The burden of domestication: a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Standard

The burden of domestication : a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark. / Sandøe, Peter; Nørspang, Annika Patursson; Forkman, Björn; Bjørnvad, Charlotte Reinhard; Kondrup, Sara Vincentzen; Lund, Thomas Bøker.

In: Animal Welfare, Vol. 26, No. 1, 2017, p. 1-10.

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Sandøe, P, Nørspang, AP, Forkman, B, Bjørnvad, CR, Kondrup, SV & Lund, TB 2017, 'The burden of domestication: a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark', Animal Welfare, vol. 26, no. 1, pp. 1-10. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.26.1.001

APA

Sandøe, P., Nørspang, A. P., Forkman, B., Bjørnvad, C. R., Kondrup, S. V., & Lund, T. B. (2017). The burden of domestication: a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark. Animal Welfare, 26(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.26.1.001

Vancouver

Sandøe P, Nørspang AP, Forkman B, Bjørnvad CR, Kondrup SV, Lund TB. The burden of domestication: a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark. Animal Welfare. 2017;26(1):1-10. https://doi.org/10.7120/09627286.26.1.001

Author

Sandøe, Peter ; Nørspang, Annika Patursson ; Forkman, Björn ; Bjørnvad, Charlotte Reinhard ; Kondrup, Sara Vincentzen ; Lund, Thomas Bøker. / The burden of domestication : a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark. In: Animal Welfare. 2017 ; Vol. 26, No. 1. pp. 1-10.

Bibtex

@article{1ac1ec2f37dd463daec90707dd2f385c,
title = "The burden of domestication: a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark",
abstract = "The way in which domestic cats are kept and bred has changed dramatically over the last two centuries. Notably, a significant number of cats are kept indoors, most of them are neutered and many are selectively bred. This likely has consequences for their welfare. A few studies link housing, neuter status and breeding in cats to risks of welfare problems. However, the study presented here is the first to quantify the risks and document the prevalence of risk factors. It builds on results from a questionnaire sent to a representative sample of the Danish population. Using the responses from cat owners who keep cats in the home (n = 378), the paper aims to investigate how indoor confinement, neutering and selective breeding affect health, behaviour and other factors relating to cat welfare. The paper reports that confined cats had significantly more behavioural problems than free-roaming cats; that a smaller proportion of the free-roaming cats suffered from the behavioural problems investigated; and that entire cats had significantly more behavioural problems than neutered cats. Finally, significantly more purebred cats than domestic shorthair cats were found to have diseases. Being confined, being intact and being purebred are therefore significant risk factors for behavioural or health problems associated with reduced welfare in privately owned cats.",
author = "Peter Sand{\o}e and N{\o}rspang, {Annika Patursson} and Bj{\"o}rn Forkman and Bj{\o}rnvad, {Charlotte Reinhard} and Kondrup, {Sara Vincentzen} and Lund, {Thomas B{\o}ker}",
year = "2017",
doi = "10.7120/09627286.26.1.001",
language = "English",
volume = "26",
pages = "1--10",
journal = "Animal Welfare",
issn = "0962-7286",
publisher = "Universities Federation for Animal Welfare",
number = "1",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - The burden of domestication

T2 - a representative study of welfare in privately owned cats in Denmark

AU - Sandøe, Peter

AU - Nørspang, Annika Patursson

AU - Forkman, Björn

AU - Bjørnvad, Charlotte Reinhard

AU - Kondrup, Sara Vincentzen

AU - Lund, Thomas Bøker

PY - 2017

Y1 - 2017

N2 - The way in which domestic cats are kept and bred has changed dramatically over the last two centuries. Notably, a significant number of cats are kept indoors, most of them are neutered and many are selectively bred. This likely has consequences for their welfare. A few studies link housing, neuter status and breeding in cats to risks of welfare problems. However, the study presented here is the first to quantify the risks and document the prevalence of risk factors. It builds on results from a questionnaire sent to a representative sample of the Danish population. Using the responses from cat owners who keep cats in the home (n = 378), the paper aims to investigate how indoor confinement, neutering and selective breeding affect health, behaviour and other factors relating to cat welfare. The paper reports that confined cats had significantly more behavioural problems than free-roaming cats; that a smaller proportion of the free-roaming cats suffered from the behavioural problems investigated; and that entire cats had significantly more behavioural problems than neutered cats. Finally, significantly more purebred cats than domestic shorthair cats were found to have diseases. Being confined, being intact and being purebred are therefore significant risk factors for behavioural or health problems associated with reduced welfare in privately owned cats.

AB - The way in which domestic cats are kept and bred has changed dramatically over the last two centuries. Notably, a significant number of cats are kept indoors, most of them are neutered and many are selectively bred. This likely has consequences for their welfare. A few studies link housing, neuter status and breeding in cats to risks of welfare problems. However, the study presented here is the first to quantify the risks and document the prevalence of risk factors. It builds on results from a questionnaire sent to a representative sample of the Danish population. Using the responses from cat owners who keep cats in the home (n = 378), the paper aims to investigate how indoor confinement, neutering and selective breeding affect health, behaviour and other factors relating to cat welfare. The paper reports that confined cats had significantly more behavioural problems than free-roaming cats; that a smaller proportion of the free-roaming cats suffered from the behavioural problems investigated; and that entire cats had significantly more behavioural problems than neutered cats. Finally, significantly more purebred cats than domestic shorthair cats were found to have diseases. Being confined, being intact and being purebred are therefore significant risk factors for behavioural or health problems associated with reduced welfare in privately owned cats.

U2 - 10.7120/09627286.26.1.001

DO - 10.7120/09627286.26.1.001

M3 - Journal article

VL - 26

SP - 1

EP - 10

JO - Animal Welfare

JF - Animal Welfare

SN - 0962-7286

IS - 1

ER -

ID: 173987448