No full-text available
To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.
Evaluation of Maine Coon cat behavior during three different management situations
Abstract
Today, cats are one of the most widespread and beloved companion animals: they share their life with people and are perceived as social partners by their owner. The knowledge and understanding of cat-human communication and of the behavior exhibited in response to different emotions is essential to improve the management of housed cats. The aim of this study is to analyze and compare the behavior of cats in three different situations that can occur in house cats’ lives.
Ten Maine Coon cats, four males and six females, ranging in age from one to 13 years, belonging to a single private owner and managed under the same conditions, were exposed randomly to three different contexts for five minutes (Waiting for food, Isolation in unknown environment and Brushing). All the situations were video-recorded and subsequently analyzed. The behaviors oriented to environment, oriented to food bowl, locomotion, active interactions, yawning, lip licking & swallowing and salivation mainly characterized Waiting for food, while Isolation appears principally characterized by behaviors like hiding, scratching, worried positions and exploration. Withdrawal, passive interactions, aggressive behaviors, facial discomfort and purring characterized Brushing. Vocalizations were significantly more frequent during Isolation and Brushing than during Waiting for food, but it is possible that the characteristics of the vocalizations in these two situations are different. Our principal finding is that cats showed different behavioral patterns in the three situations and, in particular, their behavior during Brushing was very different than in the two other situations. It can be hypothesized that these different behavioral responses are due to the different emotional states elicited by each of the three challenging and potentially stressful situations. Further investigation is being carried out in order to better understand cats’ behaviors and emotions to improve cats’ management in the household.
... Animals 2023, 13, 1528 2 of 12 humans act as central partners, and companion animals often spend more time with humans than conspecifics [1,2]. Understanding the way our closest non-human companions perceive and react to their human environment is a contemporary topic which has drawn research attention in the past decade [1,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20]. ...
... As species involved in daily interactions with humans, dogs and cats have developed "human specialized" socio-cognitive skills. These abilities have been widely investigated in dogs, showing their remarkable capacity to communicate and form relationships with humans and providing evidence for a high level of attentiveness toward humans [4][5][6]12,21,22]. By monitoring human faces, dogs obtain a flow of social information, including communicative cues and emotional and attentive states. ...
... Regarding vocal communication, dogs are more attentive when humans talk to them using dog-directed speech, a register resembling "baby talk" [30][31][32]. Moreover, multimodal signalling in human-dog communication has been increasingly studied in recent years, with an interesting focus on contrasting command paradigms in which the vocal cues indicate an intent that mismatches visual cues [5,17,18]. ...
Across all species, communication implies that an emitter sends signals to a receiver, through one or more channels. Cats can integrate visual and auditory signals sent by humans and modulate their behaviour according to the valence of the emotion perceived. However, the specific patterns and channels governing cat-to-human communication are poorly understood. This study addresses whether, in an extraspecific interaction, cats are sensitive to the communication channel used by their human interlocutor. We examined three types of interactions—vocal, visual, and bimodal—by coding video clips of 12 cats living in cat cafés. In a fourth (control) condition, the human interlocutor refrained from emitting any communication signal. We found that the modality of communication had a significant effect on the latency in the time taken for cats to approach the human experimenter. Cats interacted significantly faster to visual and bimodal communication compared to the “no communication” pattern, as well as to vocal communication. In addition, communication modality had a significant effect on tail-wagging behaviour. Cats displayed significantly more tail wagging when the experimenter engaged in no communication (control condition) compared to visual and bimodal communication modes, indicating that they were less comfortable in this control condition. Cats also displayed more tail wagging in response to vocal communication compared to the bimodal communication. Overall, our data suggest that cats display a marked preference for both visual and bimodal cues addressed by non-familiar humans compared to vocal cues only. Results arising from the present study may serve as a basis for practical recommendations to navigate the codes of human–cat interactions.
... Information regarding grooming practices of U.S. cat owners is limited despite evidence that brushing cats' hair is an important practice that serves to remove dead hair, aerate the skin, and disentangle knots that can cause pain and discomfort such as skin tightness and pruritus (an itching sensation), particularly in long-haired breeds (13). The APPA's recent report suggests that 32% of U.S. cat owners report that they do not have a brush or other grooming tool for their cat (12). ...
... Moreover, behavioral problems may be brought on or exacerbated by at-home and professional grooming. A recent evaluation of housed Maine Coon cats found that owners' grooming of cats (i.e., brushing) often elicited behaviors from the cat that are indicative of stress, such as aggressive behaviors, withdrawal, and facial discomfort, even when cats were habituated to brushing early in life (13). For novice pet owners, behavior problems and pets' reactions to grooming may present obstacles to meeting the pets' needs. ...
Grooming is an essential health maintenance activity that is fundamental to the welfare of many companion animals. Despite the potentially serious consequences of inadequate grooming for pets and their caregivers, few studies have examined the role of access to pet grooming services and supplies in promoting and maintaining companion animal health and welfare. The goal of this paper was 2-fold: (1) To provide preliminary findings demonstrating the scope of grooming and matting concerns among animals served by a large, non-profit animal welfare organization and (2) to provide a call for research to guide effective prevention of and responses to grooming-related omissions of care. We retrospectively extracted data from five American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) programs serving the New York City area: ASPCA Animal Hospital (AAH), Community Medicine (CM), One ASPCA Fund, ASPCA-NYPD (New York City Police Department) Partnership, and the Community Engagement (CE) Program. The prevalence of grooming–related concerns was relatively consistent across all three veterinary service programs (AAH: 6%; CM: 4%; One ASPCA Fund: 6%). Thirteen percent of the ASPCA-NYPD Partnership's cruelty cases involved general hair matting concerns and/or strangulating hair mat wounds (93% were long-haired dog breed types). Five percent of CE cases received grooming-related supplies to support pet caregivers' in-home grooming capabilities. Our findings underscore the need to understand the scope of grooming-related concerns among animals served by veterinarians and other community programs to improve animals' access to health-related services.
... The higher frequency of yawning may indicate relaxation and be interpreted as a comfort behaviour [47], indicating a positive affective state in the presence of the human compared to the auditory condition alone. On the other hand, yawning may also be a sign of arousal, or possibly frustration due to the fact that the cats could not physically interact with the human [48]. In fact, cats that yawned more often spent more time in the front of the enclosure and spent more time interacting with the audio source that was distinctly located from the human in the cat study part [48,49]. ...
