Behavioral Differences Between Indoor and Indoor-Outdoor Felines

Elizabeth Terilli

Feline Development

u 37 million felines in American households (73 million in America) (ASPCA 2015)

u 50-60% are indoor

u Socialization begins at early stages in life - two-seven weeks (Beaver, 2015)

u Anxiety develops from 12-36 months (Beaver, 2015)

u Solitary hunters and territorial animals

http://blog.minitab.c om/ blog/t he- stats-c at/a- look- at- pet- owners hip-numbers-with-the-stats -cat

Adoption and Euthanasia

u 7.6 million sheltered cats yearly, 37% adopted (ASPCA, 2015)

u 1.4 million felines euthanized yearly (ASPCA, 2015)

u Adoption issues – leading to euthanasia, relinquishment (Jongman, 2007)

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Addressing Feline Behavioral Problemsu Gentling – a type of relaxed petting (Gourkow, 2014)

u Adopting cat at a young age (Stella, 2014)

u Drug therapy used to decrease elimination/urination (Beaver, 2004)

u Parameters (such as boundaries) for cats can be beneficial in a multi-animal environment (Heldenberger, 1997)

u Daily play with felines (Arhent, 2013)

Human-Feline Interactionsu The more daily play there is, the more communication there will be (De

Gracca, et al., 2014)

u Commitment and loyalty can influence the level of interaction (Frank, 2015)

u Stress can come from lack of environmental management, mistrust, and miscommunication (Wedl, 2011)

Indoor Versus Indoor-Outdoor Felinesu Indoor-outdoor have a shorter life span

u Indoor felines exhibit more attachment behaviors (Şerbănoiu, 2006)

u Indoor-outdoor felines showed higher play and aggressive behaviors (Şerbănoiu, 2006)

Şerbănoiu, Carmena. "COMPARATIVE STUDY REGARDING SOME BEHAVIOR ASPECTS OF DOMESTIC FELINES RAISED INSIDE WITH AND WITHOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF GOINGOUTSIDE."ResearchGate. ResearchGate, Feb. 2006. Web. 14 Dec. 2016.

Research Question

What are the behavioral differences of an indoor feline versus an indoor-outdoor feline?

Goals

u Helps to solve social and communication problems between owners and felines

u Decrease the risk of stress and separation anxiety

Hypotheses

u H0: There will be no differences in how the indoor or indoor-outdoor feline interacts with their owner.

u H1: If the indoor-outdoor feline is more cognitively aware of the outdoors, then they will interact less with their owner.

u H2: If the indoor feline is less cognitively aware of the outdoors, then they will be more interactive with their owners.

Methods

1. (Eleven) Felines, adjustment period of 10-15 minutes

2. Informed consent & survey

3. Toys are handed out to owners

4. Observation of seven minutes (felines and owners)

5. Recording of data

6. Felines are brought back into cages

7. Stipend

Survey

Age GenderMulti-Cat or Single

CatIndoor or Indoor-Outdoor

Felines13 Female Multi-cat Indoor-outdoor15 Female Multi-cat Indoor4.5 Male Multi-cat Indoor-outdoor3 Female Single cat Indoor8 Male Multi-cat Indoor-outdoor3 Female Multi-cat Indoor2 Male Multi-cat Indoor5 Male Multi-cat Indoor-outdoor5 Female Multi-cat Indoor-outdoor

1 Female Single cat Indoor3 Male Multi-cat Indoor-outdoor

Ears Perked

Looked out window

Unengaged with Owner

Engaged with Owner Pupil dilation Relaxed

Exploring Environment

F#1 F#1 F#1 F#1

F#2 F#2 F#2

M#1 M#1 M#1 M#1

F#3 F#3 F#3

M#2 M#2 M#2

M#3 M#3 M#3 M#3

F#4 F#4 F#4 F#4 F#4

M#4 M#4 M#4 M#4

F#5

F#6 F#6 F#6 F#6 F#6 F#6

M#5 M#5 M#5

8

6

7

6

4

5 5

Ears Perked Looked out Window

Unengaged with Owner

Pupil Dilation Relaxed Exploring Environment

Engaged with Owner

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

Feline Interactions

4

3

5

3

6

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Harsh meow Wagging Tail Head/eyes focus Head tilt Pupil Dilation

Indoor-Outdoor Felines Response to Bird Calls

Indoor-Felines (out of 5)

Indoor-Outdoor Felines (out of 6) Chi-Squared

Ears perked 4 4 3.256

Pupil dilation 4 4 3.256

Looked out window 3 4 1.317

Exploring environment 4 1 5.02

Relaxed 4 0 11.85

Engaged with owner 4 1 5.03

Total Felines: 11 Avg.: 4.95

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Ears perked

Pupil dilation

Looked out window

Exploring environment

Relaxed

Engaged with owner

Total Felines: 11

Feline Behavior Comparisons

Indoor-Felines (out of 5) Indoor-Outdoor Felines (out of 6) Chi-Squared

Discussion

u P-value >.05u Feline type did not affect studyu Feline adjustment period, anxiety or changes in

environment u Multi-cat vs. single cat

Conclusion

u More time felines spent outside, less receptive they were to owners

u Significantly different behaviors

u Bird calls identified receptive behaviors

u Confirms indoor felines show more attached behaviors to their owners

Future Research

u Larger data set

u Study gender roles of felines

u Further assess behavioral differences

u Studying felines in environments

u Vocalization

u Feline interactions with other animals

Acknowledgments

u Mr. Michael Inglis, Mrs. Annmarie O’Brien, Mrs. Melissa Carnahan

u Paula Garber

u Helena Terilli, Terence Terilli

http://lifelinecatbehavior.com/paula-garber/

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