

Modernist furniture for cats in Fukuoka. And you might also like these architect-designed dream homes for cats.

Prehistoric rock art from Saudi Arabia shows dogs on leashes.

Casey Elise Christopher photographs black cats to help them get adopted.

These cat-shaped desserts in Japan are very cute.

Dr. David Mellor talks to CBC about thriving not merely surviving: A fresh perspective on animal welfare.

Would you want to be a 21st century cat? Video of a talk by Dr. Sarah Ellis of International Cat Care.

Nine lives: Are you and your pets disaster ready? Podcast on how to prepare your cat for evacuation by Kathryn Primm DVM speaking to Debbie Martin CPDT-KA.

Here at Companion Animal Psychology

Some of you will have noticed a new affiliate advertiser on this website. If you purchase via my affiliate ads, it gives me a small commission at no extra charge to you, helping to support Companion Animal Psychology.

“It will forever change how we see our aquatic cousins - the pet goldfish included." This month’s book for the Companion Animal Psychology book club is What a Fish Knows: The Inner Lives of Our Underwater Cousins by Jonathan Balcombe.

My post on 5 things to do for your cat today has been very well received. It has five things to do right now, and a bonus sixth one to work on over time, to help you have a happier cat.

What is positive punishment in dog training? tells you everything you need to know about positive punishment, including the risks of using it. An essential read for dog owners.

And why do dogs play? looks at a new review of the literature on the reasons play has evolved in dogs, and the implications for animal welfare. It turns out play isn’t always a good sign.

Finally, after a bad experience, dogs’ sleep is affected just as we might have a bad night’s sleep after a stressful day.

As always, subscribe to Companion Animal Psychology to stay up-to-date on evidence-based information about our relationship with pets.


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Five Things To Do For Your Cat Today

cats enrichment science

Five Things To Do For Your Cat Today

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Want to make your cat happier? Here are some things you can do right now to make your feline feel blissful.

Photo: Dmitry Nesterov / Shutterstock

Cats are wonderful creatures. When we understand them, we can use that information to make them happier. Here are five things to do for your cat today – and a bonus one to work on over time.

1. Make time to play with your cat

11% of cats have no toys, according to one study (Howell et al 2016).

But the average cat has 7 toys, and toy mice are the most popular. (Strickler and Shull 2014)

Even if your cat has lots of toys of their own, they still like it when their human plays with them. 64% of the owners in Strickler and Shull’s study played with their cat twice a day, but playtime typically lasted 5 or 10 minutes. Amongst people who played with their cat for at least 5 minutes instead of just 1 minute, there were fewer behaviour problems.

But your cat would probably like an even longer play time.

Have you ever felt that when you are moving a toy for your cat, they seem to be hunting it? This is because play satisfies the cat’s predatory instincts.

John Bradshaw PhD, author of Cat Sense and other best-selling books on pets, told NPR that “The research that we've done suggests that [play] it's almost indistinguishable, that everything that a cat does when it's playing seems to be a part of its normal hunting behavior.”

So when a cat plays, it’s not so much about the cat being sociable with you, it’s really about hunting.

This means they like toys that are like prey in some way – maybe they are furry or have feathers or are mouse-sized or squeak like a mouse or are long so the cat can kick their back legs against it. And cats would like you to move it as if it is real prey for them to chase.

Every cat is an individual, so experiment with different types of toys and different ways of moving them to see what makes your cat engage in play.

And remember that cats can get bored of toys, so you can put some of them away in a cat’s toy box and rotate the toys that are available. (If you have a cat like my tortoiseshell, she will learn to open the box and pick her own toys!).

You might find that multiple sessions of 5 - 10 minutes works best, but you can experiment and see what your cat likes.

Free-ranging cats spend a large part of each day hunting for food, which shows just how important hunting behaviour is to a cat. Strickler and Shull suggest that cats would probably like it if an individual play session lasts for longer than 10 minutes; 30 minutes is the typical length of a time a free-ranging cat spends on a single hunt (although only some of that time would be active chase as the mouse has first to be found). Play keeps your cat active and satisfies that predatory instinct.

So make time to play with your cat!

2. Give your cat a food toy

Another way to engage your cat’s hunting instinct is through the use of food toys. These provide valuable enrichment to our feline friends.