... On the other hand, yawning may also be a sign of arousal, or possibly frustration due to the fact that the cats could not physically interact with the human [48]. In fact, cats that yawned more often spent more time in the front of the enclosure and spent more time interacting with the audio source that was distinctly located from the human in the cat study part [48,49]. ...
Reading books to shelter animals combining auditory enrichment with human presence is increasingly used although its effects on animal welfare have not yet been investigated. This study compared the behaviour of single-housed shelter dogs and cats during a prerecorded reading condition in the absence or presence of an unfamiliar human (without direct physical contact). Fourteen dogs and twenty-one cats were observed in their enclosure in the two conditions in a counterbalanced order. Behaviours such as scratching the door, gaze direction and location in relation to the audio source/human were analysed from video recording for 10 min per condition. Dogs spent more time in their bed (p < 0.047) and looking at the auditory source (p < 0.004) when a human was present. Cats showed door scratching and rubbing when a human was present (p < 0.043), whereas they tended to spend more time in the vertical dimension (p = 0.051), where the hiding boxes were located, during auditory stimulation without a human present. These results show that the presence of a human induces greater interest compared to just audio stimulation in shelter dogs and cats but may induce frustration likely due to not being able to physically interact in some animals.
... Therefore, the main aim of the current study was to further investigate to what extent humans recognize meows emitted in three different familiar contexts (i.e., waiting for food, isolation, and brushing) that elicit different behaviors [55] and are supposed to trigger different emotional states (positive or negative). ...
... One possible reason why waiting for food was perceived as less positive than brushing in the current study could be that cats were gently brushed and touched by their owner as usual while in the brushing condition, whereas in the waiting for food context the owner, after starting the normal routine operations that preceded food delivery, waited for 5 min before delivering it, thus possibly inducing also some distress. In fact, as reported by Cannas et al. [55], cats waiting for food showed yawning, lip licking, swallowing, and salivation. These behaviors are related to a condition of stress and frustration due to the delay in giving food instead of its request. ...
Simple Summary: Cat-human communication is a core aspect of cat-human relationships and has an impact on domestic cats' welfare. Meows are the most common human-directed vocalizations and are used in different everyday contexts to convey emotional states. This work investigates adult humans' capacity to recognize meows emitted by cats during waiting for food, isolation, and brushing. We also assessed whether participants' gender and level of empathy toward animals in general, and toward cats in particular, positively affect the recognition of cat meows. Participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge of cats and to evaluate their empathy toward animals. In addition, they listened to cat meows recorded in different situations and tried to identify the context in which they were emitted and their emotional valence. Overall, we found that, although meowing is mainly a human-directed vocalization and should represent a useful tool for cats to communicate emotional states to their owners, humans are not good at extracting precise information from cats' vocalizations and show a limited capacity of discrimination based mainly on their experience with cats and influenced by gender and empathy toward them. Abstract: Although the domestic cat (Felis catus) is probably the most widespread companion animal in the world and interacts in a complex and multifaceted way with humans, the human-cat relationship and reciprocal communication have received far less attention compared, for example, to the human-dog relationship. Only a limited number of studies have considered what people understand of cats' human-directed vocal signals during daily cat-owner interactions. The aim of the current study was to investigate to what extent adult humans recognize cat vocalizations, namely meows, emitted in three different contexts: waiting for food, isolation, and brushing. A second aim was to evaluate whether the level of human empathy toward animals and cats and the participant's gender would positively influence the recognition of cat vocalizations. Finally, some insights on which acoustic features are relevant for the main investigation are provided as a serendipitous result. Two hundred twenty-five adult participants were asked to complete an online questionnaire designed to assess their knowledge of cats and to evaluate their empathy toward animals (Animal Empathy Scale). In addition, participants had to listen to six cat meows recorded in three different contexts and specify the context in which they were emitted and their emotional valence. Less than half of the participants were able to associate cats' vocalizations with the correct context in which they were emitted; the best recognized meow was that emitted while waiting for food. Female participants and cat owners showed a higher ability to correctly classify the vocalizations emitted by cats during brushing and isolation. A high level of empathy toward cats was significantly associated with a better recognition of meows emitted during isolation. Regarding the emotional valence of meows, it emerged that cat vocalizations emitted during isolation are perceived by people as the most negative, whereas those emitted during brushing are perceived as most positive. Overall, it emerged that, although meowing is mainly a human-directed vocalization and in principle represents a useful tool for cats to communicate emotional states to their owners, humans are not particularly able to extract precise information from cats' vocalizations and show a limited capacity of discrimination based mainly on their experience with cats and influenced by empathy toward them.
Grooming is an important aspect of basic hygiene care for most companion animals. The consequences of not receiving routine grooming care can pose significant risks to animals' health and wellbeing. The current study examined barriers and facilitators of maintaining pets' grooming needs among clients of a subsidized grooming service program in New York City (N = 167), as well as the impact of a tailored nail-trimming demonstration on clients' confidence trimming pets' nails. Ninety-two percent of the sample reported experiencing at least one barrier to maintaining their pet's grooming (e.g., income, transportation) and nearly half (46%) experienced three or more barriers to providing grooming. Ninety-one percent endorsed that at least one supply/support (e.g., brush/comb, behavioral support) would be beneficial in maintaining their pet's grooming needs at home and more than half reported that three or more supplies/services would be beneficial. Differences in the prevalence of specific barriers to grooming were found across income groups, service locations, and service settings. Clients who received nail-trimming demonstrations, on average, reported statistically significant increases in confidence trimming nails following their appointment. We discuss the implications of these findings for improving animal welfare and veterinary professionals' capacity for preventing grooming-related omissions of care and increasing communities' capacity to support pet owners' access to essential pet care supplies and supports. Future research is needed to determine (a) how and for whom grooming demonstrations and subsidized services are most effective, (b) whether an increase in pet owner confidence following nail trimming demonstrations is associated with maintaining nail trimming at home over time, and (c) whether providing clients with supplies and supports is an effective way of preventing and/or ameliorating future grooming-related omissions of care and hygiene-related health concerns observed by veterinarians, animal control professionals, shelter staff, and law enforcement.
