Conspecific and Human Sociality in the Domestic Cat: Consideration of Proximate Mechanisms, Human Selection and Implications for Cat Welfare

Evaluating undesired scratching in domestic cats: a multifactorial approach to understand risk factors

Introduction

Despite being a natural feline behavior, scratching can become undesirable from a human perspective when directed at household items. This complex behavior can stem from various motivations, ranging from individual cat characteristics to environmental factors. This study investigates the factors influencing the increased level of undesirable scratching behavior in domestic cats, considering both cat-related and environmental aspects.

Methods

Data from 1,211 cats were collected for this study. An online questionnaire comprising three sections was utilized. The first section gathered caregiver demographics, while the subsequent section examined aspects of cats' daily routines, social interactions, environments, behaviours, and temperaments. The final section assessed the frequency and intensity of undesirable scratching behavior in cats. Scratching behavior was evaluated based on a combined scratching index.

Results

The study suggests that the presence of a child may be associated with scratching episodes in the home environment. Additionally, factors such as play duration, playfulness, and nocturnal activity were identified as significant contributors to heightened scratching levels (p ≤ 0.05). Aggressiveness and disruptiveness also played significant roles in increased scratching behavior (p ≤ 0.05). The location of scratching posts emerged as a significant factor, with posts placed in areas frequented by the cat being more effective in redirecting scratching behavior (p ≤ 0.05).

Discussion

This study reveals several significant associations between cat characteristics, nocturnal activity and play, as well as the environment. It underscores the multifaceted nature of undesirable scratching behavior and emphasizes the importance of comprehensively understanding both the individual characteristics of the cat and its environment to effectively address this behavior.

Feline Cognition and the Role of Nutrition: An Evolutionary Perspective and Historical Review

Research into cognition in cats and the impact of nutrition on cat cognitive health lags behind that in dogs but is receiving increased attention. In this review, we discuss the evolutionary history of the domesticated cat, describe possible drivers of domestication, and explore the interrelationships between nutrition and cat cognition. While most cat species are solitary, domesticated cats can live in social groups, engage in complex social encounters, and form strong attachments to humans. Researchers have recently started to study cat cognition using similar methods as those developed for dogs, with an initial primary focus on perception and social cognition. Similar to dogs, cats also show cognitive and behavioral changes associated with stress and aging, but these signs are often gradual and often considered a consequence of natural aging. Despite the fundamental role of nutrition in cognitive development, function, and maintenance, research into the association between nutrition and cognition in cats is only preliminary. Ultimately, additional research is needed to gain a full understanding of cat cognition and to explore the role of nutrition in the cognitive health of cats to help improve their welfare.

2024 AAFP intercat tension guidelines: recognition, prevention and management

Social tension or conflict between household cats is common but, because it often manifests as subtle behavioral changes, it can go unnoticed; it is precisely because most signs are subtle and unrecognized that the term 'tension' is used. Where associated tension-related chronic fear-anxiety leads to more overt behavioral concerns and stress-associated disease, cats may face relinquishment by caregivers or even euthanasia if the tension is not relieved. The '2024 AAFP intercat tension guidelines: recognition, prevention and management' have been authored by a Task Force of board-certified veterinary and applied behaviorists and clinical experts in feline medicine and behavior convened by the American Association of Feline Practitioners. The aim is to support veterinary professionals in understanding social behavior between cats and, more specifically, in recognizing intercat tension, preventing or minimizing its occurrence and managing the stressors. In developing the Guidelines, the Task Force has modified the five pillars of a healthy feline environment to provide a framework to assist the prevention or management of intercat tension in households with two or more cats. Because feline social behavior is often misunderstood, the Guidelines debunk 10 common myths that have the potential to negatively impact the wellbeing of companion cats. Extensively illustrated with visual examples of intercat tension and an Appendix detailing a number of case studies, the Guidelines also include a comprehensive table of psychotherapeutic medications, and a detailed algorithm that outlines a systematic approach to preventing, recognizing and resolving intercat tension. A step-by-step approach to introducing a new cat into a household with one or more resident cats is included to further support veterinarians, and a range of management tools to promote client education accompany the Guidelines.

