The Behavioural Effects of Innovative Litter Developed to Attract Cats

oleh: Jennifer Frayne, Sarah MacDonald Murray, Candace Croney, Elizabeth Flickinger, Michelle Edwards, Anna Kate Shoveller

Format: Article
Diterbitkan: MDPI AG 2019-09-01

Deskripsi

Urination and/or defecation outside a designated location has been reported as the most common behavioural reason for surrendering a cat and comprises approximately 30% of cat intakes to shelters. The objective of this study was to determine whether cats would increase in-box elimination when provided a plant-based litter product with attractant (ATTRACT) compared to the same plant-based litter product without attractant (PLANT). Sixteen cats were split into two equal cohorts based on availability from the shelter and group-housed in an enriched room with eight identical litter boxes arranged in a circular pattern equidistant from each other. Following a two-week room acclimation and transition period from clay litter to PLANT litter, boxes were designated either PLANT or ATTRACT litter, balancing for cats&#8217; prior box location preferences. For 14 days following litter allocation, cat behaviours such as sniffing, digging, covering, urinating, and defecating were video recorded for 12 h daily. The cats urinated more often in the ATTRACT litter, suggesting that they preferred the ATTRACT litter for urination more than the PLANT litter (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). The most significant differences observed were between genders, with males spending significantly more time sniffing and performing urination behaviours (<i>p</i> &lt; 0.05). These results suggest that litter with an attractant may be more effective in eliciting usage for urination, as compared to a litter without the additive.