Our objective was to identify and characterize the types of vocalization other than meowing (VOM) in two contexts, a pleasant and an aversive situation, and to study the effect of the sex of the animal. A total of 74 cats (32 tom cats and 42 queens) living in the city of Curitiba, Brazil, participated in the study; in total, 68 (29 tom cats and 39 queens) were divided into two groups according to the stimulus they were exposed to: either a pleasant situation (PS), when they were offered a snack, or an aversive situation (AS), with the simulation of a car transport event. The other six animals (three tom cats and three queens) participated in both situations. Only the PS group presented VOM; of the 40 PS animals, 14 presented VOM, mostly acknowledgment or trill and squeak. No correlation was observed between vocalization and cat sex (p = 0.08; Pearson’s Chi-Square). Results show that VOM is exclusively associated with positive situations, suggesting that these vocalizations may be relevant for understanding the valence of cat emotional state. Further studies are warranted to advance knowledge on other VOMs and on the generalization of our findings to other situations.
During extinction a previously learned behavior stops being reinforced. In addition to the decrease in the rate of the instrumental response, it produces an aversive emotional state known as frustration. This state can be assimilated with the fear reactions that occur after aversive stimuli are introduced at both the physiological and behavioral levels. This study evaluated frustration reactions of domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) during a communicative situation involving interactions with a human. The task included the reinforcement and extinction of the gaze response toward the experimenter's face when the dogs tried to obtain inaccessible food. The dog's frustration reactions during extinction involved an increase in withdrawal and side orientation to the location of the human as well as lying down, ambulation, sniffing, and vocalizations compared with the last acquisition trial. These results are especially relevant for domestic dog training situations in which the extinction technique is commonly used to discourage undesirable behaviors.
Little is known about the cat’s (Felis silvestris catus) need for human contact, although it is generally believed that cats are more independent pets than e.g. dogs. In this study, we investigated the effect of time left alone at home on cat behaviour (e.g. social and distress-related) before, during and after separation from their owner. Fourteen privately owned cats (single-housed) were each subjected to two treatments: the cat was left alone in their home environment for 30 min (T0.5) and for 4 h (T4). There were no differences between treatments in the behaviour of the cat (or owner) before owner departure, nor during the first 5 min of separation. During separation, cats were lying down resting proportionally less (T = 22.5, P = 0.02) in T0.5 (0.27±0.1 (mean±SE)) compared to in T4 (0.58±0.08), probably due to a similar duration of higher activity early in the separation phase in both treatments. Comparisons of the time interval (min 20–25) in both treatments indicated no differences across treatments, which supports such an explanation. Towards the end of the separation phase (the last two 5-min intervals of separation in both treatments), no differences were observed in the cats’ behaviour, indicating that cats were unaffected by separation length. At reunion however, cats purred more (T = 10.5, P = 0.03) and stretched their body more (T = 17, P = 0.04) after a longer duration of separation (T4:0.05±0.02; 0.03±0.01; T0.5: 0.01±0.007; 0.008±0.003). Also, owners initiated more verbal contact (T = 33.5, P = 0.04) after 4 h (0.18±0.05) compared to after 30 min (0.12±0.03). There was no evidence of any correlations between the level of purring or body stretching by the cat and verbal contact by the owner implying that the behavioural expressions seen in the cats are independent of the owner’s behaviour. Hence, it seemed as cats coped well with being left alone, but they were affected by the time they were left alone, since they expressed differences in behaviour when the owner returned home. The increased level of social contact initiated by the cats after a longer duration of separation indicates a rebound of contact-seeking behaviour, implying that the owner is an important part of the cat’s social environment.
Fear is an emotion needed to survive, but when prolonged and frequent, causes suffering in both humans and animals. The most common forms of canine anxiety are as follows: general fearfulness, noise sensitivity, and separation anxiety are responsible for a large proportion of behavioral problems. Information on the prevalence and comorbidity of different anxieties is necessary for breeding, veterinary behavior, and also for behavioral genetic research, where accurate information of the phenotype is essential. We used a validated owner-completed questionnaire to collect information on dogs' fearfulness (toward unfamiliar people, dogs, in new situations), noise sensitivity, separation anxiety, as well as aggressive behavior. We received 3284 answers from 192 breeds. The prevalence estimate for noise sensitivity was 39.2 %, 26.2% for general fearfulness, and 17.2% for separation anxiety. The owner reported the median onset age for noise sensitivity to be 2 years and varied between 8 weeks and 10 years (N = 407). High comorbidity was observed between different anxieties: fearful dogs had a significantly higher noise sensitivity (P < 0.001) and separation anxiety (P < 0.001) compared with nonfearful dogs. Fearful dogs were also more aggressive compared with nonfearful dogs (P < 0.001). Prevalence estimates of fearfulness, noise sensitivity, and separation anxiety are in agreement with earlier studies. Previous studies have suggested early onset of noise sensitivity during the first year of life; however, we found a later onset with large variation in the onset age. High comorbidity between anxieties suggests a genetic overlap. Fearful personality may predispose to specific anxieties such as noise sensitivity or separation anxiety.
There is a growing body of scientific evidence supporting the existence of emotions in nonhuman animals. Companion-animal owners show a strong connection and attachment to their animals and readily assign emotions to them. In this paper we present information on how the attachment level of companion-animal owners correlates with their attribution of emotions to their companion cat or dog and their attribution of mirrored emotions. The results of an online questionnaire, completed by 1,023 Dutch-speaking cat and/or dog owners (mainly in the Netherlands and Belgium), suggest that owners attribute several emotions to their pets. Respondents attributed all posited basic (anger, joy [happiness], fear, surprise, disgust, and sadness) and complex (shame, jealousy, disappointment, and compassion) emotions to their companion animals, with a general trend toward basic emotions (with the exception of sadness) being more commonly attributed than complex emotions. All pet owners showed strong attachment to their companion animal(s), with the degree of attachment (of both cat and dog owners) varying significantly with education level and gender. Owners who ascribed human characteristics to their dog or cat also scored higher on the Pet Bonding Scale (PBS). Finally, owners who found it pleasant to pet their dog or cat had a higher average PBS score than those who did not like to do so. The relationship between owners’ attributions of mirrored emotions and the degree of attachment to dogs was significant for all emotions, whilst for cats this relationship was significant only for joy, sadness, surprise, shame, disappointment, and compassion.
