Effectiveness of providing a box, or partially covering the cage front, on reducing cat stress
Charlie Wright
Monday, July 2, 2018
Background:To reduce stress of hospitalised cats, literature advises providing cats with the opportunity to hide using either a box, or partially covering the cage front. While studies have found benefits of the box method, there is currently no evidence for efficacy of the partial cover.Aim:To investigate whether providing hospitalised cats with either a box or a partial towel cover to the front of the cage reduced stress levels, and whether each of these methods was sufficient in prodiving hiding opportunity.Methods:To investigate this, 42 healthy pet cats that were admitted to a veterinary practice for routine neutering were provided with either a hide box, a partial towel cover to the front of the cage or neither treatment. Behavioural observations were taken for 60 minutes recording: 1) Kessler and Turner's Cat Stress Score (CSS), 2) Location within the cage, 3) Hide seeking behaviour, and 4) Use of treatment.Results:The results showed a significant difference in CSS between cats with a box and the control cats (p=0.007), but not between cats with towel cover and the control cats (p=0.069). There was no significant difference in CSS between box cats and towel cats (p=0.406), but those with a box hid in it 68% of the time, significantly more than the towel cats used the towel (n=30%) (p=0.027). There was a significant difference in hide seeking behaviour between all treatments (p=0.016). A positive correlation was found between CSS and hide seeking behaviour within all groups (rs=0.673), and this was stronger when analysed in control cats only (rs=0.829).Conclusions:Findings suggest that a box provides opportunity to hide and appears to reduce behavioural signs of stress. Though a partial cover may also help, there is not significant evidence for its efficacy in providing hiding opportunity or reducing stress.
Subscribe to get full access to The Veterinary Nurse
Thank you for vising The Veterinary nurse and reading our archive of expert clinical content. If you would like to read more from the leading peer-reviewed journal for veterinary nurses, you can start your subscription today for just £26.
Subscribing will enable you to:
- Stay up-to-date with current thinking and best practice in veterinary medicine
- Enhance your knowledge and understanding of all key clinical topics
- Achieve the mandatory requirement of 45 hours' documented CPD over a three-year period