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The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Captive domestic cats frequently suffer from the lack of physical space and opportunities to perform species-typical behaviors, such as climbing or hiding. Environmental enrichment is a technique that helps transform the space available to animals into a more appropriate habitat. In...

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Autores principales: Sicuto de Oliveira, Adriana, Terçariol, César Augusto Sangaletti, Genaro, Gelson
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2015
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494404/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26479233
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani5020245
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author Sicuto de Oliveira, Adriana
Terçariol, César Augusto Sangaletti
Genaro, Gelson
author_facet Sicuto de Oliveira, Adriana
Terçariol, César Augusto Sangaletti
Genaro, Gelson
author_sort Sicuto de Oliveira, Adriana
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Captive domestic cats frequently suffer from the lack of physical space and opportunities to perform species-typical behaviors, such as climbing or hiding. Environmental enrichment is a technique that helps transform the space available to animals into a more appropriate habitat. In this study, we tested horizontal and vertical refuge boxes as environmental enrichment for cats living communally in a cat rescue shelter. The provision of boxes in the environment increases the use of available space by the cats. We suggest this improves the cats’ welfare while in communally-housed rescue shelters. ABSTRACT: The increase of domestic animals kept in shelters highlights the need to ensure animal welfare. Environmental enrichment can improve animal welfare in many ways, such as encouraging captive animals to use all the space available to them. The effects of physical environmental enrichment on the spatial distribution and behavioral repertoire of 35 neutered domestic cats housed communally were analyzed. The provision of boxes in the environment increases the use of available space by the cats. We suggest this improves the cats’ welfare while in communally-housed rescue shelters. The frequencies of active and especially inactive behaviors also increased in the enriched condition. In a test with vertical environmental enrichment, the animals showed an increased length of stay in refuges located at a height of 0.5 m compared to those on the ground (0.0 m). However, the entry frequency was higher in refuges at 0.0 m. Both horizontal and vertical environmental enrichment increased the use of available space, demonstrating that box refuges as enrichment are effective in providing a refuge when at a height, or a place to explore at ground level. We suggest it enhances the welfare of cats in communally housed shelters. This information adds to the body of evidence relating to cat enrichment and can be useful in designing cat housing in veterinary clinics, research laboratories, shelters and domestic homes.
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spelling pubmed-44944042015-09-30 The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats Sicuto de Oliveira, Adriana Terçariol, César Augusto Sangaletti Genaro, Gelson Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Captive domestic cats frequently suffer from the lack of physical space and opportunities to perform species-typical behaviors, such as climbing or hiding. Environmental enrichment is a technique that helps transform the space available to animals into a more appropriate habitat. In this study, we tested horizontal and vertical refuge boxes as environmental enrichment for cats living communally in a cat rescue shelter. The provision of boxes in the environment increases the use of available space by the cats. We suggest this improves the cats’ welfare while in communally-housed rescue shelters. ABSTRACT: The increase of domestic animals kept in shelters highlights the need to ensure animal welfare. Environmental enrichment can improve animal welfare in many ways, such as encouraging captive animals to use all the space available to them. The effects of physical environmental enrichment on the spatial distribution and behavioral repertoire of 35 neutered domestic cats housed communally were analyzed. The provision of boxes in the environment increases the use of available space by the cats. We suggest this improves the cats’ welfare while in communally-housed rescue shelters. The frequencies of active and especially inactive behaviors also increased in the enriched condition. In a test with vertical environmental enrichment, the animals showed an increased length of stay in refuges located at a height of 0.5 m compared to those on the ground (0.0 m). However, the entry frequency was higher in refuges at 0.0 m. Both horizontal and vertical environmental enrichment increased the use of available space, demonstrating that box refuges as enrichment are effective in providing a refuge when at a height, or a place to explore at ground level. We suggest it enhances the welfare of cats in communally housed shelters. This information adds to the body of evidence relating to cat enrichment and can be useful in designing cat housing in veterinary clinics, research laboratories, shelters and domestic homes. MDPI 2015-04-24 /pmc/articles/PMC4494404/ /pubmed/26479233 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani5020245 Text en © 2015 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Sicuto de Oliveira, Adriana
Terçariol, César Augusto Sangaletti
Genaro, Gelson
The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats
title The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats
title_full The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats
title_fullStr The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats
title_full_unstemmed The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats
title_short The Use of Refuges by Communally Housed Cats
title_sort use of refuges by communally housed cats
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4494404/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26479233
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani5020245
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