Insights to Study, Understand and Manage Extruded Dry Pet Food Palatability

Pet food production is a fast-growing industry. While extruded dry pet food is the favored pet food due to its convenience of use, it may have poorer palatability than other pet foods such as wet pet foods. However, palatability plays a pivotal role in meeting nutritional requirements or providing therapeutic benefits in cats and dogs, as it ensures food acceptance. Thus, both academics and manufacturers conduct routine palatability tests to assess acceptance and preference of products among pets, alongside sensory analyses involving human panels. Palatability is greatly influenced by species-specific and environmental factors in cats and dogs. The review will hence present the current knowledge on palatability assessment and animal food perception; it will then aim to explore strategies for effectively managing palatability in dry pet food by examining the impact of key ingredients and process parameters on the finished product's palatability. Moreover, the demands and needs for sustainable and healthier products as well as supply constraints present novel challenges and opportunities for academics and manufacturers.

Attitudes and practices toward feral cats of male and female dog or cat owners and non-owners in Seoul, South Korea

The number of pet cats in South Korea has sharply increased since 2010. Problems have arisen with feral or stray cats, creating conflict among residents, to such an extent that the government provides some sites for people to offer feeding stations for the stray cats. This study investigated hypotheses on people's attitudes toward feral cats in Seoul, South Korea: (i) dog and cat owners would show more positive attitudes than non-owners toward feral cats; (ii) females would have more positive attitudes toward feral cats than males; (iii) the number of Seoul-provided feeding stations by district would be correlated with people's positive attitudes toward feral cats. Responses from 7,394 participants were used for the final analyses with 3,179 males, 3,607 females, and 599 others (includes "decline to state"). Cat owners reported more extremely positive attitudes toward feral cats than people who had no cats. Females more often had cats than males, and they were more extremely positive toward pet and feral cats than males, and strongly opposed to culling as a management strategy. The attitudes toward feral cats of people with only dogs were intermediate between people with cats and people without pets, more resembling those of people without pets. There was a correlation between the number of city-provided feeding stations and people's attitudes toward feral cats, but only in the areas with at least 40 feeder stations; having many city-provided feeding stations was associated with very negative attitudes to feral cats. Whether the very large number of feeding stations were provided in the two neighborhoods due to a previously excessive number of feral cats in those neighborhoods, vs. those feeding stations attracting or provisioning an ever-growing number of feral cats, is unknown. These results show sharp differences in attitudes between cat owners and non-owners, and between males and females. Results resemble findings in other studies, perhaps with more extreme differences between sub-groups. The study revealed that attitudes toward pet and feral cats in Seoul were complex and varied with pet ownership, with sex, and with neighborhood context.

Relationship between asymmetric nostril use and human emotional odours in cats

Cat social behaviour and cognition has received a growing interest during the last decades. Recent studies reported that cats efficiently engage in interspecific communication with humans and suggest that cats are sensitive to human emotional visual and auditory cues. To date, there is no evidence on the social and informative role of human emotional odours, which may affect human-cat communication. In this study, we presented cats with human odours collected in different emotional contexts (fear, happiness, physical stress and neutral) and evaluated the animals' behavioural responses. We found that "fear" odours elicited higher stress levels than "physical stress" and "neutral", suggesting that cats perceived the valence of the information conveyed by "fear" olfactory signals and regulate their behaviour accordingly. Moreover, the prevalent use of the right nostril (right hemisphere activation) with the increase of stress levels, particularly in response to "fear" odours, provides first evidence of lateralized emotional functions of olfactory pathways in cats.

