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Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes

Seven percent of UK households are estimated to own both a cat and a dog, despite a popular view that the two do not live well together. This is the first study to evaluate the effects of pheromone products Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) on cat-dog interactions, in homes where owners perceived...

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Autores principales: Prior, Miriam Rebecca, Mills, Daniel Simon
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Frontiers Media S.A. 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366870/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32754622
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00399
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author Prior, Miriam Rebecca
Mills, Daniel Simon
author_facet Prior, Miriam Rebecca
Mills, Daniel Simon
author_sort Prior, Miriam Rebecca
collection PubMed
description Seven percent of UK households are estimated to own both a cat and a dog, despite a popular view that the two do not live well together. This is the first study to evaluate the effects of pheromone products Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) on cat-dog interactions, in homes where owners perceived the potential for improvement in the relationship between their cat and dog. A blinded parallel randomized trial design over a 6-week period was used to evaluate the effect of each of the two products, with 17 participants in each group completing the trial. Owners reported weekly on the frequency of 10 specific undesirable interactions and seven specific desirable interactions. Total undesirable and desirable interaction scores both showed significant linear contrasts over time (undesirable score decreased; desirable score increased). Undesirable interaction scores were significantly lower (with a very large effect size) during treatment compared with baseline. There were no significant differences between the two pheromone products in relation to these outcome measures. Adaptil(TM) and Feliway Friends(TM) were both associated with a significant decrease in: dog chasing cat/cat runs away; cat hiding from dog; cat/dog staring at the other; and dog barking at cat. With Adaptil(TM) a significant increase was also seen in: friendly greeting and times spent relaxed in the same room. From baseline (Week 2) to the end of the study (Week 6) there was a significant improvement in owners' perception of dog relaxation in those participants who received Adaptil(TM) and of cat relaxation in those participants who received Feliway Friends(TM). Similarity in the core chemical structure of the appeasing pheromones might explain the main effects, whilst different species-specific additions may explain the product-appropriate species-specific increases in relaxation scores. Specific behavioral improvements seen with Adaptil(TM) may reflect a greater calming of dogs in this group, reducing their interest in seeking interaction with cats in the same home and the tension in the cat as a result. In conclusion, both products appear to improve the cat-dog relationship and it would be beneficial to further study their use in combination and against placebo. If selecting one product Adaptil(TM) may be preferable, unless there is a particular need to increase the cat's relaxation.
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spelling pubmed-73668702020-08-03 Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes Prior, Miriam Rebecca Mills, Daniel Simon Front Vet Sci Veterinary Science Seven percent of UK households are estimated to own both a cat and a dog, despite a popular view that the two do not live well together. This is the first study to evaluate the effects of pheromone products Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) on cat-dog interactions, in homes where owners perceived the potential for improvement in the relationship between their cat and dog. A blinded parallel randomized trial design over a 6-week period was used to evaluate the effect of each of the two products, with 17 participants in each group completing the trial. Owners reported weekly on the frequency of 10 specific undesirable interactions and seven specific desirable interactions. Total undesirable and desirable interaction scores both showed significant linear contrasts over time (undesirable score decreased; desirable score increased). Undesirable interaction scores were significantly lower (with a very large effect size) during treatment compared with baseline. There were no significant differences between the two pheromone products in relation to these outcome measures. Adaptil(TM) and Feliway Friends(TM) were both associated with a significant decrease in: dog chasing cat/cat runs away; cat hiding from dog; cat/dog staring at the other; and dog barking at cat. With Adaptil(TM) a significant increase was also seen in: friendly greeting and times spent relaxed in the same room. From baseline (Week 2) to the end of the study (Week 6) there was a significant improvement in owners' perception of dog relaxation in those participants who received Adaptil(TM) and of cat relaxation in those participants who received Feliway Friends(TM). Similarity in the core chemical structure of the appeasing pheromones might explain the main effects, whilst different species-specific additions may explain the product-appropriate species-specific increases in relaxation scores. Specific behavioral improvements seen with Adaptil(TM) may reflect a greater calming of dogs in this group, reducing their interest in seeking interaction with cats in the same home and the tension in the cat as a result. In conclusion, both products appear to improve the cat-dog relationship and it would be beneficial to further study their use in combination and against placebo. If selecting one product Adaptil(TM) may be preferable, unless there is a particular need to increase the cat's relaxation. Frontiers Media S.A. 2020-07-10 /pmc/articles/PMC7366870/ /pubmed/32754622 http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00399 Text en Copyright © 2020 Prior and Mills. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
spellingShingle Veterinary Science
Prior, Miriam Rebecca
Mills, Daniel Simon
Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes
title Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes
title_full Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes
title_fullStr Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes
title_full_unstemmed Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes
title_short Cats vs. Dogs: The Efficacy of Feliway Friends(TM) and Adaptil(TM) Products in Multispecies Homes
title_sort cats vs. dogs: the efficacy of feliway friends(tm) and adaptil(tm) products in multispecies homes
topic Veterinary Science
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7366870/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32754622
http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2020.00399
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