Abstract
In the Netherlands about 115 shelters take in and rehome 52.000 cats annually. Despite good care provided by shelter employees, a shelter cat’s life is often associated with many stressors. Prolonged or repeated stress impairs welfare and is closely related to immunodeficiency, which increases the vulnerability to several diseases. Research
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has shown that environmental enrichment is an effective intervention to reduce stress in cats, whereby especially hiding opportunities appear the most effective way to help shelter cats to quickly adapt to their novel surroundings. Though stress reduction has been found in previous studies on the hand of behavioural parameters, a further validation is necessary on the hand of physiological (urinary cortisol:creatinine ratios) and health parameters (urinary parameters, body weight, fURI). Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine the effect of a hiding box on behavioural stress levels, urinary parameters, body weight and the prevalence of fURI in newly arrived cats in a Dutch animal shelter during the first 14 days in quarantine situations. In addition, to give insight in adoption rate differences, at the end of the study adoption rates were controlled.
Upon arrival, 23 European short hair cats between 1 and 10 years of age were randomly appointed to either the experimental group (N = 12) or the control group (N = 11). Stress levels were assessed on days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 with the aid of the Cat-Stress-Score (CSS) published by Kessler and Turner. Urine samples were collected and body weights were measured on days 0, 7 and 12. The prevalence and severity of fURI was assessed on days 1, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 12 according to a modification of the scoring system defined by Bannasch and Foley. Finally, the number of days between the cat leaving the quarantine room and the adoption day was determined.
Major findings of the study are 1. Overall, higher mean stress scores were registered in control group cats compared to cats with access to a hiding box, whereby the two research groups significantly differed in their CSS on observation days 2, 3 and 12 (p < 0.0071). A pronounced decrease in stress scores (-0.68 CSS) to a steady mean CSS of 2.02 was found on day 2 in the experimental group, whereas a more gradual and slower decrease to a steady mean CSS of 2.21 on day 9 was observed in the control group. 2. Cats without a hiding box spent significantly more time on the perching shelf and behind the litter box compared to cats in the experimental group. 3. All cats of the research population significantly lost body weight during the first two weeks of their stay (p < 0.017), but there was no significant difference between the cats with or without access to a hiding box. 4. Overall, no significant differences were found between the experimental and control group for the urinary parameters, mean body weights, body weight losses and mean adoption rates. Although higher, however not significant, cortisol:creatinine ratios were found in the control group in urine samples 1 and 2, urinary cortisol:creatinine ratios decreased in both research groups and were almost equal at the end of the quarantine period (day 12). 5. Feline upper respiratory tract infections were not diagnosed in this research population within the quarantine period.
The results indicate that the provision of a hiding box can be helpful to reduce stress in shelter cats in quarantine situations as based on the CSS. This is in line with previous research with hiding boxes in quarantine situations and validates the CSS as well as the effectiveness of the hiding box for stress reduction in shelter cats. Hiding boxes can be a relatively simple way for cats to self-manage stress, to adapt easier to the shelter and thus to improve their welfare. The results suggest, however, that a hiding box was not sufficient to prevent body weight losses and deviations from reference ranges in urinary health parameters. Behavioural observations, urinary cortisol:creatinine ratios and body weight losses might be appropriate indicators of stress in shelter cats and may be elaborated in future research.
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