The perception of cat stress by Italian owners

The welfare assessment of owned pet cats has been neglected in research. The aim of this study was to assess owners ’ perception and recognition of impaired welfare in their own cats.One-hundred-ninety four cat owners were interviewed face-to-face by a veterinary behaviorist, completing a 42-item questionnaire.Most owners (71.1%/N=138) correctly included both physical and psychological features within their def inition of stress, but 9.8% (19) thought that stress had no consequences for the cat.When asked to rate the overall stress level of their own cats in a non-numerical scale based on frequency , 56.7% (N=110) chose low, 38.1% (N=74) chose medium, and 5.2% (N=10) chose high.
Source: Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research - Category: Veterinary Research Authors: Source Type: research