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

Abstract

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.

Cognitive enrichment and welfare: Current approaches and future directions

“…Second, training is used as a form of cognitive enrichment itself. For example, rescue shelter cats with behavioral indicators of frustration were trained to perform a discrete task (touch paw to trainer's hand); trained cats displayed more behavioral indicators of contentment and were less prone to infection than untrained cats (Gourkow & Phillips, 2016). In that study, training was labeled as a form of "cognitive enrichment".…”

Facial correlates of emotional behaviour in the domestic cat (Felis catus)

“…Bradshaw et al, (2012), Turner and Bateson (2000). More recently Gourkow et al (2014aGourkow et al ( , 2014bGourkow et al ( , 2015Gourkow et al ( , 2016 provided objective quantifiable evidence of the behavioural styles of cats that might relate to their emotional predisposition. They identified that cats, following initial introduction to a shelter (Gourkow et al, 2014), tended to show one of three groups of behaviour: either one related to hiding, flat postures, freezing, startling, crawling and retreat from humans; or one related to normal patterns of feeding, grooming, sleeping and locomotion, sitting at the front of the cage while calmly observing activities, sleeping or resting while lying on their side, rubbing on cage items and friendly behaviour towards humans; or one related to persistent meowing, scanning, pacing and pushing, bouts of destructive behaviour, escape attempts and redirected aggression.…”

Cage size, movement in and out of housing during daily care, and other environmental and population health risk factors for feline upper respiratory disease in nine North American animal shelters

“…Behavioral as well as medical interventions have been investigated. Consistent human interaction tailored to the cat's temperament was significantly associated with increased secretory immunoglobulin A, reduced shedding of URI pathogens and lower risk of clinical URI [3,22,23]. However, the overall incidence of URI in cats in the enrichment study was still 34%, comparable to levels reported in other shelters without an equivalent enrichment program [2,14,21].…”

“…In addition to physical risk factors, the role of handling, stress and behavioral health is increasingly appreciated as a significant factor affecting URI development in shelter cats. No shelter in the study reported a specific positive handling program such as has been described in association with decreased URI risk [3,22,23]. However, one shelter reported that larger, double compartment housing specifically facilitated minimal disruptive handling: following an intake exam and vaccination, cats were placed in the housing unit with food, water and bed in one compartment, a towel draped over the cage door to provide visual protection, and a litter box in the other compartment [35].…”