There are many food toys available, including balls with holes in that the cat has to roll to make treats fall out, the mouse-shaped no bowl, containers that have to be tipped like the Trixie Mad Scientist, and things the cat has to paw at to get the treats out like the Trixie 5-in-1 Activity Center.

There are food toys for every level of feline ability. If your cat is new to food toys, start with something easy so they don’t get frustrated trying to get at the food. You may also need to use particularly tasty treats to get their interest. Over time, you can make the toys more difficult, and use them to feed all meals instead of providing ‘free’ food in a bowl.

You can also hide the toys around the house so the cat has to hunt for them to get started.

The great thing about food toys is that although there are some fantastic ones on the market, you can also make them for free. For example, make a hole in a cardboard tube, stick paper over one end, put food inside, paper over the other end, and let your cat figure out how to get the food out of the hole.

Only 5% of cats have food puzzle toys according to a survey of the enrichment people provide for their cats (Alho et al 2016).

Food puzzle toys can help to resolve feline behaviour problems because they provide environmental enrichment that can reduce stress and make the cat more active. (Dantas et al 2016)

Food toys are great for cats because they make them work for their food – completing another part of the predatory sequence.

3. Make sure your cat has nice hiding places

As well as thinking about cats evolving as solitary hunters of prey, we have to remember that cats themselves are prey animals. Which means cats like places they can hide and feel safe.

This is especially important if you have a fearful cat – the kind that runs to hide when people come over to the house.

But all cats need places to hide. In fact, a recent study of shelter cats’ use of a hiding box and a separate perch found the hiding box was much preferred, so much so that it may be considered a basic need for cats (Ellis et al 2017b).

The kind of hiding place that cats prefer is cat-sized, secluded, and often high up from the ground. It’s a place in which they can feel safe.

Examples of safe hiding places include a cardboard box (e.g. a regular cardboard box laying on its side, or a box specially designed for cats), a perch with a lip or a box to go in on a cat tree, a cat cube or cocoon (many types are available commercially), the cat carrier (if the cat likes it), a space on a shelf, or in a cupboard or wardrobe where the cat has access.

So do a quick survey of the places that are available to your cat as hiding places. Are they in busy parts of the house or does the cat also have hiding places in quieter rooms? Are they cat sized, or are they a bit too big? If your cat has outside access, do they also have safe hiding places in your yard or garden?

You can make existing hiding places more comfortable by adding a fleecy blanket or towel for the cat to curl up on.

And if you think your cat might not have enough spaces, see about providing some extra ones. It may be as simple as giving them a cardboard box and putting it on its side, or putting it upside down with a hole cut out for them to go in and out.

4. Use scents as enrichment

Did you know that your cat has an amazing nose, and on top of that they also have a vomeronasal organ that detects pheromones – chemical signals that have meaning to cats? This means that scent is far more important in your cat’s life than you realize.

When your cat rubs its head on you or the furniture, it is leaving pheromones behind. You may even notice a little brown mark on the wall where your cat rubs often. Don’t clean it up! Or at least don’t clean all of them up at once. Those familiar chemical signals that the cat is depositing help them to feel safe and secure.

Everyone is familiar with catnip toys, but there are other scents that many cats like too, so you could try valerian, silver vine or honeysuckle and see if your cat responds to those. Almost all cats will visibly respond to at least one of these scents.

Photo: Dmitry Nesterov / Shutterstock

You can find valerian in some cat toys, silver vine is available as a stick or powder, and honeysuckle as blocks of wood of various sizes. They may not be in your local pet store, so you may have to look for them online.

You can buy catnip that is mixed with other scents such as lavender, so if your cat likes catnip this is another way to provide different scents as enrichment.

In fact a recent study found that although only some cats respond to catnip by rolling around, other cats do respond, just in a passive way such as being in a Sphinx position or being less active and miaowing less (Espin-Iturbe et al 2017).

Another way to provide scent as enrichment if you have an indoor cat is to open the window for them to let them smell the air from outside. Obviously, do this in a safe way so they can’t escape – and remember that screens are not necessarily cat-safe. But you only need to open the window a chink to let the outside smells in.

5. Clean the litter tray

Did you notice how I saved the most glamorous one til last?!!

I know what you're thinking. The other four are all fun, and this one... not so much.

But the litter tray is a serious matter for cats. Many house-soiling issues are due to problems with the litter tray (but if your cat suddenly starts making a mess in the house, it’s important to see a vet in case a medical issue is the cause). It’s an important issue because inappropriate toileting behaviour is a common reason for cats to be surrendered to animal shelters.

