Education about Cats may Reduce Feline Behaviour Problems
Behavioural advice for people with a new
kitten is linked to a better-behaved pet at 1 year old.
By Zazie Todd, PhD
A new pet can be hard work, and if people don’t fully understand the needs of their animals, behaviour problems can result. A new study investigates whether education for owners at their first vet appointment is the answer.
A new pet can be hard work, and if people don’t fully understand the needs of their animals, behaviour problems can result. A new study investigates whether education for owners at their first vet appointment is the answer.
People with a new kitten (3 months old) were
given 25 minutes of standardized advice on caring for cats. The study, by Angelo
Gazzano et al (University of Pisa) compared the behaviour of these cats at just over 1 year
old with that of a control group where no behavioural advice was given.
The authors say, “providing simple,
relatively short advice at the very beginning of a kitten-owner relationship is
not only important in pleasing the owners, protecting cat welfare, and [the]
cat-owner relationship but also in offering a complete service to the owners.”
The education was given by a vet
behaviourist and took 25 minutes. It included advice on cat behaviour, such as
the need to habituate kittens to social and non-social stimuli and provide
environmental enrichment, as well as advice on how to train and manage a cat,
including litter box issues and getting the cat used to being handled as in a vet consult.
91 cats took part in the study; 45 whose owners received the behavioural advice, and 46 cats in a control group.
For the group given behavioural advice,
only 2 owners consulted someone about a behaviour problem (one asked the
breeder and another asked a veterinary behaviourist). In the control group, 21
cat owners asked for advice about their cat’s behaviour: of these, 43% asked
their vet, 19% asked a vet behaviourist, and 10% consulted the internet or
scientific literature.
This is reflected in people’s complaints
about their cat. People in the no-advice group were much more likely to have at
least one complaint about their cat’s behaviour (46%) compared to those in the
advice group (4%).
One of the most striking differences is in
how people fed their cat. In the no-advice group, 39% fed when the cat asked to
be fed, 30% fed their cat twice a day and 30% fed three or more times a day.
However, in the advice group, 71% of people fed three or more times a day,
suggesting they had taken the vet behaviourist’s advice on board. (Domestic cats
prefer several small meals a day - see International Cat Care).
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Photo: IrynaBu; top, Acon Cheng (both Shutterstock.com) |
In the advice group, cats were more likely
to only go on some furniture or just on the furniture they were allowed on. In
the no-advice group, cats were more likely to climb curtains. There were no
differences in scratching furniture. “Excessive vocalization” was more common
in the no-advice group.
The cats in the advice group were more
tolerant of being touched. Although both groups of cats were sociable, the
no-advice group were more likely to seek physical contact when the owner was on
the bed or sofa. Cats in the behavioural advice group were more likely to greet
the owner when they came home. Although there were no differences in kneading
or licking, cats in the advice group were reported to rub more often on their owner, and to seek physical contact more often.
One potential confound is that cats in the
behavioural advice group were more likely to be allowed outdoors. This could
make a difference, because indoors-only cats are more likely to get bored and
lack environmental enrichment, and hence may be more likely to have behaviour
problems. It’s possible the behavioural advice prompted people to allow their
cats time outdoors, especially since the study was in Italy where outdoor cats
are common, but we don’t know.
It would be nice to know whether the
behavioural advice prompted people to behave differently (aside from the
feeding regime). For example, did it mean people were more likely to buy
scratching posts, pay attention to provision of litter trays, and spend more time playing with their cat? Were they more understanding of any feline indiscretions?
This would be a great topic for follow-up research.
These results are interesting and suggest that providing information to new cat owners is beneficial, which is good news for those who hope to improve animal welfare through education.
What advice do you wish you had been given
before you got a cat?
*Full disclosure: one of my cats climbs the bedroom curtains. She is allowed.
Zazie Todd, PhD, is the author of Wag: The Science of Making Your Dog Happy
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Reference
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As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. As an Etsy affiliate, I earn from qualifying Etsy purchases.
I would have liked to know the importance of enriching (and how) the environment of my cats. I have two indoor cats. Also I would have liked to know beforehand how to train them. I have read extensively and am happy to see that I am making progress, but there is a big difference in having cats that can roam the garden (which is what I am used to from my childhood) and having cats in an apartment. Cats are not easy pets, but they are wonderful pets and very loving and loyal when treated right.
ReplyDeleteI'd have liked to know how to play with a cat, as I was raised by Yorkshire terriers and initially approached my partner's cat as if she were a dog, when I first started dating him. She put me right very fast! Then I sat down and watched lots of My Cat From Hell and learned how to behave around cats, and that made a huge difference. Two and a half years on, we all live together between his flat and mine, and she considers me her human just as much as he is. Switching to four small meals instead of two meals a day helped, in particular with how early she starts nagging us for breakfast. We now have cat trees in both our flats, cat shelves, lots of cat toys, and when my disability permits, we walk her on a harness and lead in local parks. She's a much happier kitty. She still attacks our ankles at times, though.
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DeleteRecently I took a kitten and now actively studying his behavior. Thank you very much for such an interesting article. Now I know how to find a common language with a cat
ReplyDelete