Reliability and Validity of a Survey of Cat Caregivers on Their Cats’ Socialization Level in the Cat’s Normal Environment

Abstract

Simple SummaryMany animal welfare organizations accept cats with no known behavioral history. It can be difficult to differentiate between a frightened but well-socialized cat and an unsocialized cat in an animal shelter environment. Making this distinction can save lives, yet currently there is no valid tool. Here we measured the quality of a survey designed to determine socialization level using information from the cat’s caregiver about a cat’s usual behavior around people in the cat’s normal environment. This survey will be used to help develop an effective process that accurately differentiates cats by their socialization levels in animal shelters.AbstractStray cats routinely enter animal welfare organizations each year and shelters are challenged with determining the level of human socialization these cats may possess as quickly as possible. However, there is currently no standard process to guide this determination. This study describes the development and validation of a caregiver survey designed to be filled out by a cat’s caregiver so it accurately describes a cat’s personality, background, and full range of behavior with people when in its normal environment. The results from this survey provided the basis for a socialization score that ranged from unsocialized to well socialized with people. The quality of the survey was evaluated based on inter-rater and test-retest reliability and internal consistency and estimates of construct and criterion validity. In general, our results showed moderate to high levels of inter-rater (median of 0.803, range 0.211–0.957) and test-retest agreement (median 0.92, range 0.211–0.999). Cronbach’s alpha showed high internal consistency (0.962). Estimates of validity did not highlight any major shortcomings. This survey will be used to develop and validate an effective assessment process that accurately differentiates cats by their socialization levels towards humans based on direct observation of cats’ behavior in an animal shelter.

Practical Physical and Behavioral Measures to Assess the Socialization Spectrum of Cats in a Shelter-Like Setting during a Three Day Period

“…We encouraged the participation of owners and caregivers to bring in cats anywhere along the spectrum of socialization towards humans, from truly un-socialized ferals to well-socialized house pets. All cat owners, fosterers and caregivers signed an informed consent form permitting their cats to participate in the study and completed the Cat Behavior and Background Survey [ 11 ]. Participating owned and fostered cats must have been living in the home for at least one month; unowned, free-roaming cats had to have been seen regularly by the caregiver for at least one month.…”

“…On Day 1 the cats were brought by their owners or caregivers to the study location in traps or carriers by 11 am. The owner/caregiver completed an informed consent form, the clinic’s standard surgery intake form, and a survey about the cat’s usual behavior and duration of ownership/care (Cat Behavior and Background Survey [ 11 ]). Carriers and traps were carried to a waiting area outside the study room and covered with a sheet to prevent contact between adjacent cats.…”

“…This study is the second of a three-phase project with a goal of developing a reliable and valid assessment tool that shelter staff can use to differentiate cats by socialization status within three days after intake. The first phase evaluated the reliability and validity of the Cat Behavior and Background Survey used to determine how socialized cats were in their normal environment, which provided the level of socialization used in this phase [ 11 ]. We recognize that there is no established standard for determining a cat’s comfort with humans; however, a tool was needed to better understand how to identify socialized cats.…”

“…We recognize that there is no established standard for determining a cat’s comfort with humans; however, a tool was needed to better understand how to identify socialized cats. The present manuscript serves to (1) describe the origin and administration of the structured assessments and measures used and their practicality in a shelter setting, (2) describe how the behavioral and physical measures changed in biologically important ways over time and by type of structured assessment (interaction) with the cat (for further analysis of these measures, see the third article in the series [ 12 ]), (3) examine which behaviors and physical measures are unique to More Socialized cats (based on their Cat Behavior and Background Survey results, see [ 11 ] for more detail) within three days after shelter intake to create a Behavior Checklist, and (4) validate the results of the Behavior Checklist.…”

Understanding human factors involved in the unwanted cat problem

“…It is now recognised that determining the sociability status of a cat can be challenging. Although some progress has recently been made toward devising a system for determining a cat's sociability status, at present standardised methods are not used routinely and consistently (Slater et al, 2010;Slater et al, 2013a;Slater et al, 2013b;Slater et al, 2013c).…”