26% of pet cat owners clean their litter box once a day, but 11% only clean it once a week and 5% less frequently than that (Howell et al 2016). So there is plenty of scope for improvement amongst the average cat owner. And it really doesn't take long.

Cats prefer a clean litter box. It’s not so much the smell they object to, but the presence of urine or faeces that is visually unappealing and physically in the way (Ellis et al 2017).

Cats will typically still use a litter box they are not very happy with, but signs they are not so keen on it include being hesitant to go in it, going in and then out of it, keeping a paw out of it while they eliminate, and spending a long time over elimination (McGowan et al 2017). This study also found that cats may hold their urine if they are not happy with their litter box, making them vulnerable to urinary tract infections.

So you should scoop your litter tray every day, but preferably twice a day, and clean the litter tray thoroughly once a week.

6. Bonus: Teach your cat to like their carrier

This is a bonus item because it is not something you can achieve in a day, especially if your cat is already scared of their carrier. Which they might be if it only ever predicts visits to the vet.

But one thing you can do today is get the carrier out, have a look at it and see if it’s suitable, leave it out somewhere so it becomes a normal thing – and make a plan to teach your cat to like it.

The best kind of carrier is one that is secure but where the top half can be detached from the bottom half. This means that at the vet, you can simply remove the top and the vet can examine the cat in the bottom of the carrier. Some cats will feel safer like this than if they have to come completely out of the carrier. (See more tips on how to help cats at the vet).

If the carrier always means an unpleasant trip to the vet, you can’t really blame a cat for not liking it. So you need to break that association. If your cat is terrified of the carrier you already have, you might find it best to start afresh with a new carrier.

Put a nice fleecy blanket or towel in the bottom so it is nice and cosy. And then leave it somewhere in the house where it will become a familiar thing. You might need to prop the door open so it can’t accidentally close behind the cat when they go in.

You can leave treats inside it to encourage your cat to go in. But for many cats even this will be too scary, so you may have to start by leaving treats in the general vicinity of the carrier. Once the cat is relaxed and comfortable collecting those treats, you can put treats a bit closer, until eventually the cat will approach the carrier.

This is a slow process. For a full explanation of how to teach your cat to like their carrier, I recommend this post by Sarah Ellis PhD. (You might like to read my interview with Dr. Sarah Ellis for more tips on training your cat).

Summary of tips for your cat

So there you have it – five things to do for your cat today, and a sixth one to work on over time. Play with your cat, use food toys, provide safe hiding places, use scent as enrichment, and remember to scoop the litter tray! Then start thinking about how to teach your cat to like their carrier.

These tips will provide enrichment for your cat, help your cat be more active and help them to feel safe and secure.

Of course, every cat is an individual and has their own preferences as all cat lovers know well. In the comments, let me know which are your cat’s favourite toys, and where is your cat’s favourite hiding place?

To learn more about how science can help you have a better relationship with your pet, subscribe to Companion Animal Psychology.

References

Alho, A. M., Pontes, J., & Pomba, C. (2016). Guardians' Knowledge and Husbandry Practices of Feline Environmental Enrichment. Journal of applied animal welfare science, 19(2), 115-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10888705.2015.1117976
Bol, S., Caspers, J., Buckingham, L., Anderson-Shelton, G. D., Ridgway, C., Buffington, C. T., ... & Bunnik, E. M. (2017). Responsiveness of cats (Felidae) to silver vine (Actinidia polygama), Tatarian honeysuckle (Lonicera tatarica), valerian (Valeriana officinalis) and catnip (Nepeta cataria). BMC veterinary research, 13(1), 70. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12917-017-0987-6
Ellis, J. J., McGowan, R. T. S., & Martin, F. (2017). Does previous use affect litter box appeal in multi-cat households?. Behavioural Processes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.02.008
Ellis, J. J., Stryhn, H., Spears, J., & Cockram, M. S. (2017b). Environmental enrichment choices of shelter cats. Behavioural Processes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.03.023

Espín-Iturbe, L. T., Yañez, B. A. L., García, A. C., Canseco-Sedano, R., Vázquez-Hernández, M., & Coria-Avila, G. A. (2017). Active and passive responses to catnip (Nepeta cataria) are affected by age, sex and early gonadectomy in male and female cats. Behavioural Processes, 142, 110-115. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.06.008

Howell, T. J., Mornement, K., & Bennett, P. C. (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. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2015.10.006
McGowan, R. T., Ellis, J. J., Bensky, M. K., & Martin, F. (2017). The ins and outs of the litter box: A detailed ethogram of cat elimination behavior in two contrasting environments. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2017.05.009
Strickler, B. L., & Shull, E. A. (2014). An owner survey of toys, activities, and behavior problems in indoor cats. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 9(5), 207-214. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2014.06.005

Companion Animal Psychology is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
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The Always New and Continuing Evolution of Dogs

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The Always New and Continuing Evolution of Dogs

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A repost from this blog, circa February 2007.