The Ainsworth Strange Situation Test (SST) has been widely used to demonstrate that the bond between both children and dogs to their primary carer typically meets the requirements of a secure attachment (i.e. the carer being perceived as a focus of safety and security in otherwise threatening environments), and has been adapted for cats with a similar claim made. However methodological problems in this latter research make the claim that the cat-owner bond is typically a secure attachment, operationally definable by its behaviour in the SST, questionable. We therefore developed an adapted version of the SST with the necessary methodological controls which include a full counterbalance of the procedure. A cross-over design experiment with 20 cat-owner pairs (10 each undertaking one of the two versions of the SST first) and continuous focal sampling was used to record the duration of a range of behavioural states expressed by the cats that might be useful for assessing secure attachment. Since data were not normally distributed, non-parametric analyses were used on those behaviours shown to be reliable across the two versions of the test (which excluded much cat behaviour). Although cats vocalised more when the owner rather the stranger left the cat with the other individual, there was no other evidence consistent with the interpretation of the bond between a cat and its owner meeting the requirements of a secure attachment. These results are consistent with the view that adult cats are typically quite autonomous, even in their social relationships, and not necessarily dependent on others to provide a sense of security and safety. It is concluded that alternative methods need to be developed to characterise the normal psychological features of the cat-owner bond.
Cats’ (Felis catus) communicative behaviour towards humans was explored using a social referencing paradigm in the presence of a potentially frightening object.
One group of cats observed their owner delivering a positive emotional message, whereas another group received a negative emotional message. The aim was to evaluate whether cats use the emotional information provided by their owners about a novel/unfamiliar object to guide their own behaviour towards it. We assessed the presence of social referencing, in terms of referential looking towards the owner (defined as looking to the owner immediately before or after looking at the object), the behavioural regulation based on the owner’s emotional (positive vs negative) message (vocal and facial), and the observational conditioning following the owner’s actions towards the object. Most cats (79 %) exhibited referential looking between the owner and the object, and also to some extent changed their behaviour in line with the emotional message given by the owner. Results are discussed in relation to social referencing in other species (dogs in particular) and cats’ social organization and domestication history.
Yalcin E., H. Batmaz: Signalment Factors, Comorbidity in Behavior Diagnoses in Dogs in Bursa Region, Turkey (2000 - 2004). Acta Vet. Brno 2007, 76: 445-450. The aim of this study was to classify the behaviour problems of dogs reported by owners in the Bursa region. A survey was conducted with the owners of 80 dogs with behaviour problems in 2000 - 2004. The questionnaire consisted of questions related to the demographics of the problems the owners observed in their dogs. Sixty eight dogs were selected from animals referred to the Clinic of the Internal Medicine Department of the Uludag University, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and 12 dogs were selected at a private kennel. The 68 dogs diagnosed at the clinic as having behaviour problems represented 6.2% of the 1086 patient dogs older than 6 months seen in the same period. Twelve dogs with behaviour problems were selected from a total of 150 dogs at a private kennel. A total of 110 behavioural problems were detected. Some dogs showed more than one behavioural disorder. The classifi cation of the problems was as follows: 65 dogs (59%) with aggression, 13 dogs (12%) with separation anxiety, 12 dogs (10.5%) with phobia of veterinary clinics and high-volume noises such as thunders and fi reworks, 12 dogs (10.5%) with compulsive disorders (9 dogs with tail chasing, 2 dogs with lick dermatitis, 1 dog with self mutilation), 4 dogs (4%) with inappropriate elimination, 2 dogs (2%) with coprophagia, and 1 dog (1%) with puppy killing, 1 dog (1%) with false pregnancy. The breeds most often presented in our study were: German shepherd (19%), Terrier (18%), mixed breed (15%), Anatolian sheepdog (10%). The results of the study showed that behavioural problems are common among dogs in Bursa and aggression ranks fi rst, followed by separation anxiety, phobia and tail chasing. Dog, behavioural problems, aggression, separation anxiety, phobia, compulsive disorder
Unmanipulated human-cat interactions in established relationships and in the common but very complex home setting are described and analyzed quantitatively. Fifty-one cat-owning Swiss families were visited in their homes. In a total of 504 hours of observation, the interspecific interactions of 162 persons and 72 cats were recorded. Quantitatively, the interactive behavior of both partners in a human-cat dyad increases with increasing duration of human presence at home: this independent variable is largest in adult women and smallest in adult men, while children and juveniles show intermediate values. Therefore, adult women are generally predestined to be the main human partner in human-cat relationships. Even so, when based on mean duration of human presence, effects of human sex and age can still be found for some human and cat behavior. Judged by the amount and reciprocity of interactions, woman-cat dyads have the best and juvenile-cat dyads the worst relationships. Cat behavior toward individual family members not only depends upon characteristics of the human (availability, sex, and age) but also upon characteristics of the whole family, such as family size and number of cats living in the household (negative correlation for both factors). Cat housing condition (indoor versus outdoor) appears to be unimportant in the human-cat relationship, although it affects the duration of a cat's presence at home. The results show the complexity of human-cat relationships in the privacy of the home. The list of factors shown to influence such relationships was increased by several variables. Thus, observation of unmanipulated interspecific interactions was useful despite problems inherent to most field studies.
To determine the frequency of nonspecific clinical signs in dogs with separation anxiety, thunderstorm phobia, noise phobia, or any combination of these conditions and determine whether these conditions are associated in dogs.
Case series.
141 dogs.
Diagnoses were established using specific criteria. Owners of dogs completed a questionnaire on how frequently their dogs exhibited destructive behavior, urination, defecation, vocalization, and salivation when the owners were absent and the types and frequency of reactions to thunderstorms, fireworks, and other noises.
Associations of the 3 conditions and of various nonspecific clinical signs within and between diagnoses were nonrandom. The probability that a dog would have separation anxiety given that it had noise phobia was high (0.88) and approximately the same as the probability it would have separation anxiety given that it had thunderstorm phobia (0.86). However, the probability that a dog would have noise phobia given that it had separation anxiety (0.63) was higher than the probability that it would have thunderstorm phobia given that it had separation anxiety (0.52). The probability that a dog would have noise phobia given that it had thunderstorm phobia (0.90) was not equivalent to the converse (0.76).
Results suggested that dogs with any of these conditions should be screened for the others. Interactions among these conditions are important in the assessment and treatment of dogs with > 1 of these conditions. Responses to noise were different from those to thunderstorms, possibly because of the unpredictability and uncertainty of thunderstorms.
