We evaluated behavioural changes in domestic cats during a short-term hospitalisation using a novel cat demeanour scoring system. Thirty-five, healthy client-owned cats admitted for neutering were enrolled. Cats were housed in a standardised cat ward for a short-term hospitalisation period (3-5 days) and demeanour scores were recorded once daily. The scoring system classified cats into one of five behavioural groupings: friendly-and-confident, friendlyand-shy, withdrawn-and-protective, withdrawn-and-aggressive, and overtly-aggressive. Total demeanour score decreased over time (P<0.001) and the demeanour category improved (P<0.001). The intra-class correlation was 0.843 (P<0.001) and kappa was 0.606 (P<0.001) suggesting good repeatability and agreement among investigators. The demeanour scoring system was effective in detecting behaviour change in healthy cats undergoing a short-term hospitalisation period. The findings suggest that healthy cats require two days to acclimatise to hospitalisation.
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