The Secure Base Effect (SBE) refers to a human or non-human animal’s ability to use the presence of a bonded caretaker, or other familiar stimulus, as a source of comfort that facilitates stress ...reduction and exploration in novel or stressful contexts. Recent research has shown that some pet domestic cats (Felis catus) display SBE in the presence of their human owner, a finding that could be utilized to improve cat welfare. In applied settings, cat owners are often encouraged to leave behind items holding their scent when leaving their cat in a novel location (e.g. boarding facility), so that these items can be provided to the cat if they show signs of separation distress. Although this practice has not be studied scientifically in cats, scent objects have been found to produce SBE in human research under similar conditions. Olfaction is thought to play an important role in the social behavior of domesticated cats, even in early life, as exposure to nest scent has been found to reduce stress in kittens. Thus, the possibility that owner scent might be sufficient to elicit SBE in cats is an important empirical question with applied implications. In the current study we asked whether owner scent would reduce cat anxiety when in an unfamiliar environment, and to what extent this might be related to whether the cat showed evidence of using their owner as a Secure Base. Forty-two adult cats underwent a counterbalanced Secure Base Test that examined the cat’s behavior with the owner present, without the owner present, and with a scent object present. On average, cats displayed a lower frequency of stress-related behaviors when the owner was present, providing support for the presence of SBE. However, this effect was not seen when the cat was alone with the scent object. The results of this research can be used to deepen our understanding of feline social behavior and welfare. These findings also highlight the importance of using evidence based practices to address cat anxiety in applied settings.
•Roughly half of evaluated cats exhibited the Secure Base Effect with their owner.•Cats displayed less stress behavior when in the company of their owner.•An object holding the owner’s scent did not promote the Secure Base Effect in cats.•Cats exhibited stress behavior in the presence of the scent object alone.•Allorubbing is an important reunion behavior, 83% of cats rub their owner following a separation.
•We assessed cats’ responses to the quality of housing (room and cage) environment.•Cats in unmanaged rooms ate and eliminated less than cats in managed rooms.•Cats in unmanaged rooms hid more and ...were less likely to approach a stranger.•Indicates room environment may be as important as the cage environment to the cat.•Suggests the welfare of caged cats is dependent on both cage and room factors.
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) environments on cat behavior and their implications for cat well-being. Cats (n=76) were caged singly at The Ohio State University and randomly assigned to one of four treatment groups that were combinations of a managed (M+) or unmanaged (M−) macro environment and an enriched (m+) or unenriched (m−) micro environment. Cats housed in the M+ environment experienced minimal noise or disruption and a consistent schedule while cats in the M− environment experienced random disturbances and an unpredictable schedule. The m+ environment included hiding and perching opportunities while the m− environment had no hiding and perching opportunity. Cats were observed for 48h for maintenance, affiliative behaviors (e.g., eating, elimination, soliciting attention), agonistic, avoidant behaviors (e.g., growling, hissing, hiding) using scan sampling and 5-min, continuous focal sampling. At the end of day 2, a stranger approach test was conducted to assess the cats’ reactions to the approach of an unfamiliar person. Data analysis of food intake revealed that the effect of treatment (P=0.03), day (P<0.0001) and the interaction (P=0.03) were statistically significant. Cats housed in the M+ environment had a significant decrease in the mean (SD) number of sickness behaviors from day 1 to day 2 (M+m+ 1.6 (0.5), 1.0 (0.9), P=0.02; M+m− 1.9 (0.5), 1.0 (0.9), P=0.002) and hiding behavior (M+ 0.6 (0.3), 0.3 (0.4); M− 0.5 (0.4), 0.4 (0.4); P=0.01), while cats housed in the M− environments did not show such decreases. Significantly more cats exhibited affiliative and maintenance behaviors at the end of day 1 (P<0.001) when housed in the M+ environment (27/36, 75%) compared to cats housed in the M− environment (4/40, 10%). Differences between cats in M+ and M− in step 3 of the approach test included a shorter latency to interact (M+ 8.6(13.1), M− 15.6(14.8); P=0.03), longer duration of interaction (M+ 21.1(13.3), M− 13.6(14.6); P=0.03) and more affiliative behaviors in response to approach by a stranger (M+ 3.7(1.6), M− 2.8(1.7); P=0.008). These results suggest that the macro environment may be at least as relevant to the cat as the micro environment, indicating that attention to cage enrichment without consideration for the effect of the room may be insufficient to optimize caged cat behavior and welfare.
Domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) can live in high densities, although most feline species are solitary and exclusively territorial animals; it is possible that certain behavioral strategies ...enable this phenomenon. These behaviors are regulated by hormones and the gut microbiome, which, in turn, is influenced by domestication. Therefore, we investigated the relationships between the sociality, hormone concentrations, and gut microbiome of domestic cats by conducting three sets of experiments for each group of five cats and analyzing their behavior, hormone concentrations (cortisol, oxytocin, and testosterone), and their gut microbiomes. We observed that individuals with high cortisol and testosterone concentrations established less contact with others, and individuals with high oxytocin concentrations did not exhibit affiliative behaviors as much as expected. Additionally, the higher the frequency of contact among the individuals, the greater the similarity in gut microbiome; gut microbial composition was also related to behavioral patterns and cortisol secretion. Notably, individuals with low cortisol and testosterone concentrations were highly tolerant, making high-density living easy. Oxytocin usually functions in an affiliative manner within groups, but our results suggest that even if typically solitary and territorial animals live in high densities, their oxytocin functions are opposite to those of typically group-living animals.
Introgression can be an important evolutionary force but it can also lead to species extinction and as such is a crucial issue for species conservation. However, introgression is difficult to detect, ...morphologically as well as genetically. Hybridization with domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) is a major concern for the conservation of European wildcats (Felis s. silvestris). The available morphologic and genetic markers for the two Felis subspecies are not sufficient to reliably detect hybrids beyond first generation. Here we present a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) based approach that allows the identification of introgressed individuals. Using high‐throughput sequencing of reduced representation libraries we developed a diagnostic marker set containing 48 SNPs (Fst > 0.8) which allows the identification of wildcats, domestic cats, their hybrids and backcrosses. This allows assessing introgression rate in natural wildcat populations and is key for a better understanding of hybridization processes.
In the context of the current extinction crisis, identifying new conservation units is pivotal to the development of sound conservation measures, especially in highly threatened taxa such as felids. ...Corsican wildcats are known by Corsican people since a very long time but have been little studied. Meaningful information about their phylogenetic position is lacking. We used ddRADseq to genotype phenotypically homogenous Corsican wildcats at 3671 genome‐wide SNPs and reported for the first time their genetic identity. We compared this genomic information to domestic cats Felis silvestris catus from Corsica and mainland France, European wildcats F. s. silvestris and Sardinian wildcats F. s. lybica. Our premise was that if the Corsican wildcat, as a phenotypic entity, also represents a genetic entity, it deserves conservation measures and to be recognized as a conservation unit. Corsican wildcats appeared highly genetically differentiated from European wildcats and genetically closer to Sardinian wildcats than to domestic cats. Domestic cats from Corsica and mainland France were closer to each other and Sardinian wildcats were intermediate between Corsican wildcats and domestic cats. This suggested that Corsican wildcats do not belong to the F. s. silvestris or catus lineages. The inclusion of more high‐quality Sardinian samples and Near‐Eastern mainland F. s. lybica would constitute the next step toward assessing the status of Corsican wildcat as a subspecies and/or evolutionarily significant unit and tracing back wildcat introduction history of in Corsica.
Recombination has essential roles in increasing genetic variability within a population and in ensuring successful meiotic events. The objective of this study is to (i) infer the population-scaled ...recombination rate (rho), and (ii) identify and characterize regions of increased recombination rate for the domestic cat, Felis silvestris catus. SNPs (n = 701) were genotyped in twenty-two East Asian feral cats (random bred). The SNPs covered ten different chromosomal regions (A1, A2, B3, C2, D1, D2, D4, E2, F2, X) with an average region size of 850 Kb and an average SNP density of 70 SNPs/region. The Bayesian method in the program inferRho was used to infer regional population recombination rates and hotspots localities. The regions exhibited variable population recombination rates and four decisive recombination hotspots were identified on cat chromosome A2, D1, and E2 regions. As a description of the identified hotspots, no correlation was detected between the GC content and the locality of recombination spots, and the hotspots enclosed L2 LINE elements and MIR and tRNA-Lys SINE elements.
