New Media Mention: Susan C. Kahler, JAVMA news April 15, 2016
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Kristyn Vitale Shreve, a doctoral student and National Science Foundation graduate fellow in the Human-Animal Interaction Laboratory at Oregon State University, said that behavioral issues or cat-owner incompatibility account for at least 27 percent of the cats surrendered to shelters by owners.
Once in a shelter, dogs and cats spend more time in close proximity to an inattentive human than pets do, Vitale Shreve noted. She conducted a sociability test of 23 cats in a shelter, comprising an inattentive phase and an attentive phase of human interaction. The cats were aware of the attention or lack of attention. Meowing vocalization sometimes served as a cue that a cat was seeking human attention.
“Cats are facultatively social and display various levels of social behavior, depending on their environment and upbringing,” she said.
She said that human interaction through touch and vocalization can increase a cat’s affiliative behaviors and activity levels, cause it to seek close proximity with humans, and potentially decrease stereotypic behaviors, cortisol levels, and stress behavior.
“Cats in shelters that were given up were more stressed than strays,” she said. “You might want to focus (your efforts) first in the shelter on them.”
Vitale Shreve suggested implementing a shelter interaction protocol and enrichment activities such as providing food balls filled with treats to increase adoption rates, reduce return rates, and reduce stress-related behaviors.
Our new research indicates that adult shelter cats are not at a disadvantage when placed in the home of a foster caregiver for either 1-night or 1-week. Cats were likely to be highly social at both the shelter and foster home and cats did not display increased fear or stress in the foster home. These results support the idea that adult shelter cats can be placed into foster homes with little welfare concern. This research was made possible by a grant from Maddie’s Fund®, #ThanksToMaddie.
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