Katzenworld & International Cat Care: Are cats less stressed having a veterinary examination at home

News provided by

Katzenworld Ltd

Nov 30, 2016, 09:00 ET


London, UK (PRWEB UK) 30 November 2016 -- Many owners find taking their cat to the vet a negative experience, often because of the stress experienced by the cat. As well as improving the overall welfare of the cat, reducing the stress experienced in a veterinary examination increases the accuracy of the examination findings; increases the likelihood of owners presenting their cats at the vets more often; and helps to maintain the owner–cat relationship.

It has been suggested that veterinary examinations carried out at home are a less stressful alternative to taking the cat to the veterinary clinic, but there had been little data thus far to confirm this. In order to find out whether this is in fact the case, a group from the veterinary school in Saint Kitts and Nevis in the Caribbean carried out a study and published their findings in the journal Applied Animal Behaviour Science.

Who participated in the study?

Eighteen cats completed the study and of these seven were castrated males and 11 were spayed females. All of the cats in the study were domestic shorthairs and they ranged in age from 6 months to 8 years. Many of the cats came from feral colonies and this is something to consider when interpreting the results as these cats may differ to a typical pet cat.

For further details and results of the study checkout the complete post on Katzenworld's International Cat Care channel.

Reference for the study:

Nibblett BM, Ketzis JK and Grigg EK. Comparison of stress exhibited by cats examined in a clinic versus a home setting. Appl Anim Behav Sci 2015; 173: 68-75.

About Katzenworld:
Katzenworld is an online cat magazine working on providing cat owners and cat lovers with their number one source for:

  • Insight on cat care
  • Top cat events
  • Cat Cafes
  • Cat products

About International Cat Care:
International Cat Care works to create a world in which ‘all cats, owned and unowned, are treated with care, compassion and understanding’ International Cat Care is a charity with the vision of a world where all cats, owned and unowned, are treated with care, compassion, and understanding. They work closely with the veterinary profession through their veterinary division, the International Society of Feline Medicine. All of their work is reliant on donations and legacies.
Founded in 1958, they are a respected authority on feline health and best practice, working with owners, vets and other professionals around the world.
Registered Charity – 1117342

Marc-Andre Runcie-Unger, Katzenworld Ltd, http://www.katzenworld.co.uk, +44 7969738331, [email protected]