Determining the time of an animal’s death is an extremely relevant subject in the practice of modern forensic medicine, because the issue often arises when investigating crimes related to animal ...abuse, in particular, with domestic cats Felis silvestris catus (Linnaeus, 1758). Methods of identifying time of cats’ death are currently developed insufficiently and their introduction into the veterinary-forensic practice has been limited, including the histological method we have employed. We used five corpses of cats, from which we periodically, after certain time periods, gathered the material for histological study, sampling such organs as the liver, kidneys, lungs, heart (myocardium), and the skeletal muscles. From the collected material, we made histological sections and stained them with hematoxylin and eosin. We determined the general patterns in changes occurring in the internal organs of cats over time, namely changes in the staining intensity of the cell elements and intercellular structures on the histopreparations; formation of detritus-filled cavities; a number of distinctive changes in the connective-tissue stroma of the organs; emergence of baciliform bacteria in the tissues and formation of their colonies. In the muscle tissue, we found specific features such as loss of alignment and emergence of transversal grooves with subsequent fragmentation. The study revealed that the development of those changes in each organ clearly correlated with time that has passed since each animals had died. Thus, a complex evaluation of detected changes can give a more accurate – compared with other existing methods – assessment of the time of death of a corpse submitted to forensic veterinary examination. We recommend using the histological method for animals presumed to have been dead for no more than 18 days, because later the tissue disintegration reaches such a level that complicates the correlation of changes with time. We consider it promising to study the time of death of domestic cats using other methods for identifying criteria for postmortem intervals longer than 18 days, and also identifying time of death in other species of animals.
Individual differences in behavior (animal personality) have recently received much attention although less so in young mammals. We tested 74 preweaning-age kittens from 16 litters of domestic cats ...in five everyday contexts repeated three times each across a 3-week period: a handling test where an experimenter held the kitten, a test where a piece of raw beef was given to the kitten and gradually withdrawn, a test where the kitten was presented with a live mouse in a jar, a test where the kitten was briefly confined in a pet carrier, and an encounter with an unfamiliar human who first remained passive and then attempted to stroke the kitten. We found consistent individual differences in behavior in all tests except with the mouse, although less marked than in equivalent tests with adult cats. Differences in behavior were unrelated to sex, body mass, litter size, or maternal identity. We found only weak correlations in results among the tests (behavioral syndromes), again unlike findings in adult cats. We conclude that weanling kittens show consistent individual differences in behavior but in a different manner to adults. If and how the pattern of such differences changes across development remains to be studied.
The genus Troglostrongylus includes nematodes infecting domestic and wild felids. Troglostrongylus brevior was described six decades ago in Palestine and subsequently reported in some European ...countries (Italy, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, and Bosnia and Herzegovina). As the diagnosis by the first-stage larvae (L1) may be challenging, there is a possibility of confusion with Aelurostrongylus abstrusus. Hence, the knowledge on the distribution of this neglected feline parasite is still scarce. The present paper reports the first case of T. brevior infection in Romania. In July 2017, a road-killed juvenile male Felis silvestris, was found in in Covasna County, Romania. A full necropsy was performed and the nematodes were collected from the trachea and bronchioles. Parasites were sexed and identified to species level, based on morphometrical features. A classical Baermann method was performed on the lungs and the faeces to collect the metastrongyloid larvae. Genomic DNA was extracted from an adult female nematode. Molecular identification was accomplished with a PCR assay targeting the ITS2 of the rRNA gene.
Two males and one female nematodes were found in the trachea and bronchioles. They were morphologically and molecularly identified as T. brevior. The first-stage larvae (L1) recovered from the lung tissue and faeces were morphologically consistent with those of T. brevior. No other pulmonary nematodes were identified and no gross pulmonary lesions were observed.
This paper represents the first report of Troglostrongylus brevior infection in Romania, so far representing the second northernmost location for this genus in Europe. The diversity of species infecting wild and domestic felids and the differences regarding the clinical significance of these nematodes highlight the need for a more intense surveillance and proper diagnosis of feline lungworm infections, especially in countries where more species were demonstrated to be present. Furthermore, an increased awareness between clinicians is needed for a correct diagnostic approach to feline lungworm diagnosis.
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