To test for possible functional referentiality in a common domestic cat (Felis catus) vocalization, the authors conducted 2 experiments to examine whether human participants could classify meow sounds recorded from 12 different cats in 5 behavioral contexts. In Experiment 1, participants heard singlecalls, whereas in Experiment 2, bouts of calls were presented. In both cases, classification accuracy was significantly above chance, but modestly so. Accuracy for bouts exceeded that for single calls. Overall, participants performed better in classifying individual calls if they had lived with, interacted with, and had a general affinity for cats. These results provide little evidence of referentiality suggesting instead that meows are nonspecific, somewhat negatively toned stimuli that attract attention from humans. With experience, human listeners can become more proficient at inferring positive-affect states from cat meows.
Introduction and Aims: Aim of this paper is to evaluate the characteristics of a sample of cats with behaviour problems in order to identify the presence of statistically correlation between diagnosis and different factors considered. Materials and methods: The study focused on 207 cats visited at the Behavioral Clinic of University of Milan between 1999-2017. Several variables were selected from the questionnaires collected during the visit. Results and Discussion: 51.2% of the subjects were diagnosed with inappropriate elimination, 15.9%, with intraspecific aggression, 14.9% with interspecific aggression, 8.5% with compulsive disorders and 9.5% with other problems. We found a statistical association of the behavior problems with different factors (p < 0.05): aggressive cats with people were mainly males, foster and adopted before 60 days of age and theirs owners considered the possibility of giving up their pets. Aggressive cats with other cats owners ask for help more promptly. © 2018 SCIVAC (Societa Culturale Italiana Veterinari per Animali da Compagnia). All rights reserved.
Two experiments were conducted to assess the influence of human attentional state, population, and human familiarity on domestic cat sociability. Sociability behaviors included duration of time in proximity and contact with the human and the frequency of meow vocalizations. Human attentional state influenced cat behavior, with cats spending significantly more time in proximity with the attentive human in both the pet (U(22) = 389, Z = -2.72, P = 0.007) and shelter groups (F(44) = 15.34, P = 0.0003). Cat population influenced sociability and shelter cats spent more time in proximity with the inattentive unfamiliar human as compared to pet cats (U(44) = 91, Z = 3.8, P = 0.0001) Additionally compared to pet cats, more individuals in the shelter cat group meowed at least once during the unfamiliar human inattentive phase (Fisher's exact test, P = 0.02). Human familiarity did not significantly influence pet cat sociability behaviors. Overall, a wide range of sociability scores was seen, indicating individual variation is an important consideration in cat social behavior. Future research in this area will predict conditions under which strong cat-human bonds form and establish a more comprehensive scientific understanding of cat behavior.
Undesirable behaviors are common in the domestic dog population. This study aimed to identify similarities and differences in characteristics underlying 2 major groups of behavioral problems, and their treatment outcome. The study focused on 335 dogs that visited a Behavioral Clinic in northern Italy between 2013 and 2016. These cases were categorized into 2 broad groups based on the diagnosis: an “aggressive” group (behavioral pathologies involving aggression) and an “anxious” group (behavioral pathologies not primarily involving aggression). Each dog underwent a behavior consultation made by a veterinary specialist who used a basic history questionnaire focused on all aspects of dog's behavior, management, and health issue. Several variables were selected from the questionnaires collected. We found a statistical association of the behavioral problem with factors such as size, sex, age, time of onset, dogs' resting place, family composition, and mounting behaviors involving people (P ≤ 0.05). Small- and medium-sized dogs were mainly “anxious” instead of “aggressive”; male dogs were mostly “aggressive” and female dogs (neutered and intact) were mainly “anxious”; dogs adopted from pet shops were all anxious. On average, “aggressive” dogs exhibited the problem 4 months after adoption. “Anxious” dogs exhibited the problem within 1 week of adoption. The resting place and diagnosis were statistically related (P ≤ 0.05): the 20% of dogs that slept on owners' bed were mainly “anxious” dogs (78% of these). Sixty-five percent of “anxious” dogs and 33% of “aggressive” dogs showed mounting behaviors toward people. Most (72.3%) (N = 242/335) of the dogs improved after behavior treatment. “Aggressive” dogs (96%, N = 232/242) improved more than “anxious” ones (4%; N = 10/242) (P ≤ 0.05). Moreover, owners of dogs with anxiety problems were significantly more prone to surrender the dog to a shelter or other people (P ≤ 0.05). Our work supports some previous findings and suggests some new information regarding factors associated with broad scale aggression and anxiety in domestic dogs. Anxiety problems appear more difficult and demanding for dog owners. A referral population is not likely representative of the entire population of dogs. To understand patterns of behavioral problems, we need more complete population data and we need data from dogs across their lifetime.
Companion animals have established special relationships with humans, as demonstrated by many studies describing their abilities and bonds to communicate with humans. In this questionnaire-based study, we explored owners’ views of pets in terms of their emotional and intellectual functions and their relationship with owners, and compared the results between cat owners and dog owners. We found that although both types of owners most often regarded their pets as “family members,” this tendency was weaker in cat owners. Cat owners also scored significantly lower than dog owners for some emotions and intellect they thought their pets might have. Additionally, cat owners who regard their cats as family members tend to attribute “compassion” to their cats more strongly than cat owners who regard their pets as non-family. This study revealed that some aspects of cat owners’ views of their pets differ from those of dog owners. These finding may help us to better understand our heterospecific companions and establish good relationships with them.
Although millions of cats live among humans worldwide the scientific community knows relatively little about cat behavior and cognition. Olfaction is an important perceptual sense for many members of Carnivora, however the role of chemical signals in cat social relationships is not fully understood. Research indicates chemical signals play an important role in many areas of cat behavior including mother-offspring and conspecific interactions and exploration of their environment. Chemical cues appear to play a role in stress and anxiety reduction, allowing cats to feel secure in their environment. A better understanding of cat chemical signals, especially as it relates to within and between species communication, may lead to an increase in cat wellbeing as humans can utilize this knowledge in applied settings. Therefore, the purpose of this review is to investigate how cats process and use chemical signals in social contexts and identify ways this information can be applied to address cat behavioral issues, such as inappropriate litter box and scratching behavior, and improve cat welfare, including species-appropriate ways of reinforcing the human-cat bond.
