Optimizing an indoor lifestyle for cats

Scherk, M. (2016). Optimising an indoor lifestyle for cats. Veterinary Focus, 26(2), 2-9.

• Cats restricted to indoor living have a reduced risk for vehicular trauma, predation,
aggressive interactions with cats and other animals, and exposure to infectious diseases.
• Indoor living is not without risks.
• Not all cats can adapt readily to an indoor lifestyle, and may be at increased risk for
certain behavioral and medical problems.
• All environmental and social needs must be met for successful indoor living, and
the well-being of each cat needs to be evaluated repeatedly over time.
• Predictability, familiarity, routine and having a sense of control are key factors in
reducing stress.
• Offering outdoor access does not compensate if the cat has poor conditions indoors.

Confinement remains the simplest measure to reduce roaming by pet cats

Hall, C. M., Bryant, K. A., Haskard, K., Major, T., Bruce, S., & Calver, M. C. (2016). Factors determining the home ranges of pet cats: A meta-analysis. Biological Conservation, 203, 313-320.

Highlights
• We assessed pet cats' roaming behaviour using meta-analyses and mixed linear models.
• Desexing, regular feeding and interaction with owners did not affect home range.
• Males had larger home ranges than females.
• Both sexes had larger home ranges at low housing densities.
• Confinement remains the simplest measure to reduce roaming by pet cats.

Abstract
Roaming pet cats Felis catus are a significant conservation issue because they may hunt, harass and compete with wildlife; spread disease, interbreed with cats in feral populations, and hybridise with wild native felids. Studies of the roaming behaviour of pet cats are often hampered by modest sample sizes and variability between cats, limiting statistical significance of the findings and their usefulness in recommending measures to discourage roaming. We resolved these difficulties through meta-analyses of 25 studies from 10 countries involving 469 pet cats to assess the influence of sex, whether a cat was desexed and housing density on roaming. A complementary linear mixed models approach used data on 311 individual animals from 22 studies and was also able to assess the influence of age and husbandry practices on roaming. This restricted sample gave greater statistical power than the meta-analyses.

Meta-analyses found that: male pet cats had larger home ranges than females, desexing did not influence home range, and cats had larger home ranges when housing densities were low. The linear mixed models supported those results. They also indicated that animals ≥ 8 years old had smaller home ranges than younger cats. Cats fed regularly, provided with veterinary care and socialised with humans had similar home ranges to cats living in association with households but not provided for in some of these ways. Short of confinement, there is no simple measure owners can adopt to reduce roaming by their cats and prevent the associated environmental problems.

Society's perception of the life quality and population control of stray dogs

Moutinho, F. F. B., Nascimento, E. R. D., & Paixão, R. L. (2015). THE SOCIETY’S PERCEPTION OF THE LIFE QUALITY AND POPULATION CONTROL OF STRAY DOGS. Ciência Animal Brasileira, 16(4), 574-588.

In most Brazilian municipalities there is an overpopulation of stray dogs, which causes problems to the urban order, the environment and the public health, in addition to mistreatment to these dogs. In such context we foresee the need of developing actions targeting the population control of these animals. This essay aims at knowing the perception of social actors, such as managers of entities responsible for control actions, managers of NGOs working with animal protection and population in general with respect to the life quality and population control of stray dogs. Questionnaires were used on samples of individuals of these three groups and the data thereof were analyzed with descriptive statistics techniques and frequency comparison. The results allowed us to conclude that the society’s perception of population control and life quality of these animals bear important differences under the viewpoint of the three evaluated groups; however, they also bear significant similarities, especially with respect to the perception of the responsibility for the development of population control actions, the acceptance of using public funds intended to public health in control actions, the classification of such population density as large and the poor life quality of these animals.

Free ranging cats have more heavy metals in their tissues

Rzymski, P., Niedzielski, P., Poniedziałek, B., Rzymski, P., Pacyńska, J., Kozak, L., & Dąbrowski, P. (2015). Free-ranging domestic cats are characterized by increased metal content in reproductive tissues. Reproductive Toxicology, 58, 54-60.

Trace metals may be supportive to mammalian reproduction but also reveal certain toxicities. The present study investigated the content of selected metals (Ca, Cd, Cu, Mn, Mg, Ni, Pb, Zn) in uterine and testicular tissue of free-ranging and household cats and its relation with hair metal status, cats’ age, weight, physical activity, diet and inhabited environment. Free-rangers and cats not fed by humans were characterized by higher concentrations of essential metals in their reproductive tissues as well as increased levels of toxic elements, particularly Cd and Ni. No difference in metal status was found for household individuals fed on different varieties of commercial food. Cats inhabiting urbanized areas were characterized by higher Pb levels in their reproductive system. Feline hair was found to be less, if at all, susceptible to environmental, lifestyle and dietary variables and most importantly, did not reflect a metal burden in reproductive tissues.

