Institute of Animal Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences, Beijing, China.
J Feline Med Surg. 2022 Aug;24(8):691-699. doi: 10.1177/1098612X211041305. Epub 2021 Sep 8.
Transport can be a stressful experience for domestic cats. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of a new synthetic feline facial pheromone product on relieving stress in domestic cats during short-distance transport.
A randomised, blinded, placebo-controlled pilot study was conducted. Prior to baseline screening, cat owners were trained via online meetings in the assessment of stress-related behaviours and overall stress visual analogue scoring. All assessments were completed 30 mins after the start of transport. A total of 150 domestic cats exhibiting stress-related behaviours during baseline screening were recruited and randomly assigned to either the treatment group (n = 75) or the placebo group (n = 75). For the placebo-controlled intervention, the product and placebo, which were identical in appearance, were provided to the treatment and placebo groups, respectively. Fifteen minutes after spraying the carriers with the product or placebo, cat owners were required to take their cat out and complete the same assessments (baseline screening).
After the intervention, the performance of the stress-related behaviours curling, lack of motion and meowing during transport outside the home was significantly reduced in the treatment group compared with the placebo group ( <0.05). When the baseline stress visual analogue scale (VAS) score was >2.94 cm, cats in the treatment group had significantly lower post-intervention stress VAS scores compared with those in the placebo group ( <0.05).
A synthetic feline facial pheromone product can alleviate short-distance transport-related stress in domestic cats with higher stress scores. This finding will benefit domestic cats during transport outside of the home.
运输可能对家猫造成压力。本研究旨在评估一种新型合成猫面部信息素产品对缓解短途运输中家猫应激的作用。
进行了一项随机、双盲、安慰剂对照的初步研究。在基线筛选前，通过在线会议对猫主人进行了应激相关行为和整体应激视觉模拟评分评估的培训。所有评估均在运输开始后 30 分钟完成。共有 150 只在基线筛选期间表现出应激相关行为的家猫被招募并随机分为治疗组（n=75）或安慰剂组（n=75）。对于安慰剂对照干预，分别向治疗组和安慰剂组提供产品和安慰剂，外观相同。在给载体喷洒产品或安慰剂后 15 分钟，猫主人需要带猫出去并完成相同的评估（基线筛选）。
干预后，治疗组在家外运输时的卷曲、缺乏运动和喵喵叫等应激相关行为的表现明显低于安慰剂组（<0.05）。当基线应激视觉模拟量表（VAS）评分>2.94cm 时，治疗组的猫在干预后的应激 VAS 评分明显低于安慰剂组（<0.05）。
一种合成猫面部信息素产品可以减轻应激评分较高的家猫短途运输相关应激。这一发现将使家猫在离开家时的运输中受益。
