Use and perception of collars for companion cats in New Zealand

Harrod, Mary; Keown, A. J.; Farnworth, Mark J.

doi:10.1080/00480169.2015.1110064

Cited by 25 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Although we were not seeking a representative sample, and there are more female cat owners in the United Kingdom (58%: PDSA, 2017), it is worth noting that the majority of our respondents (almost 80%) were female. This is consistent with other studies investigating similar issues (e.g., Wald et al, 2013;Harrod et al, 2016;Hall et al, 2016), though the precise reasons for such a bias in response rate are unknown.…”

Section: Me Thodssupporting

confidence: 92%

“…However, such surveys are limited in their ability to extend our understanding as to the reasoning and affective factors informing these perceptions. More recently, researchers in Australia (McLeod, Hine, & Bengsen, 2015) and New Zealand (Harrod, Keown, & Farnworth, 2016) have investigated perceptions and use of specific management interventions-containment and collars, respectivelywith the aim of identifying barriers to their use and/or informing behaviour change strategies.…”

Section: Cat Owner Perceptions and Management Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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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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Section: Me Thodssupporting

confidence: 92%

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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“…Specific to our context and problem, we modified McKenzie‐Mohr's () formula by adding a fourth variable: veterinarians' ranking of the impact of the behavior on cat welfare, because we were interested in delivering our future advocacy campaign from veterinary clinics. Veterinarians have a strong expert and normative influence over cat owners, particularly with respect to animal welfare (Harrod et al, ; MacDonald et al, ). Veterinarians have been successful advocates in previous owner‐behavior change initiatives (e.g., Byers et al, for improving owner and dog health) and could also be an important influence on cat owners.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cat inside at night Cat brought inside from dusk until dawn every night Reduce home range; cat home range correlated to predation (Robertson, 1998) (Hall et al, 2016b) influence over cat owners, particularly with respect to animal welfare (Harrod et al, 2016;MacDonald et al, 2015). Veterinarians have been successful advocates in previous ownerbehavior change initiatives (e.g., Byers et al, 2014 for improving owner and dog health) and could also be an important influence on cat owners.…”

Section: Behaviormentioning

confidence: 99%

Prioritizing cat‐owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation

Linklater

Farnworth

Heezik³

et al. 2019

Conservat Sci and Prac

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Behavior prioritization is underutilized but critical to the success of conservation campaigns. It provides an understanding of the target audience's values, transcending conflict, and informing the design of achievable and effective advocacy campaigns. Depredation by domestic cats may depress wildlife populations, leading to conflict between cat owners and conservationists. We surveyed veterinarians and cat owners at veterinary clinics to prioritize a list of nine cat‐management behaviors. Cat‐owner behaviors were ranked by their (a) likelihood of implementation and (b) current adoption rate by cat owners, (c) perceived effectiveness at reducing predation on wildlife, and (d) veterinarians' opinions about their impact on cat welfare. Bringing cats in at night, from before dusk until after dawn, was revealed to be the behavior most suited to a campaign to reduce cats' hunting. Behaviors ranked as more effective for conservation (e.g., 24‐hr cat confinement) were unlikely to be adopted by cat owners or not supported by veterinarians, whose expert and normative support may be critical to a campaign. Although more conservation‐effective behaviors received a lower priority, we discuss the repeated use of behavior prioritization to achieve incremental reductions in cat depredation by engaging with cat owners.

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“…Therefore, social research to help understand the public perception of cats Hall et al 2016 in New Zealand is vital. Some research has begun (see Table 1), including investigating the use and perception of cat collars (cat owners preferred to use microchips for identification purposes; Harrod et al 2016), to the acceptability of unowned-cat control (respondents who owned cats perceived non-lethal control of unowned cats to be more acceptable than lethal control methods, when compared with non-owners; Farnworth et al 2011). A survey designed to better understand the attitudes of Western Australians towards cat-control legislation (Grayson et al 2002) has been adapted for use in other countries, including New Zealand.…”

Section: Social Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Research challenges and conservation implications for urban cat management in New Zealand

Kikillus

Chambers

Farnworth

et al. 2017

Pac. Conserv. Biol.

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Abstract. Over the past 20 years, conservation efforts in New Zealand have moved from being concentrated in rural and isolated island locations, where exotic mammalian predators are often controlled, to begin to bring native fauna back to major cities. However, human-wildlife conflicts arise when conservation occurs in close proximity to cities. These are particularly intense when companion animals are involved either as potential predators or prey of high-value conservation animals. Within New Zealand, this conflict is particularly fraught around domestic cats (Felis catus) in the urban environment. Cats in New Zealand are recognised as major introduced predators of native fauna, but they also prey on small introduced predatory mammals. This dynamic causes much conflict between people with different attitudes towards animals; however, as yet, few studies have explored the role(s), either negative or positive, of urban cats in New Zealand. Here, we review current knowledge on domestic cats in urban New Zealand, identify gaps in knowledge and make suggestions for future research, which includes further social science research, citizen science-based research programs, market research, investigation into cat-management legislation, and more in-depth studies of cat diseases and zoonoses. These data are vital for informing the public and improving the management of urban cat populations, including mitigating conservation impacts. Urban ecologists will need to be versatile in the way they design and conduct experiments, exploiting multiple disciplines to both ensure scientific robustness, but also community and government support for uptake of results into management and legislation.

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Use and perception of collars for companion cats in New Zealand

Abstract: As the most trusted source of information about pet care, an enhanced understanding of cat ownership and management may be of use to veterinarians to promote responsible pet ownership and to develop national policies and practices to improve cat welfare.

Cited by 25 publications

References 30 publications

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

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

Prioritizing cat‐owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation

Research challenges and conservation implications for urban cat management in New Zealand

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