Animal-assisted interventions (AAIs) are associated with positive effects on human psychological and physiological health. Although quality standards in AAIs appear to be high, only few investigations have focused on potential welfare implications in therapy dogs. In the present study, we monitored behavioral measures and heart rate in a therapy dog that participated in Animal-Assisted Therapy (AAT) during post-operative awakening in a pediatric surgery ward. Work-related activity, behavior, response to human action, and heart rate were analyzed over 20 working sessions in an experienced therapy dog. No physiological or behavioral indicators of stress, fatigue, or exhaustion were present during AAT, suggesting that, with the limited generalizability of a case study, this activity did not negatively impact on the welfare of the dog. Further investigation into the effects of animal-assisted therapy on dogs’ physiological markers and behavior is warranted.
With so many people owning cats, understanding cat behaviour in the human home is important. Cats are the largest pet population in the USA. In 2011, of 374 million pets in the USA, 86.4 million were cats. In the same year, 78.2 million were dogs (ASPCA, 2012). In 2010 in the USA more than 22 billion dollars were spent on cat food (American Pet Products Association, 2011). Most of the research on domestic cat behaviour has been obtained from studies of cats in shelters, in laboratory situations or in free-roaming (feral) situations. Veterinarians and animal behaviourists have relied on information gained from studies of these populations for information about the normal behaviour of domestic cats. Most of the interactions people have with their cats is in the home. Domestic cats rarely accompany their owners outside of their homes. According to the recent American Pet Products Manufacturers Association’s Pet Owners Survey, 3% of cat owners in the USA take their pets with them when they travel for at least two nights compared with 19% of dog owners (American Pet Products Association, 2011). In a recent repeated-measures study, cats were present with their owners 6% and dogs were present with their owners 19% of the time the owners were outside of the home (Friedmann et al., 2010). However, very little is known about cats’ behaviour in the home.
The domestic cat is the only member of the Felidae to form social relationships with humans, and also, the only small felid to form intraspecific social groups when free ranging. The latter are matriarchies, and bear only a superficial similarity to those of the lion and cheetah, which evolved separately and in response to very different selection pressures. There is no evidence for intraspecific social behavior in the ancestral species Felis silvestris, and hence, the capacity for group formation almost certainly evolved concurrently with the self-domestication of the cat during the period 10,000 to 5,000 years before present. Social groups of F. catus are characterized by cooperation among related adult females in the raising of kittens from parturition onward and competition between adult males. Unlike more social Carnivora, cats lack ritualized submissive signals, and although "peck-order" hierarchies can be constructed from exchanges of aggressive and defensive behavior, these do not predict reproductive success in females, or priority of access to key resources, and thus do not illuminate the basis of normal cat society. Cohesion in colonies of cats is expressed as, and probably maintained by, allorubbing and allogrooming; transmission of scent signals may also play a largely uninvestigated role. The advantages of group living over the ancestral solitary territorial state have not been quantified adequately but are likely to include defense of permanent food sources and denning sites and protection against predators and possibly infanticide by invading males. These presumably outweigh the disadvantages of communal denning, enhanced transmission of parasites, and diseases. Given the lack of archaeological evidence for cats kept as pets until some 4,000 years before present, intraspecific social behavior was most likely fully evolved before interspecific sociality emerged. Signals directed by cats toward their owners fall into 3 categories: those derived from species-typical actions, such as jumping up, that become signals by association; signals derived from kitten-to-mother communication (kneading, meow); and those derived from intraspecific cohesive signals. Social stress appears widespread among pet cats, stemming from both agonistic relationships within households and territorial disputes with neighborhood cats, but simple solutions seem elusive, most likely because individual cats vary greatly in their reaction to encounters with other cats.
The domestic cat (Felis silvestris catus) has shared an intertwined existence with humans for thousands of years, living on our city streets and in our homes. Yet, little scientific research has focused on the cognition of the domestic cat, especially in comparison with human's other companion, the domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris). This review surveys the current status of several areas of cat cognition research including perception, object permanence, memory, physical causality, quantity and time discrimination, cats' sensitivity to human cues, vocal recognition and communication, attachment bonds, personality, and cognitive health. Although interest in cat cognition is growing, we still have a long way to go until we have an inclusive body of research on the subject. Therefore, this review also identifies areas where future research must be conducted. In addition to the scientific value of future work in this area, future research on cat cognition could have an important influence on the management and welfare of pet and free-roaming cats, leading to improved human-cat interactions.
As the tissue macrophages of the CNS, microglia are critically involved in diseases of the CNS. However, it remains unknown what controls their maturation and activation under homeostatic conditions. We observed substantial contributions of the host microbiota to microglia homeostasis, as germ-free (GF) mice displayed global defects in microglia with altered cell proportions and an immature phenotype, leading to impaired innate immune responses. Temporal eradication of host microbiota severely changed microglia properties. Limited microbiota complexity also resulted in defective microglia. In contrast, recolonization with a complex microbiota partially restored microglia features. We determined that short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), microbiota-derived bacterial fermentation products, regulated microglia homeostasis. Accordingly, mice deficient for the SCFA receptor FFAR2 mirrored microglia defects found under GF conditions. These findings suggest that host bacteria vitally regulate microglia maturation and function, whereas microglia impairment can be rectified to some extent by complex microbiota.
Dogs (Canis familiaris) are a highly social species and within a shelter environment pair-housing is recommended to prevent the stress associated with social isolation. Separation of individuals which may have formed bonds in this environment is a usual occurrence, as a result of rehoming or euthanasia. To investigate the impact of separation, the behaviour, cognitive bias, faecal S-IgA and cortisol levels were examined in 12 adult pair-housed dogs, maintained in a private animal shelter. Prior to separation, dogs engaged in more affiliative than agonistic behaviour with conspecifics (means of 3 and 0.1% of time respectively). Following separation, increased activity was observed in the form of more running and grooming (P = 0.02), circling (P = 0.006), figure of 8 movement (P = 0.01), posture changes (P = 0.003) and stretching (P = 0.005), and less play behaviour was observed (P = 0.01). Secretory IgA increased (P = 0.02) after separation (mean = 443.7 ± 182.5 ng/mL; before separation mean = 370.1 ± 108.2 ng/mL). Cortisol concentrations were not affected by separation (P = 0.26, mean before separation = 792 ng/g; mean after separation = 874 ng/g). There was no indication from cognitive bias testing that the dogs’ emotional valency was affected, as latencies to reach ambiguous cues before and after separation did not differ significantly (P = 0.33). These results demonstrate that separation of a dog from a conspecific negatively affected behaviour and stimulated the immune system, changes which could be indicative of stress.
