Cat

The effects of operant training on blood collection for domestic cats

The impact of operantly training domestic cats to accept jugular blood collections in a dorsally recumbent (novel) position was assessed. Cats were assigned to one of three groups: Group 1 (N = 14): no training, traditional jugular blood collection; Group...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Animal Training, Biological Sampling & Physiological MeasurementAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Lockhart, J., Wilson, K., Lanman, C. 2013. The effects of operant training on blood collection for domestic cats. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 143(2-4), 128-134.

Conditionining laboratory cats to handling and transport

As research subjects, cats have contributed substantially to our understanding of biological systems, from the development of mammalian visual pathways to the pathophysiology of feline immunodeficiency virus as a model for human immunodeficiency virus. Few studies have evaluated humane methods...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Handling, Relocation & TransportAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Gruen, M. E., Thomson, A. E., Clary, G. P. et al. 2013. Conditionining laboratory cats to handling and transport. Lab Animal 42(10), 385-389.

Compassion Makes a Difference – Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III

This is the third volume of discussions that took place on the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum (LAREF). This forum is dedicated to the exchange of personal experiences of refining the conditions under which animals are housed and handled...

Year Published: 2013Topics: Animal Training, Drug/Substance Administration, Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Amphibian, Baboon, Cat, Chimpanzee, Dog, Fish, Frog & Toad, Goat, Macaque, Marmoset, Mouse, Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Pig, Rabbit, Rat, Reptile, Rodent, Sheep, Snake, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey), Zebrafish

Citation: Reinhardt, V. (ed.) 2013. Compassion Makes a Difference - Discussions by the Laboratory Animal Refinement & Enrichment Forum [LAREF], Volume III. Animal Welfare Institute, Washington, DC.

Freebies for felines

Institutions are in a never-ending budget battle and items like environmental enrichment tend to get overshadowed. The challenge for laboratory animal technicians is to put on their thinking caps and find novel, low-cost enrichment items for animals in their care....

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Watson, C., Garman, K. A. 2014. Freebies for felines. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 573. (Abstract #P93).

Environmental factors that affect the behavior and welfare of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) housed in cages

Understanding environmental factors that affect the behavior of cats in cages is important if caretakers are to improve the welfare of confined cats. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of the macro (room) and micro (cage)...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Housing, Husbandry & ManagementAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Stella, J., Croney, C., Buffington, T. 2014. Environmental factors that affect the behavior and welfare of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) housed in cages. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 160, 94-105.

Toys and technicians: 2 keys to a successful enrichment program for singly housed felines

Social or group housing is well known as the ideal environment for maintaining cats in a research setting as it allows specific behaviors such as play, grooming, and climbing. When social housing is not possible, enrichment items and personnel interactions...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Disease/Experimental Model, Environmental Enrichment, Human-Animal InteractionAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Nowlan, S. Y., Burlingame, L. A., Na, J. et al. 2014. Toys and technicians: 2 keys to a successful enrichment program for singly housed felines. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 583. (Abstract #P132).

Dynamics of the access of captive domestic cats to a feed environmental enrichment item

Providing feed enrichment to captive felids that are obligate carnivores is crucial for eliciting natural hunting behaviours. However, studies of the efficacy of enrichment techniques usually analyse the whole group, overlooking the different behaviours of individual animals towards the enriched...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Damasceno, J., Genaro, G. 2014. Dynamics of the access of captive domestic cats to a feed environmental enrichment item. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 151, 67-74.

Behavioral ethogram as a health assessment tool in a feline vaccine study

For infectious disease studies, assessment of feline health is traditionally limited to metrics such as body temperature (BT), change in body weight (BW), and clinical signs (CS). Recently, behavioral ethograms designed for assessment of rabbits and rodents were demonstrated to...

Year Published: 2014Topics: Welfare AssessmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Burlingame, L. A., Na, J., Dunbar, M. et al. 2014. Behavioral ethogram as a health assessment tool in a feline vaccine study. American Association for Laboratory Animal Science [AALAS] Meeting Official Program, 610. (Abstract #P227).

Laboratory animal behavior

The study of laboratory animal behavior has increased steadily over the last decade, with expanding emphasis on a variety of commonly used species. In the United States, this trend was initially focused on species for which there was a regulatory...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Abnormal/Problematic Behavior, Environmental Enrichment, Housing, Human-Animal Interaction, Social Housing & CompanionshipAnimal Type: Baboon, Bird, Capuchin, Cat, Cattle, Chicken, Chimpanzee, Dog, Fowl, Gerbil, Goat, Guinea Pig, Hamster, Lemur, Macaque, Marmoset, Mink, Mouse, Other Nonhuman Primate, Owl Monkey, Rabbit, Rat, Rodent, Sheep, Squirrel Monkey, Vervet (African Green Monkey)

Citation: Bayne, K. A., Beaver, B. V., Mench, J. A. et al. 2015. Laboratory animal behavior. In: Laboratory Animal Medicine, 3rd edition. Fox, J. G., Anderson, L., Otto, G., et al. (eds). Elsevier, Inc., Amsterdam, NL. pp. 1617-1651.

Cats prefer species-appropriate music

Many studies have attempted to use music to influence the behavior of nonhuman animals; however, these studies have often led to conflicting outcomes. We have developed a theoretical framework that hypothesizes that in order for music to be effective with...

Year Published: 2015Topics: Environmental EnrichmentAnimal Type: Cat

Citation: Snowdon, C. T., Teie, D., Savage, M. 2015. Cats prefer species-appropriate music. Applied Animal Behaviour Science 166, 106-111.