Cat Ownership Perception and Caretaking Explored in an Internet Survey of People Associated with Cats

Zito, Sarah; Vankan, D.; Bennett, Pauleen; Paterson, Mandy; Phillips, Clive J. C.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0133293

Cited by 46 publications

(77 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…Of all respondents, 90% answered they were strongly attached to their pet and regarded them as a family member. This is a higher proportion than in other studies of pet owners in Western countries describing a strong human-pet bond [ 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ], and only 35–45% of respondents in one survey would have regarded their pet (dog or cat) as a family member [ 18 ]…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Search Methods Used to Locate Missing Cats and Locations Where Missing Cats Are Found

Huang

Coradini

Rand

et al. 2018

Animals

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Simple SummaryA least 15% of cat owners lose their pet in a five-year period and some are never found. This paper reports on data gathered from an online questionnaire that asked questions regarding search methods used to locate missing cats and locations where missing cats were found. The most important finding from this retrospective case series was that approximately one third of cats were recovered within 7 days. Secondly, a physical search increased the chances of finding cats alive and 75% of cats were found within a 500 m radius of their point of escape. Thirdly, those cats that were indoor-outdoor and allowed outside unsupervised traveled longer distances compared with indoor cats that were never allowed outside. Lastly, cats considered to be highly curious in nature were more likely to be found inside someone else’s house compared to other personality types. These findings suggest that a physical search within the first week of a cat going missing could be a useful strategy. In light of these findings, further research into this field may show whether programs such as shelter, neuter and return would improve the chances of owners searching and finding their missing cats as well as decreasing euthanasia rates in shelters.AbstractMissing pet cats are often not found by their owners, with many being euthanized at shelters. This study aimed to describe times that lost cats were missing for, search methods associated with their recovery, locations where found and distances travelled. A retrospective case series was conducted where self-selected participants whose cat had gone missing provided data in an online questionnaire. Of the 1210 study cats, only 61% were found within one year, with 34% recovered alive by the owner within 7 days. Few cats were found alive after 90 days. There was evidence that physical searching increased the chance of finding the cat alive (p = 0.073), and 75% of cats were found within 500 m of the point of escape. Up to 75% of cats with outdoor access traveled 1609 m, further than the distance traveled by indoor-only cats (137 m; p ≤ 0.001). Cats considered to be highly curious were more likely to be found inside someone else’s house compared to other personality types. These findings suggest that thorough physical searching is a useful strategy, and should be conducted within the first week after cats go missing. They also support further investigation into whether shelter, neuter and return programs improve the chance of owners recovering missing cats and decrease numbers of cats euthanized in shelters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Search Methods Used to Locate Missing Cats and Locations Where Missing Cats Are Found

Huang

Coradini

Rand

et al. 2018

Animals

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“…To the best of our knowledge, there are only two empirical studies [15,28] and one review article [25] addressing this condition in cats. Studies that verify the care practices used by owners and the impacts of management on the welfare of cats are also scarce [6,12,[29][30][31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of separation-related problems in domestic cats: A questionnaire survey