Behavioural signs of fear or anxiety on exposure to noises in owned domestic dogs have been suggested in clinical studies to be common and a significant welfare concern. In this study two approaches were taken to investigate the occurrence of, and risk factors for, these behaviours: a postal survey of dog owners to investigate general demographic factors (n = 3897), and a structured interview of a sub-set of owners to gather more detailed information (n = 383). Almost half of owners in the structured interview reported that their dog showed at least one behavioural sign typical of fear when exposed to noises, even though only a quarter had reported their dog as ‘fearful’ in the general survey. This difference indicates that even where owners recognise behavioural responses to noises, they may not interpret these as associated with altered subjective state in their dog. The difference in reported prevalence between the studies highlights the importance of methodological approach in owner questionnaire studies investigating behavioural signs.
The behaviour of a colony of eight laboratory cats and their reactions to a familiar and unfamiliar person were recorded and analysed. Seven of the cats were Domestic Shorthairs and one was a Persian. All were male and only one was intact.Maintenance behaviours (resting, sitting, drinking, eating, defaecating and urinating) were the most commonly observed behaviours (36% of observations). Comfort (grooming, scratching, sneezing, coughing, head shaking, stretching and yawning) and locomotory behaviours (walking, running, jumping from floor to shelf and shelf to floor) were also commonly observed (30% and 24.5%, respectively). Agonistic behaviours were rarely observed (1%). Other behaviours recorded included marking and investigatory (clawing, scratching post, rubbing cage, anal sniff, body sniff, wall/floor licking; 4%), play (2%) and vocalisation behaviours (2%).Walking, jumping, eating, drinking, scratching, rubbing, defaecating and urinating were observed most often between 08:00 h and 09:00 h. Running, walking, resting and sitting occurred most often on the shelves in the cage.The cats made more direct contacts with the unfamiliar person than with the familiar person. Significantly (P<0.01) more attention behaviours (rubs against person, claws person, stands and watches, jumps to floor, stretches head out to person, lies on floor near person) were observed on the first day of the human-cat study than on the second and third days for both the familiar and unfamiliar person.
Attachment, a normal behavior among social animals, is quite significant since owners worry about their pets and take care of them because of this affective connection. There are not enough research studies that focus on attachment between owners and their cats. The general objective of this study was to identify attachment behaviors, directed toward their owners, in cats of different body types, age groups, and sexes in an experimental situation.Twenty-eight cats, ranging from 1 to 7 years of age and having different body types, were used in the study without taking into account sex or reproductive status. These cats underwent an Ainsworth’s Adapted Strange Situation Test. Event frequencies and behavioral state durations in individual type behaviors such as exploration/locomotion, alertness, and inactivity were registered using direct focal sampling. For data analysis, cats were divided by body type, sex, and reproductive status. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) of locomotion/exploration revealed a statistically significant difference (N = 28, F = 13.55, P < 0.001) between the episodes with the owner, alone, and with a stranger with cats spending more time engaged in locomotion/exploration while accompanied by their owner. On the alert behavior event frequency, difference (ANOVA, F = 7.44, P < 0.05) was found, which showed a higher frequency while in the company of a stranger. Last, in the inactivity time ratio, a significant difference was found (ANOVA, F = 18.55, P < 0.001), where the time spent on this behavior was considerably higher when the animal was alone.These results are consistent with the ones obtained by Ainsworth in children attached to their mothers; therefore, it can be said that cats can manifest attachment behaviors toward their owners. Further studies are indicated to see whether cats can develop separation anxiety.
Separation-related behaviors are described as problematic behaviors that occur exclusively in the owner's absence or virtual absence. Diagnosis is generally based on indirect evidence such as elimination or destruction that occurs during owner absence. Questionnaire studies are based on owner perception and might therefore underestimate the actual proportion of dogs with separation problems. The aim of this study was to film dogs with separation-related problems when left home alone and compile objective information on behaviors exhibited. Twenty-three dogs, ranging in age from 5 months to 13 years (2.9±22.7 years), were filmed home alone for 20–60min (49.87±12.9min) after owner departure.Analysis of behaviors on tape showed that dogs spent most of their time vocalizing (22.95±12.3% of total observed time) and being oriented to the environment (21±20%). Dogs also exhibited panting (14±18%), were passive (12±27%) and were destroying (6±6%) during owner absence. Most dogs displayed signs within less than 10min after owner departure, such as vocalizing (mean latency 3.25min) and/or destroying (mean latency 7.13min). Barking and oriented to the environment tended to decrease (respectively p=0.08 and p=0.07) and conversely panting tended to increase over time (p=0.07).Diagnosis of separation-related problems is traditionally dependant on owner reports. Although owner observation may be informative, direct observation and standardized behavioral measurement of dogs with separation-related problems, before and after treatment, would be the best way to diagnose and to measure behavioral improvement.
The effects of handling during the socialisation period on the subsequent development of behaviour problems and the cat–owner bond have been investigated in kittens homed from rescue centres. Thirty-seven kittens in three centres were given either standard socialisation or enhanced socialisation between 2 and 9 weeks of age. All kittens were then homed, and their owners were interviewed when they were approximately 1-year-old. Owners of additionally socialised kittens reported significantly higher emotional support from their cats, and fewer of these cats exhibited behaviour indicative of fear of humans, compared to cats that had received standard socialisation.
Domestic cats have had a 10,000-year history of cohabitation with humans and seem to have the ability to communicate with humans. However, this has not been widely examined. We studied 20 domestic cats to investigate whether they could recognize their owners by using voices that called out the subjects' names, with a habituation-dishabituation method. While the owner was out of the cat's sight, we played three different strangers' voices serially, followed by the owner's voice. We recorded the cat's reactions to the voices and categorized them into six behavioral categories. In addition, ten naive raters rated the cats' response magnitudes. The cats responded to human voices not by communicative behavior (vocalization and tail movement), but by orienting behavior (ear movement and head movement). This tendency did not change even when they were called by their owners. Of the 20 cats, 15 demonstrated a lower response magnitude to the third voice than to the first voice. These habituated cats showed a significant rebound in response to the subsequent presentation of their owners' voices. This result indicates that cats are able to use vocal cues alone to distinguish between humans.
