Assessment of stress levels among cats in four animal shelters

McCobb, Emily; Patronek, Gary J.; Marder, Amy R.; Dinnage, Julie D.; Stone, Michael S.

doi:10.2460/javma.2005.226.548

Cited by 138 publications

(138 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Although sometimes used as an indicator of good welfare in cats (Kessler and Turner, 1997), excessive and deep sleep , particularly when correlated with inhibition of feeding, grooming and locomotion has been associated with depression (Pedersen and Pratt, 1991) and respiratory infections (McCobb et al, (2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of cognitive enrichment on behavior, mucosal immunity and upper respiratory disease of shelter cats rated as frustrated on arrival

Gourkow

Phillips

2016

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

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Please cite this article as: Gourkow, Nadine, Phillips, Clive J.C., Effect of cognitive enrichment on behavior, mucosal immunity and upper respiratory disease of shelter cats rated as frustrated on arrival.Preventive Veterinary Medicine http://dx.doi.org/10. 1016/j.prevetmed.2016.07.012 This is a PDF file of an unedited manuscript that has been accepted for publication. As a service to our customers we are providing this early version of the manuscript. The manuscript will undergo copyediting, typesetting, and review of the resulting proof before it is published in its final form. Please note that during the production process errors may be discovered which could affect the content, and all legal disclaimers that apply to the journal pertain. Highlights  Regular cognitive enrichment of frustrated cats -a human teaching them a taskimproved their welfare  Treated cats were more content than cats not taught the task  Treated cats had increased concentrations of immunoglobulin A in their feces  Cats that responded well to the treatment had the biggest increase in concentrations of immunoglobulin A in their feces  Treated cats had less respiratory disease 2 ABSTRACT Acquisition of resources and opportunity to engage in natural behaviors has been shown to reduce frustration-related behaviors and enhance health in nondomestic felids kept in zoos, but little is known about whether there are similar effects in domestic cats living in confinement in animal shelters. Fifteen cats rated as Frustrated during the first hour of confinement to a cage at an animal shelter were assigned to either a Treatment (n=7) or Control (n=8) group. Treatment cats were taken from their cages to a separate room four times daily for 10 min each time over a 10 d period, where they took part in training sessions to learn a novel behavior (paw-hand contact with a researcher). Changes in emotional states and mucosal immune response were evaluated over 10 days. Infectious status was determined upon admission and incidence of upper respiratory was determined up to day 40 based on clinical signs. Treated cats were more likely to be rated as Content than Control cats and had greater concentrations of S-IgA (537 µg/g) in feces than Control cats (101 µg/g). Within the Treatment group, cats that responded positively had greater concentrations of S-IgA (925 µg/g) than those that responded negatively (399 µg/g).Control cats were more likely to develop respiratory disease over time compared to cats that received treatment (Hazard Ratio: 2.37, Confidence Interval: 1.35-4.15). It is concluded that there is prima facie evidence that cognitive enrichment of cats exhibiting frustration-related behaviors can elicit positive affect (contentment), stimulate secretion of IgA and reduce incidence of respiratory disease, which is worthy of further study.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of cognitive enrichment on behavior, mucosal immunity and upper respiratory disease of shelter cats rated as frustrated on arrival

Gourkow

Phillips

2016

Preventive Veterinary Medicine

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“…The lack of a statistically significant result may be because shelter environments are too stressful for this level of intervention to make a measurable difference. McCobb et al (2005), in a study using the CSS, concluded that differences in enrichment can make a difference in stress levels of cats. The small number of cats we were able to study at each shelter may have also been insufficient for small effects to be detected.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cats not in view received a stress score of 0. If the cat was visible, its behavior was rated using the 7-level CSS (McCobb et al, 2005). A score of 1 signified a "fully relaxed" cat, and a score of 7 signified a "terrorized" cat (online only Appendix 2).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of the addition of in-cage hiding structures and toys and timing of administration of behavioral assessments with newly relinquished shelter cats

Moore

Bain

2013

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

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Keywords: welfare behavior cat enrichment shelter stress a b s t r a c t Most cats entering shelters are euthanized. This study used behavioral assessments to determine how quickly a cat acclimated to its new environment and whether enrichment eased this transition. Twentyfive cats at 2 municipal shelters were evaluated with 2 separate standardized behavioral assessments at 3 separate times, beginning the day after entering the shelter. One behavioral assessment included an in-cage evaluation, whereas the other assessment involved a stepwise combined in-and out-of-cage evaluation. Eleven of the cats were given a cardboard box to hide in and a toy in the cage, whereas 14 cats were not given these objects. Our results suggest that cats need 72 hours to achieve optimum behavioral scores and a decrease in stress levels based on the 2 separate evaluations. The tests were correlated in their outcomes.

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“…Although it has not been reported any article about the behaviour of APPs in dogs and cats, cortisol levels have been reported to increase when dogs are introduced to novel kennels (Rooney et al, 2007) and where cats are maintained in non-enrichment shelter (McCobb et al, 2005). Knowing that APPs are sensitive biomarkers of welfare, it may be possible that an increase in APP concentration occurs after these conditions.…”

Section: Apps and Welfare In Small Animalsmentioning

confidence: 97%