The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour
There is not much known about the relationship between a cat and its owner. Cats display a variety of behaviours towards their owner, but some of these behaviours are hard to interpret in an ethological context. In this study, the aim was to find out if cats are affected by the duration of time left...
| Autor principal: | |
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| Formato: | H2 |
| Lenguaje: | Inglés sueco |
| Publicado: |
SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231)
2015
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| Materias: |
| _version_ | 1855571429696733184 |
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| author | Eriksson, Matilda |
| author_browse | Eriksson, Matilda |
| author_facet | Eriksson, Matilda |
| author_sort | Eriksson, Matilda |
| collection | Epsilon Archive for Student Projects |
| description | There is not much known about the relationship between a cat and its owner. Cats display a variety of behaviours towards their owner, but some of these behaviours are hard to interpret in an ethological context. In this study, the aim was to find out if cats are affected by the duration of time left alone at home. 12 single-housed indoor cats were tested in two treatments, before, during and after 4 h (T4) and 0.5 h (T0.5) separation from their owner. The cats were recorded in their home environment by digital cameras, and their behaviour was observed and recorded through instantaneous sampling, one-zero sampling and continuous sampling. Some households with pair-housed cats were also observed in this study.
The results showed a difference in time spent lying resting during the time left alone. Cats in this study spent more time resting in T4, and they also tended to stay in the hallway near the front door before the owner left in this treatment. In the last 5 min of alone time, cats tended to be more attentive towards unidentified sounds and object in T4, and during reunion they tended to vocalize (purring), stay close to the owner and stretch more, and the owners tended to take verbal contact more often. The conclusion of this study is therefore that cats are affected by the duration of time left alone at home. |
| format | H2 |
| id | RepoSLU8916 |
| institution | Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences |
| language | Inglés swe |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) |
| publisherStr | SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) |
| record_format | eprints |
| spelling | RepoSLU89162016-03-21T16:29:41Z The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour Effekten av tid lämnad ensam på kattens beteende Eriksson, Matilda cat cat behaviour behaviour home alone indoor cat There is not much known about the relationship between a cat and its owner. Cats display a variety of behaviours towards their owner, but some of these behaviours are hard to interpret in an ethological context. In this study, the aim was to find out if cats are affected by the duration of time left alone at home. 12 single-housed indoor cats were tested in two treatments, before, during and after 4 h (T4) and 0.5 h (T0.5) separation from their owner. The cats were recorded in their home environment by digital cameras, and their behaviour was observed and recorded through instantaneous sampling, one-zero sampling and continuous sampling. Some households with pair-housed cats were also observed in this study. The results showed a difference in time spent lying resting during the time left alone. Cats in this study spent more time resting in T4, and they also tended to stay in the hallway near the front door before the owner left in this treatment. In the last 5 min of alone time, cats tended to be more attentive towards unidentified sounds and object in T4, and during reunion they tended to vocalize (purring), stay close to the owner and stretch more, and the owners tended to take verbal contact more often. The conclusion of this study is therefore that cats are affected by the duration of time left alone at home. Det finns mycket som inte är känt när det kommer till relationen mellan en katt och dess ägare. Katter riktar många av sina beteenden mot sin ägare, men flera av beteendena är svåra att tolka i ett etologiskt sammanhang. I denna studie var målet att se om katter påverkas av att lämnas ensamma i hemmet under olika tidsintervall. 12 innekatter, utan sällskap av en annan katt, testades i två behandlingar; före, under och efter 4 timmars (T4) och 0.5 timmars (T0.5) separation från sin ägare. Katterna filmades med digitalkameror i sin hemmiljö och deras beteenden observerades med hjälp av intervallobservationer, 1/0-registrering, samt kontinuerliga observationer. Några hushåll med två katter observerades också i denna studie. Resultatet visade en skillnad i tid som spenderades liggande vilande under tiden de var ensamma. Katterna spenderade mer tid vilandes i T4, och de tenderade att uppehålla sig i hallen, nära ytterdörren, innan ägaren lämnade hemmet i denna behandling. I de sista 5 minuterna av ensamhet, tenderade de att vara mer uppmärksamma på oidentifierade objekt och ljud i T4, och vid återförening tenderade de att vokalisera (kurra), hålla sig nära sin ägare och sträcka på sig mer, och ägarna tenderade att ta mer verbal kontakt. Konklusionen av denna studie är därför att katter påverkas av att lämnas ensamma under olika tidsintervall. SLU/Dept. of Animal Environment and Health (until 231231) 2015 H2 eng swe https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/8916/ |
| spellingShingle | cat cat behaviour behaviour home alone indoor cat Eriksson, Matilda The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour |
| title | The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour |
| title_full | The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour |
| title_fullStr | The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour |
| title_full_unstemmed | The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour |
| title_short | The effect of time left alone on cat behaviour |
| title_sort | effect of time left alone on cat behaviour |
| topic | cat cat behaviour behaviour home alone indoor cat |