Non-surgical fertility control: current and future options for cat health and welfare

Briggs, J. (2015). Non-surgical fertility control: current and future options for cat health and welfare. Journal of feline medicine and surgery, 17(9), 740-741.

...
The 10 articles in this issue are authored by experts in the field and are, for the most part, review articles. Five cover specific contraceptives used to date for cats, or the limited array of sterilants and contraceptives being researched or used off-label in cats in the past decade. The emergence in 2008 of a USD$25 million prize and up to $50 million in grant funds has spurred more research than ever before, and in a number of novel areas. A glimpse into that new work is shared by the Director of Scientific Research for the Found Animals Foundation, the parent organization for this initiative: the Michelson Prize & Grants in Reproductive Biology.
...

Effect on shelter cat intakes and euthanasia from a shelter neuter return project

Johnson, K. L., & Cicirelli, J. (2014). Study of the effect on shelter cat intakes and euthanasia from a shelter neuter return project of 10,080 cats from March 2010 to June 2014. PeerJ, 2, e646.

Cat impoundments were increasing at the municipal San Jose animal shelter in 2009, despite long-term successful low cost sterilization programs and attempts to lower the euthanasia rate of treatable-rehabilitatable impounds beginning in 2008. San Jose Animal Care and Services implemented a new strategy designed to control overall feral cat reproduction by altering and returning feral cats entering the shelter system, rather than euthanizing the cats. The purpose of this case study was to determine how the program affected the shelter cat intakes over time. In just over four years, 10,080 individual healthy adult feral cats, out of 11,423 impounded at the shelter during this time frame, were altered and returned to their site of capture. Included in the 11,423 cats were 862 cats impounded from one to four additional times for a total of 958 (9.5%) recaptures of the previously altered 10,080 cats. The remaining 385 healthy feral cats were euthanized at the shelter from March 2010 to June 2014. Four years into the program, researchers observed cat and kitten impounds decreased 29.1%; euthanasia decreased from over 70% of intakes in 2009, to 23% in 2014. Euthanasia in the shelter for Upper Respiratory Disease decreased 99%; dead cat pick up off the streets declined 20%. Dog impounds did not similarly decline over the four years. No other laws or program changes were implemented since the beginning of the program.

The welfare of feral cats and wildlife

Jessup, D. A. (2004). The welfare of feral cats and wildlife. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 225(9), 1377-1383.

There are an estimated 60 to 100 million feral and abandoned cats in the United States. By any measure, this is an important welfare issue, and the many bodies of free-roaming cats visible along roadsides across the country are mute testimony to the tragedy of their unhappy lives ...

	No. of animals accessioned	No. Cat related accessions	%
All birds	4,409	1,050	24
All mammals	1,187	143	12
All reptiles	73	11	15

Table 1—Data used to calculate the percentage of cat-related accessions to the Lindsay Museum of Walnut Creek, Calif, for all species and for susceptible birds (ie, nonraptors and pelagic birds).

ISFM guidelines on population management and welfare of unowned domestic cats

Sparkes, A. H., Bessant, C., Cope, K., Ellis, S. L., Finka, L., Halls, V., Hiestand, K., Horsford, K., Laurence, C., MacFarlaine, I., Neville, P.F., Stavisky, J. & Yeates, J. (2013). ISFM guidelines on population management and welfare of unowned domestic cats (Felis catus). Journal of feline medicine and surgery,15(9), 811-817.

Guidelines rationale: Cats are among the most commonly kept domestic pets, and coexist with humans in a variety of different circumstances. Cats are sentient beings and, as such, humans have a responsibility for cat welfare where humans and cats coexist. Because cats reproduce efficiently, measures to control populations are frequently needed, but these should be based on ethical and humane approaches.

Framework: These consensus guidelines from the International Society of Feline Medicine’s Welfare Advisory Panel provide a framework for the approach to welfare and population control measures, primarily among unowned cats and those going through a homing programme.

Welfare and behaviour of communal dogs and community perception

Rüncos, L. H. E. (2014). Bem-estar e comportamento de cães comunitários e percepção da comunidade. Dissertação apresentada ao Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Veterinárias, Universidade Federal do Paraná como requisito parcial à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Ciências Veterinárias.

