To advise veterinarians, veterinary students, veterinary technicians and cat owners about the ways cats naturally feed, and to recommend how to feed the pet cat to optimally satisfy its behavioral needs using feeding programs that include play and predation, reduce stress in single and multi-cat environments, and meet nutritional requirements for overall health. Feeding strategies need to be tailored to the individual cat and household.
This review is intended to help veterinarians recognize physical and behavioral changes associated with acute stress through to chronic distress, including stress-associated diseases. An emphasis on thorough history-taking will allow the clinician to ascertain which signs are behavioral and which are medical, with the understanding that they are not mutually exclusive. Equally important is the contribution of pain, chronic disease and poor environmental situations to behavioral changes and the expression of medical disorders. Evidence base: There is an increasing amount of evidence that stress and distress have profound effects on feline health, behavior and welfare. The authors have drawn on a substantial body of published veterinary research in producing this review.
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