Stella Judith L, Croney Candace C
Center for Animal Welfare Science, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN, USA.
ScientificWorldJournal. 2016;2016:7108374. doi: 10.1155/2016/7108374. Epub 2016 Dec 20.
Understanding cat owners' housing, care, and management practices is important for promoting cat welfare. A survey study was conducted on the housing and management practices used for cats by students, faculty, and staff of The Ohio State University and Purdue University veterinary colleges. Subjects were 138 cat-owner dyads. Most cats (74%) were housed strictly indoors in keeping with common US veterinary recommendations. However, many did not implement best practices outlined for behavior and other welfare needs of indoor cats. The percentage of respondents placing resources where cats could be disrupted while using them was 31%, 53%, and 30% for resting areas, food/water dishes, and litter boxes, respectively. Many cats were not provided a litter box in a private area (35%), in multiple areas of the house (51%), or that was regularly washed (73%). Horizontal scratching opportunities were not provided to 38% of cats; 32% were not provided toys that mimic prey and 91% of cats were fed a diet consisting of >75% dry food. These findings suggest a need for more concerted efforts to educate owners about meeting their cats' welfare needs so as to attenuate risks and improve cat physical and behavioral welfare outcomes.
了解猫主人的养猫住房、护理及管理方式对于促进猫的福利很重要。一项调查研究针对俄亥俄州立大学和普渡大学兽医学院的学生、教职员工养猫的住房及管理方式展开。研究对象为138对养猫人与猫的组合。多数猫（74%）按照美国兽医的常见建议严格饲养在室内。然而，许多人并未落实针对室内猫行为及其他福利需求所概述的最佳做法。在休息区、食/水碗和猫砂盆使用时可能被打扰的地方放置资源的受访者比例分别为31%、53%和30%。许多猫没有在私密区域（35%）、房屋的多个区域（51%）或定期清洗的猫砂盆（73%）。38%的猫没有水平抓挠的机会；32%的猫没有被提供模拟猎物的玩具，91%的猫所喂食的食物中干粮占比超过75%。这些发现表明需要做出更一致的努力，教育主人满足其猫的福利需求，以降低风险并改善猫的身体和行为福利状况。
