Home Sweet Home: The Impact of Lifestyle on a Cat’s Approach to Impossible Tasks in the Home Environment

SIMPLE SUMMARY: The effect of living style (i.e., indoor/outdoor) on domestic cats was studied. The behavior of the domestic cats with different living styles (e.g., indoor only and indoor/outdoor) was observed during the impossible task paradigm, a test in which the cats learn to open an apparatus to obtain a food reward and, immediately after, experienced the expectancy of violation in a trial in which the apparatus was blocked. Tests were carried out in the house where the cats lived and the only person present with the cat during the test was the owner. The results show the effect of living style and age on the problem-solving approach of domestic cats. Indoor/outdoor cats spent less time interacting with the apparatus and showed stress behaviors sooner compared to indoor cats. Research on this topic can be useful for improving the welfare of domestic cats. ABSTRACT: Cat welfare is a topic of growing interest in the scientific literature. Although previous studies have focused on the effects of living style (i.e., indoor/outdoor) on cat welfare, there has been a noticeable dearth of analysis regarding the impact of lifestyle on cats’ inclination and mode of communication with humans. Our research aimed to analyze the possible effect of lifestyle (e.g., living indoors only or indoor/outdoor) on cat–human communication. The cats were tested using the impossible task paradigm test, which consists of some solvable trials in which the subject learns to obtain a reward from an apparatus, followed by an impossible trial through blocking the apparatus. This procedure triggers a violation of expectations and is considered a useful tool for assessing both the decision-making process and the tendency to engage in social behaviors towards humans. A specific ethogram was followed to record the behavioral responses of the cats during the unsolvable trial. Our results show the effects of lifestyle and age on domestic cats, providing valuable insights into the factors that influence their social behaviors. Cats that can roam freely outdoors spent less time interacting with the apparatus compared to indoor-only cats. Additionally, roaming cats showed stress behaviors sooner following the expectancy of violation compared to indoor cats. The lifestyle of cats can influence their problem-solving approach while not affecting their willingness to interact with humans or their overall welfare. Future studies on this topic can be useful for improving the welfare of domestic cats.