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Scratching behaviour in cats is described as a normal expression of the feline ethogram, having different possible purposes related to visual and chemical communication. During behavioural consultations owners often mention scratching as an additional problem. This preliminary study aimed to understand the characteristics of this complex behaviour by examining the variables displayed by a sample of the Italian feline population using multiple correspondence analysis. One hundred and twenty-eight cats were screened by means of a questionnaire to identify features of their scratching behaviour. Our data showed the importance of both the presence/absence of a scratching post in the cat's living area and its relationship to marking. When a scratching post is present in a cat's living area, the cat appears to use it. Some aspects related to sex, neutering, age and environmental characteristics may modify the expression of scratching as a marking behaviour. Research has led to increased knowledge of this behaviour and may help veterinarians in describing to owners why it is important for cats to express scratching behaviour in their environment. Such information could help veterinarians and owners to recognise normal and problematic scratching behaviours.

BackgroundStem cell-based therapies are an attractive option to promote regeneration and repair defective tissues and organs. Thanks to their multipotency, high proliferation rate and the lack of major ethical limitations, “olfactory ecto-mesenchymal stem cells” (OE-MSCs) have been described as a promising candidate to treat a variety of damaged tissues. Easily accessible in the nasal cavity of most mammals, these cells are highly suitable for autologous cell-based therapies and do not face issues associated with other stem cells. However, their clinical use in humans and animals is limited due to a lack of preclinical studies on autologous transplantation and because no well-established methods currently exist to cultivate these cells. Here we evaluated the feasibility of collecting, purifying and amplifying OE-MSCs from different mammalian genera with the goal of promoting their interest in veterinary regenerative medicine.Biopsies of olfactory mucosa from eight mammalian genera (mouse, rat, rabbit, sheep, dog, horse, gray mouse lemur and macaque) were collected, using techniques derived from those previously used in humans and rats. The possibility of amplifying these cells and their stemness features and differentiation capability were then evaluated.ResultsBiopsies were successfully performed on olfactory mucosa without requiring the sacrifice of the donor animal, except mice. Cell populations were rapidly generated from olfactory mucosa explants. These cells displayed similar key features of their human counterparts: a fibroblastic morphology, a robust expression of nestin, an ability to form spheres and similar expression of surface markers (CD44, CD73). Moreover, most of them also exhibited high proliferation rates and clonogenicity with genus-specific properties. Finally, OE-MSCs also showed the ability to differentiate into mesodermal lineages.ConclusionsThis article describes for the first time how millions of OE-MSCs can be quickly and easily obtained from different mammalian genera through protocols that are well-suited for autologous transplantations. Moreover, their multipotency makes them relevant to evaluate therapeutic application in a wide variety of tissue injury models. This study paves the way for the development of new fundamental and clinical studies based on OE-MSCs transplantation and suggests their interest in veterinary medicine.

The management of puppies is considered of great importance in raising well-behaved adult\ud \ud dogs. This research aimed to assess the effectiveness of advice provided by a veterinary behaviorist\ud \ud regarding puppy-raising practices.\ud \ud Forty-six puppy owners received advice by a veterinary behaviorist concerning puppy raising during the\ud \ud puppy’s first visit to a veterinarian. A control group was composed of 43 different dogs whose owners were\ud \ud not counseled by a veterinary behaviorist during the puppy’s first veterinary visit.Ownerswere interviewed\ud \ud about their dog’s behaviors at the time of their 1-year booster vaccination visit. The 89 dogs were clinically\ud \ud healthy, between 11 and 18 months old, 53% females and 47% males, of various or mixed breeds.\ud \ud Dogs whose owners received advice displayed less undesirable behaviors than the control group, such as:\ud \ud house soiling (2% vs 23%; c2 5 19.50; P , .01), mounting (26% vs 49%; c2 5 12.11; P , .05), nonstop\ud \ud playing (0% vs 12%; Fisher’s exact test P , .05), mouthing of people (11% vs 37%; c2 5 7.15; P , .01),\ud \ud begging for food (17%vs 42%;c255.31;P,.05), or demanding food fromthe table (0%vs 12%; Fisher’s\ud \ud exact test P , .05). Moreover, the experimental group showed less aggressive behaviors toward unknown\ud \ud people (26% vs 2%; Fisher’s exact test P , .01) and dogs (16% vs 2%; Fisher’s exact test P , .05).\ud \ud The advice providedwas effective in diminishing the incidence of undesirable behaviors in the dogs studied.\ud \ud The positive effect of a behaviorist’s advice is remarkable given that the puppies in the experimental\ud \ud group had remained with their mother and littermates for less than 2 months, which is believed to be a\ud \ud high-risk condition for development of behavioral disorders

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