The maintenance of community dogs rises as an alternative of compassionate management that contributes to population control and for improving dogs lives, contributing to diminishing risks for human health. Therefore it is important to study relevant questions of community dogs management. This work’s objectives were to evaluate the life conditions of dogs kept as community ones, performing a welfare diagnosis, studying their behavior, and the attitude and opinion of caretakers and other neighbors about related questions. Such knowledge is essential to understand the local community´s culture and help improving compassionate population control strategies. The present study is divided in five chapters: (I) Presentation; (II) Welfare, (III) Behavior of community dogs in two cities in Southern Brazil, (IV) Attitude and opinion of community dogs caretakers and local neighbors in Southern Brazil, and (V) Final Considerations. Chapter´s 2 results indicate that dogs welfare was regular or high for most dogs. However, there are welfare restrictions that should be minimized. Welfare indicators of behavior presented the best results. Community dogs behavior, studied in chapter 3, was docile and based on positive interactions in general. However there were punctual cases of agonistic behavior, which deserve attention. Caretakers and neighbors attitude was of concern and care towards dogs.

However, responsible guardianship was not well known and practiced by all oh them. The opinion of the studied population was in accordance with a no-kill culture for dogs. The results all together may be used as a base for the community dogs strategy improvement, as for improving dogs welfare. With this work, we expect to contribute for enhance and consolidate a compassionate dog population management strategy.

Key features and animal welfare implications of rabies control

Aréchiga, C. N., Karunaratna, D., & Aguilar, S. A. (2014). Control of canine rabies in developing countries: key features and animal welfare implications. Revue scientifique et technique (International Office of Epizootics), 33(1), 311.

Over 90% of human deaths from rabies worldwide are caused by dog bites. Mass vaccination, along with the effective control of dog populations, has been used successfully in industrialised countries to control this disease. A lower success rate in developing countries is due to a number of factors, including vaccination campaigns that do not cover a sufficient number of animals or reach all communities, and a wide biodiversity that increases the number of reservoirs of the rabies virus. Educational programmes are needed, which focus on the commitment involved when acquiring a domestic animal, stating clearly what is required to provide it with a good quality of life. New technologies developed in the industrialised world will not always be successful in less developed countries. Approaches must be adapted to the particular conditions in each country, taking cultural and socio-economic issues into account. Authorities must promote research on dog population dynamics, the development of non-invasive methods to control dog populations and the most efficient, stable and low-cost options for vaccination. Under the One Health model, it is hoped that dog-transmitted human rabies will be accorded high priority as a zoonosis by human health authorities, international authorities and donor agencies to support ambitious eradication goals, particularly those being set in South-East Asia. Well-designed and adequately resourced vaccination programmes, based on the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) guidelines, will have significant animal welfare benefits, due to the availability of improved vaccines (in terms of efficacy, duration of immunity, ease of administration and lower cost), advances in dog population management and the more widespread implementation of the OIE Guidelines on Stray Dog Control. Animal welfare benefits include not only the elimination of pain and suffering caused by the clinical disease itself, but also the avoidance of the indirect impact of inhumane culling when methods are used that have not been approved by the OIE.

The welfare of feral cats

Slater, M. R. (2007). The welfare of feral cats. In The welfare of cats (pp. 141-175). Springer Netherlands.

The  control of feral cats is a controversial issue in many countries, due to the differences in the way humans perceive cats in general and feral cats in particular. As cats spread into a wide rage of habitats, there are concerns regarding the best methods to control their numbers. Predation on wildlife, public health and zoonotic diseases, as well as the welfare of the cats themselves, are issues that drive the need to control the feral cat population. Killing the cats, or letting nature take its course, were the usual historical approaches but in recent years non-lethal methods have been espoused as being more humane and effective. Effors have been made to improve the welfare of feral cat populations through sterilization, the control of infectious disease and ensuring that they are adequately cared for. A combination of approaches are necessary to decrease feral cat numbers, to prevent influx of owned cats into the populations, and to manage established feral cat colonies successfully.

Legal status of cats in NZ

Farnworth, M. J., Dye, N. G., & Keown, N. (2010). The legal status of cats in New Zealand: A perspective on the welfare of companion, stray, and feral domestic cats (Felis catus). Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, 13 (2): 180-188

Pinpointing and safeguarding the welfare status of domestic cats is problematic, especially in New Zealand where cats are introduced predators with significant impact on indigenous fauna. Usually the identification of welfare status depends on conservational, legal, and public attitudes that are often contrasting. Cats may rapidly transgress definitions placed on them, confounding attempts to categorize them. In 1 generation, cats can move from a human-dependent state (“stray” or “companion”) to wild (“feral”). Often this categorization uses arbitrary behavioral and or situational parameters; consequent treatment and welfare protection for these cats are similarly affected. Terminology used to describe cats is not equitable across research. However, the New Zealand Animal Welfare (Companion Cats) Code of Welfare 2007 seeks to create a new definition of the terms companion, stray, and feral. It distinguishes between cats who live within and without human social constructs. This legislation mandates that cats in human environments or indirectly dependent on humans cannot be classified as feral. Such definitions may prove vital when safeguarding the welfare of free-living domestic cats and cat colonies.