Effects of early intervention social enrichment on emotion and affiliative behaviour of cats in an animal shelter
| dc.contributor.advisor | Forbes, Graham | |
| dc.contributor.author | White, Jennifer | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2024-11-07T18:19:08Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2024-11-07T18:19:08Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2024-08 | |
| dc.description.abstract | Domestic cats (Felis catus) experience stress upon entering an animal shelter due to a change environment, and other factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of human social enrichment on emotional and affiliative behaviour of cats within the first three days of admission to an animal shelter. Forty-six cats were admitted to an animal shelter in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada, and were divided into two groups, enriched and control. Cats in the enriched group participated in daily 7-minute petting sessions. Results indicate that enriched treatment cats displayed a 13% increase in the duration of affiliative behavior and were more content compared to control. Additionally, anxiety in all cats decreased over the three days with enriched cats showing a 2% greater trend towards decreasing time spent in an anxious state. Application of practical approaches to increase shelter cat sociability may increase interactive behaviours and improve adoption potential. | |
| dc.description.copyright | © Jennifer White, 2024 | |
| dc.format.extent | viii, 59 | |
| dc.format.medium | electronic | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://unbscholar.lib.unb.ca/handle/1882/38185 | |
| dc.language.iso | en | |
| dc.publisher | University of New Brunswick | |
| dc.rights | http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2 | |
| dc.subject.discipline | Interdisciplinary Studies | |
| dc.title | Effects of early intervention social enrichment on emotion and affiliative behaviour of cats in an animal shelter | |
| dc.type | master thesis | |
| oaire.license.condition | other | |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Interdisciplinary Studies | |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of New Brunswick | |
| thesis.degree.level | masters | |
| thesis.degree.name | M.IDST. |