A lot of people want the undifferentiating affection of a dog, but are not entirely willing to pay the price: forced awakenings at 7 am, expensive fencing, veterinary care, shedding coats, barking, and strange smells in the living room.

Dogs are small tyrants that crap on your rug, chew up your glasses and steal your sandwiches.

If you own a dog, you can still ride off into the sunset, but you better be back by 8:30 to feed it, and by midnight to put it to bed for the evening.

In the era of schooners and candles, when people lived on large farms with slow traffic, things were probably a little bit easier. Back then a large dog could sleep in the barn and roam more-or-less at will.

Now a lot of folks live in condominiums and multi-story apartment buildings surrounded by six-lanes of traffic. Others are retirees looking for less work. The result is a growing market for small dogs that are as easy to take care of as a cat.

In fact, what is wanted today is a dog that acts like a cat, and a cat that acts like a dog.

Towards that end breeders on both ends of the spectrum are working towards a middle ground, with cats that have affectionate personalities and legs too short to jump up on the furniture, and dogs that do not shed, rarely bark, and are so small they can be tucked inside a handbag.

I suppose all of this is simply a logical extension of Robert Bakewell's earlier efforts to control sires in order to produce animals for a particular function.

Cats, of course, were slow to domesticate as prior to the rise of the "indoor" cat, felines were free to roam and cross-breed at will.

Dogs, on the other hand, have been the product of controlled breeding for so long that most Kennel Club breeds now seem to specialize in two or three genetic defects. As a consequence, more and more prospective pet owners are are now looking at cross breeds in some hope of avoiding expensive veterinary work to "fix" defective canine hips, eyes, knees and teeth.

Another factor, of course, is that a lot of the small "toy" breeds are so fru-fru that no self-respecting heterosexual man is eager to be seen walking one. A Toy Poodle? A Papillon? Please.

A cross-bred small dog at least offers the potential dignity of being something a little "outside the box."A small dog described as a "little mutt" or "attack rat" by the husband, can be described by the wife as a Shitpoo (a Shih Tzu crossed with a Toy Poodle), a Cockapoo (a Cocker Spaniel crossed with a Toy Poodle), a Schnoodle (a Schnauzer crossed with a poodle), a Bagel (a Beagle crossed with a Bassett Hound) or a Puggle (a Pug crossed with a Beagle).

Pardon me if I do not join the Kennel Club crowd which clucks and moans about "little mongrels" being cranked out by puppy millers and "back yard breeders".

How, I would ask, does that differentiate these new dogs from most Kennel Club breeds? After all, most of the dog breeds on earth today are less than 140 years old, and most were invented by puppy peddlers doing their business between 1860 and 1900.

The harsh truth is that most canine breeds were not forged by honest field work, but by professional breeders seeking to sell dogs for the pet trade.

In short, the true history of most dog breeds is one of "backyard breeders" creating contrived names and fake histories for their dogs and producing enough of the dogs in a short enough period (a puppy mill by any name) to create a "class" of dogs to fill a Kennel Club ring.

And it's not like Kennel Club breeds cannot be improved by a little outcrossing!

The Yorkie has such serious teeth problems that they invariably require attention from expensive veterinary dentists.

The Pug's bulging eyes make it prone to eye injury, and nearly every one of them is born caesarian.

The Toy Poodle is a barker and often mentally unbalanced.

Dachshunds are prone to serious back and joint problems.

Papillons and Chihuahuas have all kinds of health problems, not the least of which are that their bones may be so light they can break jumping off the couch.

The Lhasa Apso is a walking mop requiring more grooming than a Hollywood starlet, and is often a mental case as well.

Of course, most cross-breeds are not all that successful, and only a very few show a marked advantage over a common pound dog.

