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Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Behavioural Tendencies of Cats and Dogs in Japan
| Contributor(s):: Takagi, Saho, Koyasu, Hikari, Hattori, Madoka, Nagasawa, Takumi, Maejima, Michiro, Nagasawa, Miho, Kikusui, Takefumi, Saito, Atsuko
Physical and mental effects stemming from COVID-19 have impacted not only people’s lives but also the lives of their pets, which in recent years are often seen as members of the family. This study aimed to explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan on pets and their owners....
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Companion Cats Show No Effect of Trial-and-Error Learning Compared to Dogs in a Transparent-Obstacle Detour Task
| Contributor(s):: Shajid Pyari, Muhzina, Vékony, Kata, Uccheddu, Stefania, Pongrácz, Péter
We tested companion cats and dogs in similar indoor conditions using identical procedures in the classic detour task around a V-shaped transparent wire-mesh fence. Besides the control group, we used two types of laser light-pointing demonstration (moving around the fence, or pointing straight...
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Physiological Assessment of the Health and Welfare of Domestic Cats—An Exploration of Factors Affecting Urinary Cortisol and Oxytocin
| Contributor(s):: Nagasawa, Takumi, Kimura, Yuichi, Masuda, Koji, Uchiyama, Hidehiko
Physiological samples are beneficial in assessing the health and welfare of cats. However, most studies have been conducted in specialized environments, such as shelters or laboratories, and have not focused on cats living in domestic settings. In addition, most studies have assessed...
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Sociality of Cats toward Humans Can Be Influenced by Hormonal and Socio-Environmental Factors: Pilot Study
| Contributor(s):: Koyasu, Hikari, Takahashi, Hironobu, Sasao, Ikuto, Takagi, Saho, Nagasawa, Miho, Kikusui, Takefumi
Individual differences in the sociality of cats are influenced by inherited and environmental factors. We recently revealed that hormones can make a difference in intraspecies social behavior. It remains unclear whether cat behavior toward humans is modulated by hormones. Therefore, we analyzed...
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CATastrophic myths part 1: Common misconceptions about the social behavior of domestic cats and implications for their health, welfare, and management
| Contributor(s):: Croney, C., Udell, M., Delgado, M., Ekenstedt, K., Shoveller, A. K.
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Emergency Animal Boarding: A Social Return on Investment
| Contributor(s):: Ma, G. C., Ravulo, J., McGeown, U.
Companion animals play a central role in many families and are especially valued by those who are socially isolated. Crisis situations such as acute hospitalizations, homelessness, and natural disasters can make it difficult to preserve the human-animal bond and can result in animals being...
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What caregivers don’t tell you ... A comparison between survey responses and home videos of cat-cat interactions
| Contributor(s):: Van Belle, Morgane J. R., Gajdoš Kmecová, Noema, Tuyttens, Frank A. M., Moons, Christel P. H., Mills, Daniel S., De Keuster, Tiny C. B. M.
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Pet ownership during the first 5 years after breast cancer diagnosis in the NEON-BC cohort
| Contributor(s):: Lopes-Conceição, L., Peleteiro, B., Araújo, N., Dias, T., Fontes, F., Pereira, S., Lunet, N.
BackgroundAlthough human–animal interactions (HAI) have been associated with health benefits, they have not been extensively studied among cancer patients nor which factors may influence HAI during cancer survivorship. Therefore, this study aims to describe pet ownership in a breast cancer...
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Effects of Waiting Room and Feline Facial Pheromone Experience on Blood Pressure in Cats
| Contributor(s):: Laura R. Van Vertloo, Joyce M. Carnevale, Rebecca L. Parsons, Meghann Rosburg, Suzanne T. Millman
Obtaining accurate blood pressure measurements in cats is challenging due to the stressful nature of clinic visits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of veterinary clinic waiting experiences and a feline pheromone spray on blood pressure in the cat. We hypothesized that...
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Movement in Cats
| Contributor(s):: Valerie N. Plummer
Feral cats (Felis catus) are listed as one of the '100 world's worst invasive alien species'. There are as many as 70-100 million feral cats in the United States as well as an estimated 117-157 million domestic indoor and outdoor cats. Management efforts include a nonlethal feeding...
