Enlarge / Ariel and Caliban realized as kittens that scratching posts had been honest recreation for his or her pure claw-sharpening instincts. (credit score: Sean Carroll)
Ah, cats. We love our furry feline overlords regardless of the occasional hairball and their propensity to scratch the furnishings to sharpen their claws. The latter is completely pure kitty conduct, however overly aggressive scratching is normally perceived as a behavioral downside. Veterinarians frown on taking excessive measures like declawing and even euthanizing such “problematic” cats. However there are different science-backed methods for lowering or redirecting the scratching the conduct, based on the authors of a brand new paper revealed within the journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
This newest research builds on the group’s prior analysis investigating the results of artificial feline facial pheromones on undesirable scratching in cats, based on co-author Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas, a veterinary researcher at Ankara College in Turkey. “From the start, our analysis crew agreed that it was important to discover broader components that may exacerbate this concern, equivalent to these influencing stress and, consequently, scratching conduct in cats,” she informed Ars. “What’s new on this research is our give attention to the person, environmental and social dynamics affecting the extent of scratching conduct. This attitude goals to reinforce our understanding of how human and animal welfare are interconnected in numerous eventualities.”
The research investigated the conduct of 1,211 cats, with information collected through a web-based questionnaire accomplished by the cats’ caregivers. The primary part collected details about the caregivers, whereas the second requested concerning the cats’ each day routines, social interactions, environments, behaviors, and temperaments. The third and remaining part gathered details about the frequency and depth of undesirable scratching conduct within the cats based mostly on a useful “scratching index.”
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