That said, enough crosses are working out that a few crosses are developing into regular replicable breeds. The most obvious candidate for "new breed" distinction is the "Labradoodle" -- a cross between a Labrador Retriever and a Standard Poodle. In Australia, this very tractable dog has been standardized and now breeds true after more than 15-years of focused work. In the U.S., however, most "Labradoodles" remain hybrids which, when crossed with each other, throw a wide array of very different-looking pups.

Contrary to what many hybrid dog advocates will tell you, a hybrid dog is not always healthier that its purebred cousin. Genetic loads are never revealed in one breeding, and "hybrid vigor" is not a perfect curative for all canine ills.

A final note is that when dogs are combined, the positive characteristics of a breed are not necessarily those that are transfered.

The tale is told of the time when Marilyn Monroe met Albert Einstein and coyly mewed, "Professor Einstein, we should get together. With my looks and your brains, think of the wonderful babies we could produce."

To which Einstein is supposed to have replied: "Yes, but what if they have my looks and your brains? That too is an equal possibility."
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Companion Animal Psychology News October 2017

cats dogs news

Companion Animal Psychology News October 2017

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Make sure you  haven't missed a thing with the latest newsletter from Companion Animal Psychology.

Some of my favourites from around the web this month

Kate Mornement PhD has written a great series about enrichment, starting with Wild at Heart: Why enrichment is essential for your pets’ well-being and with lots of ideas for enrichment for dogs  and for cats.

"Laterality is an ancient inherited characteristic and is widespread in the animal kingdom, in both vertebrates and invertebrates." I’ve always wondered: can animals be left- and right-pawed? Janice Lloyd and Richard Squires at The Conversation.

"If a cat is on an elevated surface and there are small objects on there as well, he often can’t resist the urge to use his paw to push something over the edge." Something many cat owners want to know: Why does my cat like to knock things off the table? By Pam Johnson-Bennett

How can you tell if your cat is happy and likes you? Susan Hazel PhD answers a Curious Kids question for the Conversation.

"Cats are trainable and can be quite easy to medicate. It is all about finding something that motivates them to make it worth their while." Food rewards for training and medicating cats by Ingrid Johnson at Fundamentally Feline. 

"These aren’t quick fix tips. This is a training challenge for all of us for the next six-months ahead." The Hurricane dog training challenge by Michael Baugh. How to prepare your dog for emergencies.

Do you have a counter-surfing dog? Then this post by Kristi Benson is for you. The case of the disappearing doughnut: What to do with a counter-surfing dog.

"The results suggest that people with favorable attitudes towards pets are also more likely to be influenced by news reports touting the idea that animals make good therapists." Hal Herzog PhD on Why do people think animals make good therapists? 

"Go slowly and go at his pace. You never know, your dog might surprise you by how well he knows the game." Tips on travel with dogs, including anxious ones, from Julie Naismith.

The Domestic Dog is the book we've been waiting for since 1995. Julie Hecht reviews the second edition of The Domestic Dog, edited by James Serpell.

Events

Restricted activity for dogs. Webinar by Sian Ryan for Pet Professional Guild. 9th November 2017 2-3pm EST.

Photos, videos and podcasts

Britain’s pub dogs – in pictures.

Photographer Marcel Heijnen captures the secret lives of Hong Kong’s market cats in captivating series at Creative Boom: “the series is as much about the concept as it is about the beautiful animal.”

"Inside a new exhibit that gives dogs, cats, and chickens the full-on natural history museum treatment." See the world’s most ordinary animals as you never have before at Atlas Obscura. Photos by UCL Grant Museum of Zoology/Oliver Siddons, Text by Sarah Laskow.

Cute photos of dogs trying their best to look like people from William Wegman’s latest book.

8 photos of cute dogs in chic homes.

Undercats by Andreas Burba. Cats photographed from under a glass table.

The sorrow and grace of abandoned cats. Photos by Sabrina Boem, text by Ellyn Kail.

10 art installations for dogs and cats at an art exhibition for pets in Singapore.

Here at Companion Animal Psychology

This month’s book for the Companion Animal Psychology Book Club is Plenty in Life Is Free: Reflections on Dogs, Training and Finding Grace by Kathy Sdao. "What if the secret to great dog training is to be an expert 'feeder' rather than a strong leader?"

The animals at my local shelter are getting worried because staff and volunteers will be shut in kennels with a furry friend today and only let out once they’ve raised bail. Lock-In for Love raises funds for the BC SPCA Maple Ridge and you can donate here.

