Meeting feline environmental needs Flashcards
Which features of a domestic environment can compromise natural feline behaviour?
- sharing important resources
- living in unrelated groups
- denied opportunity to hide or retreat
- restrained by human displays of affection
What are the 3 aims of optimising the relationship between a kitten and a caregiver?
- Kitten to develop successfully
- Caregiver to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with their pet
- Kitten and caregiver to develop a positive relationship with the vets
Define and compare environmental enrichment and environmental optimisation
o Environmental enrichment implies providing something in excess of what is required
o Environmental optimisation implies providing for the environmental needs of the species
What 3 components make up the health triad?
Physical
Cognitive
Emotional
How does an optimal environment impact health?
- increases security thereby reducing unnecessary protective (negative) emotions
- encourages an engaging (positive) emotional bias
- provides outlets for natural behavioural responses
- improves physical health by reducing the negative impact of chronic physiological stress
What are the 5 pillars of feline environmental needs?
- Providing a safe place
- Providing opportunity for play and predatory behaviour
- Provide positive consistent and predictable human-cat social interaction
- Provide an environment that respects the importance of the cat’s sense of smell
- Provide multiple and separate environmental resources: food, water, toileting areas, scratching areas, play areas and resting or sleeping areas
A cat will only share a core territory with…?
Someone in the same social group
What are some features that make up a cats safe space?
- Access to three dimensional space
- High up resting locations
- Places to hide, ideally elevated
- Privacy
How can a safe space be made more private?
- Privacy from outside cats
- Decrease visual access
- Frosting, blinds, curtains
- Protect the core territory from physical invasion: microchip operated cat flaps
What is the emotional impact of failing to provide a safe sapce?
- increased risk of fear-anxiety and frustration
- inter-cat social tension
- reduction in quality of life
- behaviours associated with the attempts to increase sensation of security
Describe how play motivations in the feline world, and how they differ at different ages
- Intra-specific rough and tumble style play
- Cats within a social group
- Less than 2/3 years old
- After social maturity the main form is object play which is a solitary behaviour
Play is motivated by what emotion?
Desire seeking
How are cats designed to expel energy?
In short bursts of energy consuming activity followed by significant periods of rest and relaxation
What are the impacts of failing to provide opportunities for play and predatory behaviour?
- increased risk of frustration of the desire-seeking system
- increased predatory behaviour towards inappropriate targets
- obesity due to reduced energy expenditure
How are people and cats social interactions different?
- People are low frequency high intensity interactors while cats base their social interaction on high frequency and low intensity
- Cats are not obligately social
- When social play is attempted without appropriate context setting it can be perceived as threat
- Humans have a desire for close physical interaction
What is the impact of failing to provide positive consistent and predictable human-cat social interaction?
- increased fear-anxiety, frustration
- reduction in quality in human-cat relationship
- reduction in quality of life of the individual cat
What can help ensure the available core territory is recognised as a safe and secure location by a cat?
Pheromone therapy - using the cats sense of smell
Which two pheromones are constitutes of Feliway optimum?
Feline facial pheromone
Feline appeasing pheromone
What are the roles of Feline facial pheromone and Feline appeasing pheromone in optimisation of the environment?
- Feline facial pheromone is associated with territorial safety and security
- Feline appeasing pheromone is associated with personal safety and security
How does scratching act as a form of scent communication?
- Cats deposit scent signals when scratching
- Provision of suitable scratching locations within the home is important
- Consider height
- Ensure the post is sturdy
What are the emotional impacts of failing to respect the cat’s sense of smell?
- increased fear-anxiety
- increased hiding, elimination, urine marking
What are the 5 most important resources for a cat?
- Food
- Water
- Resting places
- Latrines
- Entry/exit potential
How must resources be distributed within a household?
According to social groupings
How must water and food be distributed and why?
o Cats are solitary feeders – it is stressful to have to eat with other cats
o They drink and eat separately and require water in a separate location from food
What are the impacts of failing to provide multiple and separate environmental resources?
- Increased fear-anxiety and frustration of desire seeking
- Decreased appropriate use of resources
- Increased tension between cats
- Conflict
How can an outdoor environment be modified to minimise feline stress?
- Provide accessible and significant scratching places
- Block access by other cats – both visual and actual
- Improve patrolling and observation opportunities
- Provide hiding places and vantage points
- Provide outdoor toilets