BEHAVIOURAL RESPONSES TO SEPARATION FROM HUMAN COMPANION IN THE DOMESTIC CAT: A SURVEY-BASED STUDY

The domestic cat is known to react to social separation, though the conceptual relationship between separation-related behaviours outside of a clinical context has not been described in detail. We did an online survey on participants who had cats in their households (Nparticipants=114; Ncats=133) and asked them to evaluate the frequency of 12 behavioural elements associated with social separation from human companions on a 5- point Likert Scale. We performed two dimensionality reduction techniques (component and factor analyses) to assess whether the specified behaviours related to social separation belonged to the same axis. We found four distinct components instead of one: (a) reactivity towards companion departure cues, (b) protest behaviour towards inaccessibility, (c) unusual elimination behaviour, and (d) negative responses following social separation. Our findings suggest a manifestation of different motivational states rather than a single, separation-related construct. Future studies would benefit from a careful evaluation of the separation-related behaviours in a multi-measure context to improve the accuracy of ethological classifications.

Why can't we be friends? Exploring factors associated with cat owners' perceptions of the cat-cat relationship in two-cat households

Most research examining cat behavior in multi-cat households lacks focus on one group size. This gap in knowledge reduces generalizability of research findings to specific compositions of cats in multi-cat households. Given that many cat-owning households in Canada and the US are comprised of two cats, the following study used a cross-sectional survey to explore cat owners' perceptions of the cat-cat relationship in two-cat households in Canada and the US. A total of 6,529 owners of two cats completed the online questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the data and a logistic regression model used to assess various explanatory variables (i.e., household, management, and cat-specific factors) associated with participants perceiving their cats' relationship as negative. The logistic regression model showed that owners of two-cat households are more likely to perceive their cats' relationship as negative if both cats are spayed females, adult or mature, have a large gap in age, not related, one or both have access to the outdoors, or show aggression toward people or other animals in the home. Having multiple litterbox and feeding areas were also associated with a more negative cat-cat relationship. Overall, the complex interplay, directionality, and temporality of these factors requires further investigation for a full understanding of how to improve the cat-cat relationship in two-cat households. More research is needed to provide evidence-based recommendations for managing and supporting a positive cat-cat relationship in the home.

An ethological analysis of close-contact inter-cat interactions determining if cats are playing, fighting, or something in between

Intraspecific social interactions in domestic cats are often categorised as affiliative or agonistic. However, public or professional assessment of encounters can have difficulty distinguishing rough-and-tumble play from true agonism. One possible issue is the potential occurrence of elements of both, play and agonism, within inter-cat play, for example when one cat wants to terminate a bout of play but the other seeks to continue the interaction, which subsequently may provoke more overt agonistic behaviour. To test this hypothesis, we conducted behavioural observations of 105 unique dyadic interactions of domestic cats (N = 210) captured on videos collected from owners and YouTube. We assessed cats for the frequency and duration of six behavioural elements. The dataset was reduced using PCA with a varimax rotation and factor scores were used to classify the population using hierarchical cluster analysis. To validate the identified clusters, the average scores of the constituent factors were compared and the data on interactions were labelled by four cat behaviour experts as "playful", "intermediate" or "agonistic". In addition, to evaluate properties of expert-labelled categories we used linear discriminant analysis followed by an ordinal regression. The results showed considerable convergent validity in factor distributions between clusters and expert-labelled groups: reciprocal wrestling was most closely associated with a group of playfully interacting cats, while vocalisation and chasing were associated with the agonistic group. The intermediate group, while having characteristics of both, was more closely related to the playful group than the agonistic group, with prolonged exchanges of interactive behaviours being a predominant feature. Thus, our findings support the suggestion of there being an intermediate category between mutual social play and agonism. This might escalate into a fully agonistic encounter, but does not necessarily reflect a break down in their social relationship but rather a short-term disagreement in social priorities.