My Psychology Today blog Fellow Creatures looks at some new research that finds dog ownership is not linked to health benefits – but walking the dog is, and people walk their dog more if there is a stronger human-animal bond.

I wrote a guest post for Dr. Jo Righetti about my 5 favourite Companion Animal Psychology articles. Are you surprised at the ones I chose?

Here on Companion Animal Psychology, my post about Clare Browne et al’s research on dog training books has been very popular. While the results may not be a surprise to people reading this blog, the dog owning public is still buying books that may not give them the best advice.

Two posts about shelter cats have also been very popular. It turns out that even old and shy shelter cats can learn tricks such as spin or nose-touch a target. While research on which enrichment item shelter cats prefer suggests that a hiding place may actually be a basic necessity, rather than enrichment. Luckily a cardboard box can make a suitable hiding place!

Stay up-to-date and subscribe to Companion Animal Psychology today.

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Lock-In for Love

BC SPCA Maple Ridge cats charity dogs Lock-in for Love

Lock-In for Love

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You can help the animals at the BC SPCA Maple Ridge by donating to Lock-In for Love.

The animals are getting worried.

On Sunday, October 22nd, staff, volunteers and local celebrities will be locked into kennels with a furry friend.

They have to raise bail money to get out.

All of the funds raised will help the BC SPCA Maple Ridge.

But what if they don’t raise bail? The animals are worried their dinners may be late…

You can help now by going to the Lock-In for Love webpage, click the name of one of the fundraisers in the scrolling bar on the right, and donate.

Shelter Cats Like a Box to Hide In

cats enrichment research science shelter

Shelter Cats Like a Box to Hide In

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Cats like somewhere to hide - and research shows a cardboard box can be the simple solution.

How do we know what types of enrichment are most important to cats? A new study by Dr. Jacklyn Ellis (University of Prince Edward Island) et al tests shelter cats’ preferences. The results show the importance of a simple cardboard box for kitty cats.

What is environmental enrichment for cats?

Environmental enrichment involves adding something to the cat’s environment that is good for its welfare. Enrichment can be especially important for cats in shelters since the environment is stressful for them, away from their familiar home and with the presence of unknown cats and people, and perhaps with dogs in earshot too. But it's important for our cats at home too.

There are many ways to provide enrichment for cats, including vertical space, olfactory enrichment, food and even cognitive enrichment with clicker training.

How do we know what cats like?

How do we know which types of enrichment cats like best? For example, we know that cats like to be high up, and we also know that cats like to hide, but which is most important to them?

One way to find out is to investigate whether a particular enrichment leads to better physical and behavioural health, as with Gourkow and Phillips (2016) study of clicker training shelter cats.

Another way is to give cats a choice between enrichment items, and see where they choose to spend their time. The study by Dr. Jacklyn Ellis et al uses this method to see which of three types of enrichment shelter cats prefer.

This is a choice test, in which the animal is placed in one chamber with access to other compartments that contain different items, to see which one(s) they access the most. It’s also possible to do a motivational test to see how hard an animal will work to access a particular compartment. These methods have been used with a wide range of animals, including goldfish to see if they prefer real or artificial plants (answer: goldfish like both real and artificial plants).

The study of shelter cats and enrichment choices

The current study aimed to investigate which type(s) of enrichment shelter cats prefer out of a choice between a hiding box, a shelf to perch on, and a prey-like toy (the Mouse Chaser). Since we already know that cats like to hide, to perch in high up places, and to play with toys, it’s interesting to see which one they like best.

Photo: sarikosta; top, kmsh. Both Shutterstock.

26 domestic cats from an animal shelter took part in groups of 3 at a time. On average, the cats had been at the shelter for 6 days. While they took part in the study the cats were housed in a lab that was set up with three choice chambers (one per cat). The cats could not see the other cats, although they could hear them.

The choice chamber consisted of a central space that contained the cat’s food and litter, with four compartments leading off. One was empty as a control, while the other three compartments contained the hiding box, perch, and toy. Access to the compartments was via a cat flap, and after time to acclimate to the central space the cats were taught how to use the cat flaps using wet food, treats or petting as rewards. Once they’d got the hang of that, the experiment itself began.

The cat flaps were set up so that a record was automatically made every time the flap was opened. The researchers measured how often each compartment was accessed over a period of 7 days, and how much time the cats spent in there.

