Slow Blink Eye Closure in Shelter Cats is Related to Quicker Adoption

Sociality of Cats toward Humans Can Be Influenced by Hormonal and Socio-Environmental Factors: Pilot Study

Individual differences in the sociality of cats are influenced by inherited and environmental factors. We recently revealed that hormones can make a difference in intraspecies social behavior. It remains unclear whether cat behavior toward humans is modulated by hormones. Therefore, we analyzed the relationship between cat behavior and their basal hormone concentrations after spending time together with human experimenters. In addition, we analyzed the relationship between cat behavior and the timing of when the individual cats began living with a human because the sociality of cats could be dependent on their developmental experiences. The results showed that male cats that began living with humans earlier had more contact with an experimenter. In addition, individual male cats with low testosterone levels were more likely to interact with an experimenter. These findings of this pilot study suggest that the sociality of male cats toward humans is affected by testosterone and the age at which they begin to live with humans.

2022 AAFP/ISFM Cat Friendly Veterinary Interaction Guidelines: Approach and Handling Techniques

PRACTICAL RELEVANCE

The '2022 AAFP/ISFM Cat Friendly Veterinary Interaction Guidelines: Approach and Handling Techniques' (hereafter the 'Cat Friendly Veterinary Interaction Guidelines') support veterinary professionals with feline interactions and handling to reduce the impact of fear and other protective (negative) emotions, in so doing enhancing feline welfare and In implementing these Guidelines, team satisfaction and cat caregiver confidence in the veterinary team will increase as the result of efficient examinations, better experience, more reliable diagnostic testing and improved feline wellbeing. Veterinary professionals will learn the importance of understanding and appropriately responding to the current emotional state of the cat and tailoring each visit to the individual.

CLINICAL CHALLENGES

Cats have evolved with emotions and behaviors that are necessary for their survival as both a predator and prey species. A clinical setting and the required examinations and procedures to meet their physical health needs can result in behavioral responses to protective emotions. Cat friendly interactions require understanding, interpreting and appropriately responding to cats' emotional states and giving them a perceived sense of control while performing the required assessment.

EVIDENCE BASE

These Guidelines have been created by a Task Force of experts convened by the American Association of Feline Practitioners and the International Society of Feline Medicine, based on an extensive literature review and, where evidence is lacking, the authors' experience.

ENDORSEMENTS

These Guidelines have been endorsed by a number of groups and organizations, as detailed on page 1127 and at catvets.com/interactions and icatcare.org/cat-friendly-guidelines.

The Effect of Baby Schema in Cats on Length of Stay in an Irish Animal Shelter

Simple Summary

Several factors may influence cats’ length of stay (LoS) within the shelter environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential influence that ‘cuteness’ has on cats’ length of stay (LoS) in an animal shelter. Other factors such as paired-homing requirements, adoption profile (advertisements to encourage the adoption of a specific animal) wording, coat colour, sex and age were also explored. ‘Cuteness’ was measured in two ways; 1. Facial characteristics which characterise human infants, such as big eyes and a round head, were measured from images of cats to create an objective cuteness score. 2. Subjective cuteness scores were developed by participants rating the ‘cuteness’ of the cat images from ‘1-Not very cute’ to ‘5-Extremely cute’ through two online surveys; survey 1 investigated the cats’ social nature as well as cuteness while the second only looked at cuteness. The subjective cuteness scores were used to validate the objective cuteness scores. The analysis found that subjective cuteness influenced cats’ length of stay during the analysis of the first survey with no effect of other variables such as adoption profile language, homing requirements, coat colour, sex and age. Analysis of the data from the second survey found that none of the variables influenced the cats’ LoS. A novel objective measurement for cuteness in cats was developed which reflects the shape of the eyes and is associated with subjective cuteness scores. This research looks to understand factors that influence LoS to help identify potential methods to reduce time spent in shelters and improve the welfare of cats within these environments.

Abstract

Several factors may influence cats’ length of stay (LoS) within the shelter environment. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential influence that baby schema (characteristic facial features of infants, related to perceived ‘cuteness’) has on cats’ length of stay (LoS) in an animal shelter. Other factors such as paired-homing requirements, adoption profile (adverts to encourage the adoption of a specific animal) wording, coat colour, sex and age were also explored. Objective ‘cuteness’ scores were created by measuring specific facial features of 165 shelter cats. Several proportions of the cats’ faces were explored to identify the best objective measure of cuteness, including elements which have been found to associate with cuteness in cats and humans and new exploratory eye measurements. Subjective cuteness scores were developed by participants rating the ‘cuteness’ of the cat from ‘1-Not very cute’ to ‘5-Extremely cute’ through two online surveys; survey 1 investigated the cats’ social nature as well as cuteness while the second only looked at cuteness. The subjective cuteness scores were used to validate the objective cuteness scores. The analysis found that subjective cuteness in survey 1 was the only variable of influence on LoS. A novel objective cuteness measurement was developed which reflects the eye shape associated with subjective cuteness scores. The current study found that cuteness may not be as influential on cats’ LoS in shelters as hypothesised. This research looks to understand factors which influence LoS to help identify potential methods to reduce time spent in shelters and improve the welfare of cats within these environments.