et al. 2020

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Identifying and preventing the occurrence of separation-related problems (SRP) in companion animals are relevant to animal welfare and the quality of human-pet interactions. The SRP are defined as a set of behaviors and physiological signs displayed by the animal when separated from its attachment person. In cats, SRP has been insufficiently studied. Thus, the objective of this study was to develop a questionnaire for cat owners which identifies behaviors that may indicate SRP, as well as relates the occurrence of SRP to the management practices applied in the sampled cats. The associations of SRP with cats' characteristics, as well as owner, environmental, and management traits were investigated. The questionnaire was developed based on the scientific literature about separation anxiety syndrome in dogs and a few papers in cats, and it was completed by 130 owners of 223 cats. Analysis of owners' answers was done through categorization and acquisition of relative frequencies of each response category, followed by Fisher's exact test, chi-square tests in contingency table and Multiple Correspondence Analysis. Among the sampled animals, 13.45% (30 / 223) met at least one of the behavioral criteria we used to define SRP. Destructive behavior was the most frequently reported behavior (66.67%, 20 / 30), followed by excessive vocalization (63.33%, 19 / 30), urination in inappropriate places (60.00%, 18 / 30), depression-apathy (53.33%, 16 / 30), aggressiveness (36.67%, 11 / 30) and agitationanxiety (36.67%, 11 / 30) and, in lower frequency, defecation in inappropriate places (23.33%, 7 / 30). The occurrence of SRP was associated with the number of females living in the residence (P = 0.01), with not having access to toys (P = 0.04), and no other animal residing in the house (P = 0.04). Separation-related problems in domestic cats are difficult to identify due to the limited amount of knowledge regarding the issue. The questionnaire developed in this study supported identification of the main behaviors likely related to SRP in cats and could be used as a starting point for future research.

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“…Although support for registration and night confinement of cats is relatively high, there is nevertheless resistance to permanent confinement and bans on cat ownership (Grayson et al, 2002;Lilith et al, 2006;Travaglia & Miller, 2017). A series of studies (Toukhsati, Bennett, & Coleman, 2007;Toukhsati, Young, Bennett, & Coleman, 2012;Zito, Vankan, Bennett, Paterson, & Phillips, 2015) has additionally examined the phenomenon of cat "semi-ownership" in Australia and has sought to identify both the prevalence of this and participants' perceptions of responsibility towards semi-owned cats. This research found that although some people regularly feed cats they do not own, they are unlikely to take responsibility for neutering those animals for a number of reasons, including the assumption that other people own (and are therefore responsible for) them.…”

Section: Cat Owner Perceptions and Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hunting behaviour in domestic cats: An exploratory study of risk and responsibility among cat owners

2019

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The potential impact of domestic cats on wildlife is the subject of growing international interest and concern. While feral cats are often the primary focus of research and debate, in many societies a substantial proportion of domestic cats are owned by private individuals. We present a typology that classifies domestic cats in relation to varying degrees of human control over their reproduction, movement, and provisioning. Understanding the perceptions and practices of cat owners will be key to identifying and mitigating any negative ecological effects of cat hunting behaviour. To investigate how cat owners perceive (a) their pets’ hunting behaviour, (b) their responsibilities for managing this, and (c) the mitigation strategies available, we conducted detailed interviews with a diverse sample of cat owners in the United Kingdom. We identified a spectrum of views on hunting behaviour, from owners who perceived hunting as positive (for pest control, or as healthy cat behaviour) to those who were deeply concerned about its consequences for wild animals, their populations, and welfare. However, hunting was widely understood as a normal, natural component of cat behaviour, and owners rarely perceived a strong individual responsibility for preventing or reducing it. Those who did wish to manage hunting perceived several barriers to this, including concern that they were unable to control behaviour effectively without compromising cat welfare, doubt about the efficacy and practicality of popular mitigation measures, and unfamiliarity with alternative options. We recommend that (a) initiatives directed at changing cat owners’ behaviour consider the multiple factors and competing priorities that inform their decision‐making (particularly cat health and welfare and practicality or cost of interventions); (b) researchers work collaboratively with cat owners and veterinary, cat welfare, and conservation organizations to identify effective solutions, and (c) some degree of accountability for managing problematic hunting behaviour should be promoted as a part of “responsible pet ownership” initiatives. A plain language summary is available for this article.

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Cat Ownership Perception and Caretaking Explored in an Internet Survey of People Associated with Cats

Cited by 46 publications

References 36 publications

Search Methods Used to Locate Missing Cats and Locations Where Missing Cats Are Found

Search Methods Used to Locate Missing Cats and Locations Where Missing Cats Are Found

Identification of separation-related problems in domestic cats: A questionnaire survey

Hunting behaviour in domestic cats: An exploratory study of risk and responsibility among cat owners

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