With an estimated 76 million pet cats in the United States and 200 million worldwide, there is an increasing interest in, and need to understand more about, the human- cat relationship. This chapter presents the growing body of research that evaluates this relationship from a variety of perspectives. It considers the history and importance of animals as companions, worldwide trends in pet ownership, physiological and psychosocial health benefits of pet ownership, the role of pets in families and their special role in the lives of children, and the difficulties people have in dealing with the loss of their animal companions. Particular aspects of the human-cat relationship are also considered, ranging from cat socialization and the effects of paternity and breed on social behaviour, through to observational studies of human-cat interactions in the home, including cat vocalizations, petting, and social interactions, both between cats and between cats and humans. Responsibilities of pet ownership are examined, including providing veterinary health care for the animals, and minimizing zoonotic disease and other health risks to humans. Failures of the human-cat relationship can also occur, and a number of examples are considered: animal abuse and animal hoarding, feline behaviour problems, pet relinquishment and abandonment and the growing problem of free-roaming, stray and feral cats.
What is it really like to be a dog? Do animals experience emotions like pleasure, joy, and grief? Marc Bekoff's work draws world-wide attention for its originality and its probing into what animals think about and know as well as what they feel, what physical and mental skills they use to live successfully within their social community. Bekoff's work, whether addressed to scientists or the general public, demonstrates that investigations into animal thought, emotions, self-awareness, behavioral ecology, and conservation biology can be compassionate as well as scientifically rigorous.In Animal Passions and Beastly Virtues, Bekoff brings together essays on his own ground-breaking research and on what scientists know about the remarkable range and flexibility of animal behavior. His fascinating and often amusing observations of dogs, wolves, coyotes, prairie dogs, elephants, and other animals playing, leaving and detecting scent-marks ("yellow snow"), solving problems, and forming friendships challenge the idea that science and the ethical treatment of animals are incompatible.
Comparative behavioural observations were made in the home setting in order to analyze the ethology of the human-cat relationship. Factors postulated, and indeed, found to influence that relationship included marital status of the human (women living alone, with a partner or with a partner and children), housing conditions of the cat (indoor vs. outdoor access), number of cats kept (one vs. more than one), and to a very minor extent, pedigree of the cat (purebred vs. domestic mixture). Various measures of success at both the interactional, and the relationship level were examined and yielded the following results: 1) The more successful the person is in initiating interactions with the cat, the shorter, the total interaction time with the pet. 2) The higher the proportion of all successful intents to interact that were due to the cat, the more time spent interacting. 3) Willingness to comply with the partner's wishes to interact is positively correlated between the cat and the human over all pairs examined--which helps explain the widespread popularity of cats, as pets.
To determine whether cats develop clinical signs typical of separation anxiety syndrome (SAS) and the type and frequency of applicable clinical signs in affected cats.
Retrospective study.
136 cats with clinical signs typical of SAS in dogs. Subjects were evaluated during home visits.
Medical records of pet cats evaluated for behavior problems during a 10-year period were reviewed. Medical records of cats that displayed behaviors typical of dogs with SAS (eg, inappropriate elimination, excessive vocalization, destructiveness, or self-mutilation) were more extensively examined, and cats that displayed these behaviors only when separated from an apparent attachment figure were included in the study.
Behavior problems triggered by separation anxiety included inappropriate urination (96 cats), inappropriate defecation (48), excessive vocalization (16), destructiveness (12), and psychogenic grooming (8). Inappropriate defecation was identified in a significantly higher percentage of the neutered females in the study than in the neutered males. Seventy-five percent of the cats that urinated inappropriately urinated exclusively on the owner's bed. Psychogenic grooming was identified in 8 of the 40 neutered females but in none of the neutered males, whereas destructiveness was observed in 12 of the 92 neutered males but in none of the neutered females.
Results suggest that cats can develop SAS. Sex and breed differences in the frequency of particular signs of SAS in cats may exist. Feline SAS should be considered in the differential diagnosis of anxiety-related misbehavior in cats.
- M Bamberger
- K A Houpt
Bamberger, M., Houpt, K.A., 2006. Signalment. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 229, 1591e
1601.
ISFM Guide to Feline Stress and Health. Managing Negative Emotions to Improve Feline Health and Wellbeing. International Cat Care
- J Bradshaw
Bradshaw, J., 2016b. What is a cat, and why can cats become stressed or distressed.
In: Ellis, S., Sparkes, A. (Eds.), ISFM Guide to Feline Stress and Health. Managing
Negative Emotions to Improve Feline Health and Wellbeing. International Cat
Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, pp. 19e29.
The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat
- J Bradshaw
- R Casey
- S Brown
Bradshaw, J., Casey, R., Brown, S., 2012. The Behaviour of the Domestic Cat. CAB
International, Wallingford, UK.
The Character of Cats: The Origin, Intelligence, Behavior and Stratagems of Felis silvestris catus
- S Budiansky
Budiansky, S., 2003. The Character of Cats: The Origin, Intelligence, Behavior and
Stratagems of Felis silvestris catus. Orion Books Ltd, London, Phoenix.
ISFM Guide to Feline Stress and Health. Managing Negative Emotions to Improve Feline Health and Wellbeing. International Cat Care
- H Carney
- N Gourkow
Carney, H., Gourkow, N., 2016. Impact of stress and distress on cat behavior and
body language. In: Ellis, S., Sparkes, A. (Eds.), ISFM Guide to Feline Stress and
Health. Managing Negative Emotions to Improve Feline Health and Wellbeing.
International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, pp. 31e39.
BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behavioural Medicine
- R Casey
Casey, R., 2002. Fear and stress in companion animals. In: Horwitz, D., Mills, D.,
Heath, S. (Eds.), BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behavioural Medicine.
British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, pp. 144e153.
BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behavioural Medicine
- D F Horwitz
Horwitz, D.F., 2009. Separation-related problems in dogs and cats. In: Horwitz, D.,
Mills, D. (Eds.), BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behavioural Medicine.
British Small Animal Veterinary Association, Gloucester, pp. 146e158.
Domestic Animal Behavior
- K Houpt
Houpt, K., 2005. Domestic Animal Behavior, 4th ed. Wiley-Blackwell.
Q6