Mikkola Salla, Salonen Milla, Hakanen Emma, Lohi Hannes
1Department of Veterinary Biosciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
2Department of Medical and Clinical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023 Feb 24;261(5):652-660. doi: 10.2460/javma.22.10.0441. Print 2023 May 1.
To identify potential risk factors for feline litter box issues (eg, house soiling).
3,049 privately owned cats.
Data were collected using a validated, owner-completed survey with convenience sampling. The feline behavior and personality survey included 138 statements related to cat behavior and questions concerning cat background and health. Statements related to litter box issues were subjected to factor analysis. Associations between the identified factors and personality and background variables were studied using generalized linear models. Strength of these associations (ie, importance) was evaluated by calculating relative and absolute effect sizes.
Factor analysis yielded 2 factors: house soiling and litter box fussiness. This study suggests that fearful cats are more prone to both forms of litter box issues than nonfearful individuals. Other associations we found differed between factors. For example, low sociability toward cats, male sex, and being intact associated only with increased house soiling and older age only with litter box fussiness. The most important variables in the litter box models (ie, sociability toward cats, breed, and activity/playfulness) failed to reach the suggested cutoff for a small effect size.
Numerous variables are thought to influence litter box issues, but few studies have examined their relevance. Here, we studied the associations of over 30 background variables and personality traits with 2 litter box issue factors to estimate their importance at the population level. Our results bring new knowledge to this field and may contribute to finding new solutions for these complex issues in the future.
确定猫砂盆问题（如在家中便溺）的潜在风险因素。
3049只私人饲养的猫。
采用经过验证的、由主人填写的调查问卷并通过便利抽样收集数据。猫行为和性格调查问卷包含138条与猫行为相关的陈述以及有关猫的背景和健康问题。与猫砂盆问题相关的陈述进行了因子分析。使用广义线性模型研究已识别因素与性格及背景变量之间的关联。通过计算相对和绝对效应量评估这些关联的强度（即重要性）。
因子分析产生了2个因素：在家中便溺和猫砂盆挑剔。本研究表明，胆小的猫比不胆小的猫更容易出现这两种形式的猫砂盆问题。我们发现的其他关联在不同因素之间存在差异。例如，对猫社交性低、雄性以及未绝育仅与在家中便溺增加相关，而年龄较大仅与猫砂盆挑剔相关。猫砂盆模型中最重要的变量（即对猫的社交性、品种以及活动/活泼程度）未达到小效应量的建议临界值。
许多变量被认为会影响猫砂盆问题，但很少有研究探讨它们的相关性。在此，我们研究了30多个背景变量和性格特征与2个猫砂盆问题因素之间的关联，以估计它们在总体水平上的重要性。我们的结果为该领域带来了新知识，并可能有助于未来为这些复杂问题找到新的解决方案。