Flat-Faced or Non-Flat-Faced Cats? That Is the Question

Persian and exotic shorthair cats are the most-popular brachycephalic breeds worldwide. This study aimed to explore differences in human-cat bonding, behavioural traits, perception of clinical breed-related problems, and the motivation for purchasing between brachycephalic cat owners (BCOs) and non-brachycephalic cat owners (NBCOs). Using an online questionnaire, human-cat bonding and cats' behavioural traits were explored using the CORS and Fe-BARQ scales, respectively. Breed-related problems and motivations for purchasing were explored only in BCOs. There were 278 BCOs and 250 NBCOs who completed the survey. Respiratory diseases resulted in being the main health problem of these breeds. Most BCOs were not aware of the incidence of these disorders in brachycephalic cats. Character and appearance were the main motivations for purchasing these breeds. Perceived emotional closeness (EC), cat-owner interaction (COI), and perceived cost (PC) mean scores were significantly higher in BCOs. Playfulness and affection-/attention-seeking scores were significantly higher in NBCOs. BCOs reported a significantly higher score for separation-related behaviours. The higher scores in separation-anxiety-related behaviours and in the EC and COI scales could be related mainly to the high level of care these breeds require. The motivation for acquiring brachycephalic breeds for good companionship seems in contrast with the lower scores obtained from BCOs for playfulness and affection-/attention-seeking.

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.

Comparing Pears to Apples: Unlike Dogs, Cats Need Habituation before Lab Tests

Simple Summary

Comparative studies can help us better understand our family pets’ social and cognitive behaviours and gain more insights in the evolution of some human abilities. However, the comparison of the behaviours of cats and dogs in a standard laboratory environment is not without challenges. Though recently they play a similar role in modern Western societies as pets, both their evolutionary history and individual experiences are different. We tested the spontaneous behaviour of companion cats and dogs in the same novel laboratory environment, and if needed, we tried to habituate them in the presence of their owners and an unfamiliar experimenter. To pass the habituation test, subjects were expected to play with the experimenter or accept food from them. All dogs passed the test on the first occasion, while almost 60% of the cats needed habituation and some could not reach the criteria even after three habituation sessions. More experienced cats (which had the opportunity to meet strangers and explore unfamiliar places) were not more successful, in fact, younger cats passed more easily. We found marked differences between dogs and cats in all behavioural variables; compared to dogs, cats spent more time crouching and close to their box, while less time exploring or close to the owner. Our findings are important not only regarding the test methods of cats and the interpretation of their data collected in the laboratory so far but, in a more general sense, on developing future comparative experiments.

Abstract

Research on the socio-cognitive skills of different species often benefit from comparative experiments, however, the ecology of the species and development of the individuals may differently determine how they react to the same test situation. In this study, our aims were twofold: to observe and compare the spontaneous behaviour of companion cats and dogs in the same novel environment, and to habituate them (if needed) to the novel environment in the presence of their owners and an unfamiliar experimenter. The behaviour of 62 family cats, 31 experienced (which had the opportunity to meet strangers and explore unfamiliar places) and 31 inexperienced cats, and 27 family dogs was compared in an unfamiliar room. The subjects’ behaviour was coded during the first five minutes in the presence of two passive persons, their owners, and an unfamiliar experimenter. Then, based on a set of rules, first the owner, and then the experimenter tried to initiate interactions with the subjects and the subjects’ willingness to interact was evaluated. To pass the habituation test, subjects were expected to play with the experimenter or accept food from them. All dogs passed the test on the first occasion, while almost 60% of the cats failed. The cats’ experience did not play a significant role, in fact, younger cats passed more easily. We found marked differences between dogs and cats in all behavioural variables; compared to dogs, cats spent more time crouching and close to their box, while less time exploring or close to the owner. We did not find a difference in the cats’ behaviour based on their experience. Our results support the hypothesis that unlike dogs, cats need extensive habituation in a novel environment. This could partially be explained by the difference in the ecology and/or domestication process of the species, although developmental effects cannot be excluded. Our findings have fundamental consequences not only for the considerations of the testability of cats and on the interpretation of their data collected in the laboratory, but in a more general sense on developing comparative experiments.