Results of the study

The results show that although there were no differences in how often each chamber was accessed, the cats spent significantly more time in the compartment with the hiding box.  This suggests the hiding box was important to them.

There was also an effect of light, with compartments being visited more often during light hours than dark, and in particular between 8am and midday, suggesting the cats were more active during this time. However light and dark did not affect the amount of time spent per compartment. Individual cats differed a lot in terms of how much time they spent perching on the shelf.


There were no effects of age, sex or whether the cat was a stray or a surrender on the frequency of visits to the compartments. However, cats that had been strays spent less time in the control (empty) compartment than cats that had been surrendered by their owners. The researchers suggest this may be because stray cats either prefer to avoid empty spaces, or to spend more time in close proximity to their resources (given they are used to having to find them for themselves).

The researchers raise the question of whether the hiding box was enrichment or in fact actually a necessity. Some scientists say enrichment is about providing something that brings positive welfare benefits, rather than prevents poor welfare.

The scientists write,

“These authors may contend that the much greater allocation of time to the hiding box may be evidence that not providing an opportunity for these individuals to hide is failing to cater to their basic needs.”

The layout of the room was such that only one of the choice chambers gave cats a view of whether or not a person was approaching; the other chambers could be accessed from more than one angle. In this chamber, the cats tended to spend more time in the compartment from where they could see someone approaching, suggesting they value time with a person.

Over time cats may change their preferences, and as seen with the perches in this study, each cat is an individual. Since only one toy was used in the study, it may be that different types of toy, having a variety of toys, and/or toys that involve interaction with a human might be preferred by particular cats.

The scientists conclude that,

“Although the frequency in which the cats visited each compartment did not differ, they allocated more of their time to the compartment with a box that provided a hiding opportunity. This may be because hiding satisfies a basic need for cats housed short-term in caged conditions.”

Although the study took place in a lab, which may be less stressful than the shelter, it shows that hiding places were still very important to the cats.

Hiding places for shelter cats and owned cats

Many shelters already provide a hiding space for cats. One example is the BCSPCA’s Hide Perch and Go, which provides a hiding space, a perching space and can be used to transport the cat. Another is the Feline Fort from Cats Protection that includes a step and table as well as hiding place and is easy to disinfect.

The research is only about shelter cats and not owned cats, but it has implications for cats at home, who benefit from hiding spaces too. Providing a safe space is one of the five pillars of a healthy feline environment (Ellis et al 2013). Cats are prey animals and can be taken by coyotes etc, and as solitary hunters if they got injured it would have serious consequences for future food acquisition. So cats feel safer when they have places to hide, which may be enclosed, high up, and in a quiet area.

Why not take a look around your home and see which spaces are available for your cat to hide in. Under the bed and under the settee can be good hiding places, but they are still quite large areas, and cats prefer to have smaller cat-sized hiding places where they can feel more enclosed.

The hiding place used in this study is easy to replicate at home, since it was a cardboard box with a hole cut in one side to provide access. Other options include cat trees with enclosed hiding spaces, cat tunnels, cat carriers, or even access to a suitable shelf or cupboard in your house (so long as they can't get trapped there). Leaving the cat carrier out and making it a nice comfy hiding space also has benefits when it comes to taking your cat to the vet.

If you have multiple cats in your home, each one needs access to hiding places without having to compete with the other cats.

The full paper is open access and can be read via the link below.

What kind of hiding places does your cat spend time in?

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References
Ellis, J. J., Stryhn, H., Spears, J., & Cockram, M. S. (2017). Environmental enrichment choices of shelter cats. Behavioural Processes. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.03.023
Ellis, S. L., Rodan, I., Carney, H. C., Heath, S., Rochlitz, I., Shearburn, L. D., ... & Westropp, J. L. (2013). AAFP and ISFM feline environmental needs guidelines. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, 15(3), 219-230. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1098612X13477537
Gourkow, N., & Phillips, C. J. (2016). Effect of cognitive enrichment on behavior, mucosal immunity and upper respiratory disease of shelter cats rated as frustrated on arrival. Preventive veterinary medicine, 131, 103-110. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.prevetmed.2016.07.012
Sullivan, M., Lawrence, C., & Blache, D. (2016). Why did the fish cross the tank? Objectively measuring the value of enrichment for captive fish. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 174, 181-188. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2015.10.011

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