Association of age and body condition with physical activity of domestic cats (Felis catus)

How Lazy Are Pet Cats Really? Using Machine Learning and Accelerometry to Get a Glimpse into the Behaviour of Privately Owned Cats in Different Households

“…Cats in the present study were more active in summer, when temperatures are generally higher than in winter. This was contrary to findings of the outdoor colony housed cats where physical activity declined with increasing temperatures [ 23 , 24 ]. Studies on the effect of weather on cat behaviour are scarce.…”

“…As expected, time spent exhibiting active behaviour for indoor cats did not differ between seasons, whereas cats with outdoor access were more active in summer (3.9%) than in winter (2.7%). Two previous studies, both of outdoor colony housed cats, reported an effect of environmental temperature and relative humidity on physical activity [ 23 , 24 ]. Cats in the present study were more active in summer, when temperatures are generally higher than in winter.…”

“…It should be noted, however, that an observer was present in the house for behavioural observations in the study by [ 30 ], which could have influenced the behaviour of the cats. Smit et al [ 24 ] reported higher physical activity levels when caretakers were present than when they were absent. In addition to this, maintenance behaviours, such as eating and grooming, were included as ‘active’ behaviours by [ 30 ], while these were considered separately in the current study.…”

Nutraceutical supplementation increases mobility in aged captive non‐domesticated felids

“…In this case, we might expect this temporal variation in temperature to make it harder to detect, rather than amplify, any beneficial impacts of Antinol. In domestic cats, activity levels may be negatively associated with temperature, such that higher temperatures result in reduced physical activity 57 . Whether this trend applies to captive non‐domesticated cats from such a range of climates is unclear, as is the question of whether the range of temperatures under which the study was conducted would have an effect.…”

“…In domestic cats, activity levels may be negatively associated with temperature, such that higher temperatures result in reduced physical activity. 57 Whether this trend applies to captive non-domesticated cats from such a range of climates is unclear, as is the question of whether the range of temperatures under which the study was conducted would have an effect. If such a trend was consistent across species, we might expect the higher temperatures to reduce overall movement in the presupplementation period, but how this would affect our output metric of steps per unit time is difficult to ascertain.…”