Shelter housing for cats: Principles of design for health, welfare and rehoming

Wagner, Denae; Hurley, Kate; Stavisky, Jenny

doi:10.1177/1098612x18781388

Cited by 27 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…In UK more than three‐quarters of cats are rehomed, although older cats may spend prolonged periods in shelters. Many studies suggest that cats can become stressed when placed in shelters (eg, ref 50), and there is limited research on optimal shelter design 51. However, there is some evidence that use of enrichment, particularly to facilitate hiding, can reduce stress associated with shelters 52…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus

Rioja-Lang

Bacon

Connor

et al. 2019

Veterinary Record Open

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BackgroundCats are the most popular pets in the UK, yet relatively little research has been conducted into the welfare of cats living in a home environment. The purpose of this study was to determine and prioritise welfare issues for cats using a Delphi method.MethodsCat welfare experts (n=14) were asked to identify and rank welfare issues for cats in the UK. An initial list of 118 welfare issues was generated by an anonymous online discussion board of experts and thematic analysis using NVivo. Subsequently experts ranked the list of welfare issues according to severity, duration and prevalence using a 6-point Likert scale. All issues with a median score of 3 or above (n=43) were included in the second survey to determine agreement on the rankings of issues. Finally, a subsection of experts attended a two-day workshop to discuss the welfare rankings and determine the final prioritised list of welfare issues.ResultsThe issues considered to be the most severe and/or likely to cause prolonged cat suffering included social behaviour issues, diseases of old age, obesity, owners not seeking veterinary care and poor pain management. The welfare issues perceived to be most prevalent included neglect/hoarding, delayed euthanasia, inherited conformational defects/diseases, social or environmental restriction, and poor pain management.ConclusionsThe outcomes suggested that, although issues such as cat behaviour required further research, owner education was an important factor in improving cat welfare.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus

Rioja-Lang

Bacon

Connor

et al. 2019

Veterinary Record Open

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“…The aforementioned indicators of good and impaired welfare, along with some others, are summarised in Table 1. [114,129] The level of stress is affected by the quality of housing; the inability to show the natural range of activities for a longer period of time can lead to stress, which applies especially to individually housed cats in cage housing [130], often poor in enrichment, which is often used in shelters e.g., in the United States [131,132] or in general within the quarantine. The level of stress can be partially regulated by providing an undisturbed, dark place where the cat can hide [133,134], which, of course, does not address the overall lack of stimuli and space to engage in natural active movement.…”

Section: Behavioural Indicators Of Deteriorated Welfare Of Shelter Catsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Methods of Assessment of the Welfare of Shelter Cats: A Review

Vojtkovská

Voslářová

Večerek

2020

Animals

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At any moment, there are millions of cats housed in foster care facilities for abandoned and stray animals for various reasons worldwide. Care, management and regulation among these facilities differ. Moreover, shelters can never substitute the full comfort of a good home for the animal, and the welfare of cats in shelters is a subject of discussion in many respects. Cats are animals sensitive to changes; for most of them, placement in a shelter is a stressful experience because of changes in routine, environment and the presence of other animals. Stress is reflected in changes in behaviour, causes fluctuations in physiological values and disrupts the immune system, which is a predisposition to the development or reactivation of disease. Evaluation of the presence and intensity of negative impacts is possible through the use of evaluation tools based on indicators that help set the environment and management of keeping so as to disrupt the quality of life as little as possible. Although a comprehensive and valid welfare tool that would evaluate animal-based and at the same time resource-based (or management-based) indicators of cats in shelters is not currently available, it is possible to use partial evaluation of individual welfare indicators to assess welfare. This review aims to provide the readers with an insight into current options of assessment of the welfare of cats in shelters with an emphasis on behavioural, physiological and health indicators with an application in both practical and scientific contexts.

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“…2 Treatments available for stress reduction and appetite stimulation in veterinary hospitals and shelters include minimally invasive methods such as environmental accommodations (providing large kennels, portaled kennels, hiding spaces, multiple levels, and ample access to high-quality food, ad libitum water and appropriate litter boxes). 4 Since stress reduction directly correlates with appetite stimulation in cats, it is important to reduce overall stress while considering appetite stimulation. Stress reduction treatments include cleaning methods such as spot cleaning kennels instead of removing a cat from its kennel for cleaning, 4 use of synthetic feline facial pheromone on kennel walls and towels 5 and behavioural drugs such as Gabapentin.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…4 Since stress reduction directly correlates with appetite stimulation in cats, it is important to reduce overall stress while considering appetite stimulation. Stress reduction treatments include cleaning methods such as spot cleaning kennels instead of removing a cat from its kennel for cleaning, 4 use of synthetic feline facial pheromone on kennel walls and towels 5 and behavioural drugs such as Gabapentin. 6 More speciic appetite stimulation can be implemented with appetite stimulating drugs and more invasive methods such as force feeding, feeding tube placement and parenteral nutrition.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Treatments available for stress reduction and appetite stimulation in veterinary hospitals and shelters include minimally invasive methods such as environmental accommodations (providing large kennels, portaled kennels, hiding spaces, multiple levels, and ample access to high‐quality food, ad libitum water and appropriate litter boxes) 4. Since stress reduction directly correlates with appetite stimulation in cats, it is important to reduce overall stress while considering appetite stimulation.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Subhypnotic dose of intravenous propofol stimulates appetite in cats with stress‐induced anorexia

2020

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BackgroundStress-induced anorexia is common in cats. While medications are available to stimulate appetite, many require oral administration, have delayed onset-of-action or cause adverse side effects. The aim of this study was to determine whether cats diagnosed with stress-induced anorexia given a subhypnotic dose of intravenous propofol would have increased short-term appetite as compared to those given placebo.MethodsAnorexic shelter cats received either 1 mg/kg propofol or 1 mL saline placebo and then presented with various commercial cat foods. Grams of food consumed was measured at 15 and 30 min, and total grams compared between treatment and control groups using the Wilcoxon rank-sum test. 12 cats were enrolled, with six cats randomly assigned to each group.ResultsThe median amount consumed by the treatment group was 31 g (range: 0–72), with the median for the four cats (67 per cent) who consumed food being 45 g (range: 26–72), or 49 per cent of their daily maintenance calorie requirement. The median amount consumed by control cats was 0 g (range: 0–5), with one cat consuming food. Total grams consumed was different between treatment and control groups (P=0.05).ConclusionA subhypnotic dose of intravenous propofol increased appetite in cats with stress-induced anorexia for a 30 min period.

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Shelter housing for cats: Principles of design for health, welfare and rehoming

Cited by 27 publications

References 41 publications

Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus

Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus

Methods of Assessment of the Welfare of Shelter Cats: A Review

Subhypnotic dose of intravenous propofol stimulates appetite in cats with stress‐induced anorexia

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