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Cats Did Not Change Their Problem-Solving Behaviours after Human Demonstrations
| Contributor(s):: Arahori, Minori, Kimura, Ayano, Takagi, Saho, Chijiiwa, Hitomi, Fujita, Kazuo, Kuroshima, Hika
Humans learn by observing the behaviour of others, which can lead to more efficient problem-solving than by trial-and-error learning. Numerous studies have shown that animals, other than humans, are also capable of social learning. Dogs, as humans’ closest companion animals, can learn to...
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Do Children With Cats Have More Mental Health Problems?
| Contributor(s):: Harold Herzog
Researchers explain why there are so few studies of human-cat relationships.
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Exposure to household pet cats and dogs in childhood and risk of subsequent diagnosis of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder
| Contributor(s):: Robert Yolken, Cassie Stallings, Andrea Origoni, Emily Katsafanas, Kevin Sweeney, Amalia Squire, Faith Dickerson
Background Serious psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder have been associated with environmental exposures in early life. Contact with household pets such as cats and dogs can serve as a source of environmental exposure during these time periods. Methods We...
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Emotional Depictions of Dogs and Cats in Interactions with Humans in Picture Books
| Contributor(s):: Juri Nakagawa, Naoko Koda
This study quantitatively analyzed the depiction of dogs’ and cats’ emotions in picture books and discussed the effects on children’s recognition of real dog and cat emotions. The stories depicted many basic emotional depictions of interest, joy, and surprise in dogs and cats,...
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Can North American animal poison control center call data provide early warning of outbreaks associated with contaminated pet food? Using the 2007 melamine pet food contamination incident as a case study
| Contributor(s):: Swirski, Alexandra L., Pearl, David L., Berke, Olaf, O'Sullivan, Terri L.
The 2007 melamine pet food contamination incident highlighted the need for enhanced reporting of toxicological exposures and development of a national quantitative disease surveillance system for companion animals. Data from poison control centers, such as the Animal Poison Control Center...
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Owners’ Beliefs regarding the Emotional Capabilities of Their Dogs and Cats
| Contributor(s):: Pickersgill, Olivia, Mills, Daniel S., Guo, Kun
The correct interpretation of an animal’s emotional state is crucial for successful human–animal interaction. When studying dog and cat emotional expressions, a key source of information is the pet owner, given the extensive interactions they have had with their pets. In this online...
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Critical problems for research in animal sheltering, a conceptual analysis
| Contributor(s):: Horecka, K., Neal, S.
Animal shelter research has seen significant increases in participation over the past several decades from academic organizations, private organizations, public entities, and even corporations that aims to improve shelter programs, processes, operations, and outcomes for the various...
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Changes in Cat Facial Morphology Are Related to Interaction with Humans
| Contributor(s):: Hattori, Madoka, Saito, Atsuko, Nagasawa, Miho, Kikusui, Takefumi, Yamamoto, Shinya
We aimed to clarify the changes in facial morphology of cats in relation to their interactions with humans. In Study 1, we compared the facial morphology of cats (feral mixed breed, owned domestic mixed breed, and owned domestic purebreds) with that of African wildcats. After collecting 3295...
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Cat coat color, personality traits and the cat-owner relationship scale: a study with cat owners in Mexico
| Contributor(s):: Gonzalez-Ramirez, M. T., Landero-Hernandez, R.
Studies regarding the cat-owner bond are quite rare, and several aspects merit more research, including personality trait differences in cats related to coat color and the cat-owner relationship. The objectives of the study were to describe, from the perspective of their owners, the personality...
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Pet Ownership in Aotearoa New Zealand: A National Survey of Cat and Dog Owner Practices
| Contributor(s):: Forrest, Rachel, Awawdeh, Leena, Pearson, Maria, Waran, Natalie
This study used an online survey distributed between January and March 2019 to adults residing in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ) to investigate cat and dog owner practices. Of the 2385 respondents, 885 (37%) owned both cat/s and dog/s, while 652 (28%) and 609 (26%) owned cat/s only or dog/s only,...
