The number of elderly people in the United States is projected to more than double to 80 million by the year 2050, which will likely result in an increased incidence of dementia. Although AAT programs have been instituted as therapeutic activities for residents of long-term care facilities, there is little research documenting their effectiveness, especially in patients with dementia, who have difficulty maintaining contact with the external world. In addition, some long-term care facilities may be reluctant to include AAT in their facilities due to concerns about infection, injury, animal care, or cleanliness. The use of Sony's computerized, or robotic, "pet" called AIBO, may be a means of stimulating social interaction in residents with dementia without the drawbacks associated with live animal visitation. This study compares the effects of visitation by a person, a person accompanied by a live dog, and a person accompanied by an AIBO, on behavioral indicators of social interaction among female nursing home residents with dementia. All three types of visits stimulated residents to initiate conversation, touches, and looks at other individuals (human, dog, and AIBO) and provided contacts with the outside world. Both the live dog and AIBO stimulated resident social interaction beyond that stimulated by the visitor alone. The AIBO induced longer looks and more resident-initiated conversation than the live dog and provided a positive source of social interaction. While all three types of visits stimulated nursing home resident social interaction, the success of the robotic dog in stimulating social interaction by dementia residents suggests that it may provide a viable alternative to live animal visitations. 43Anthrozoös

No abstract

A descriptive study of the use of space and patterns of interaction of 14 unrelated, nonreproductive domestic cats (Felis catus) living together in a singlestory house was undertaken, since these behaviors have rarely been described for cats in this common situation.Within the house, the cats kept to overlapping but individually distinct home ranges. The home ranges of males tended to be slightly larger than those of females, a pattern similar to that found in studies of feral cats outdoors. Three male kittens showed dramatic reductions in home range at approximately one year of age.Almost all individuals had favored spots where they could predictably be found within the rooms they frequented. While some individuals had unique spots that only they used, more com-monly several individuals had the same favored spot within a room. Sharing of such spots was primarily the result of different individuals occupying the spots at different times, a kind of time-sharing rather than physical sharing. Time-sharing groups could be identified, some all female, some all male, some a mix.Certain individuals were identified as dominant or subordinant by their ability to control access to resources and/or by others conceding resources to them. However, overt aggression was rare, and there was no clear hierarchy.Tail positions could be identified and may have played an important role in helping this relatively large group occupy this relatively small home.Density calculations completed at the end of the study indicated that the group was living at approximately 50 times the highest densities observed in most studies of cats outdoors, yet stable groupings were maintained.

No abstract

No abstract