Huang Liyan, Coradini Marcia, Rand Jacquie, Morton John, Albrecht Kat, Wasson Brigid, Robertson Danielle
Gatton Campus, The University of Queensland, Queensland 4343, Australia.
Australian Pet Welfare Foundation, Kenmore, Queensland 4069, Australia.
Animals (Basel). 2018 Jan 2;8(1):5. doi: 10.3390/ani8010005.
Missing pet cats are often not found by their owners, with many being euthanized at shelters. This study aimed to describe times that lost cats were missing for, search methods associated with their recovery, locations where found and distances travelled. A retrospective case series was conducted where self-selected participants whose cat had gone missing provided data in an online questionnaire. Of the 1210 study cats, only 61% were found within one year, with 34% recovered alive by the owner within 7 days. Few cats were found alive after 90 days. There was evidence that physical searching increased the chance of finding the cat alive ( = 0.073), and 75% of cats were found within 500 m of the point of escape. Up to 75% of cats with outdoor access traveled 1609 m, further than the distance traveled by indoor-only cats (137 m; ≤ 0.001). Cats considered to be highly curious were more likely to be found inside someone else's house compared to other personality types. These findings suggest that thorough physical searching is a useful strategy, and should be conducted within the first week after cats go missing. They also support further investigation into whether shelter, neuter and return programs improve the chance of owners recovering missing cats and decrease numbers of cats euthanized in shelters.
走失的宠物猫往往无法被主人找回，许多猫在收容所被安乐死。本研究旨在描述走失猫失踪的时间、与其找回相关的搜索方法、被找到的地点以及行进的距离。开展了一项回顾性病例系列研究，自行选择的猫走失的参与者通过在线问卷提供数据。在1210只参与研究的猫中，只有61%在一年内被找到，34%被主人在7天内活着找回。90天后很少有猫被活着找到。有证据表明，实地搜索增加了活着找到猫的几率（P = 0.073），75%的猫在逃离点500米范围内被找到。多达75%有户外活动机会的猫行进了1609米，比只在室内活动的猫行进的距离（137米；P≤0.001）更远。与其他性格类型的猫相比，被认为好奇心很强的猫更有可能在别人家里被找到。这些发现表明，全面的实地搜索是一种有用的策略，应该在猫走失后的第一周内进行。它们还支持进一步调查收容、绝育和放归计划是否能提高主人找回走失猫的几率，并减少收容所中被安乐死的猫的数量。
