Welfare Assessment:Domestic Cat

Comparing Welfare of a House Cat and a Barn Cat

© 2011 Animal Behavior and Welfare Group, Michigan State University

Background

House Cat Eight year old female

domestic long hair Purchased from a pet store at

10 weeks of age

Lives with 26 year old female

Owner gone 10 h/day Owner often camps on

weekends Leaves cat alone with

adequate food and water

Barn Cat Eight year old female

domestic long hair Adopted from shelter at 4

months with male littermate

Lives with family of 4 including 2 girls (ages 8 and 10)

Father works 9 h/day, mother works 4 h/day and kids are at school 7 h/day

Housing

House Cat Lives in two bedroom

townhouse (275m2 (900 ft2)) in northern borough of Seattle, Washington Has window seat perches and cat

beds in bedroom and living room Cat is given novel toys 1-2x/month Cat gets treats and catnip

1-2x/week Cat does not have outdoor access

Barn Cat Lives in barn on 40 hectare

(100 acre) farm in northwest Washington Cat has access to blankets in tack

stall and hay/straw in loft of barn Cat has the run of the farm and

barn during the day Cat is shut in barn at night Cat has regular access to pieces

of twine, feed bags, and small prey (e.g., insects, rodents and birds)

A cat was recently killed on the road going past the farm

HousingHouse Cat Barn Cat

In terms of welfare assessment, which housing situation ranks

higher?

LitterHouse Cat Townhouse has one litter

box Litter is scooped once

every 1-2 days Box is fully cleaned every

3-4 weeks

Barn Cat No specific cat litter

boxes are provided Woodchip bedding in horse

stalls is frequently used for elimination by all cats on farm

Stalls are cleaned each morning

In terms of welfare assessment, which litter situation ranks

higher?

Please answer the questions for this section (shown in bold above) in the accompanying quiz for the Domestic

Cat.

Nutrition House Cat Free access to ad libitum

dry food Given 2 spoonfuls of wet

food in separate dish twice daily

Barn Cat Fed dry food in a pan in

barn once daily Occasionally given

scraps from farmhouse kitchen

Evidence of supplemental feeding (e.g., dead mice and birds found on porch or in barn)

Veterinary Care and History

House Cat Spayed and declawed at

8 months of age Received analgesic for 3

days following declaw Goes to veterinarian

yearly for general check up and dental exam and cleaning

Barn Cat Spayed at shelter at 3

months of age prior to adoption

Goes to veterinarian as needed for vaccinations

Veterinary Care and History

House Cat Vaccinated

FIV, FeLv, Rabies, RCPC (feline rhinotracheitis-Calici-panleukopenia-Chlamydia)

Regularly screened for heartworm, internal parasites, FIV, and FeLv

Maintained on year round heartworm and flea and tick preventative

Barn Cat Vaccinated against:

Rabies and RCPC (feline rhinotracheitis-Calici-panleukopenia-Chlamydia)

Treated yearly for internal parasites

Given oral flea and tick preventative

In terms of welfare assessment, which nutrition & veterinary

care rank higher?

Social Interactions

House Cat No other animals in the

townhouse Cat has visual access to

birds, squirrels and cats outside

Cat hisses and meows at other cats and chatters at birds and squirrels

Barn Cat Lives with 3 other cats (1

female and 2 males) Other animals on farm

include 2 dogs (1 chases cats but has never injured one, the other ignores them), 3 horses, chickens, and 5 cows

Cat often sleeps near her brother

Human Interactions

House Cat Owner plays with cat

about 10-15 minutes/day Owner brushes cat and

checks for fleas twice weekly

Usually sleeps with owner at night

Barn Cat Girls come out to play in

the yard and barn after school and on weekends Cat is seen on 95% of

visits to barn

Cats are often involved in playing house

Mother occasionally grooms cat and trims hair that is tangled

In terms of welfare assessment, which interactions rank

higher?

Behavioral ProblemsHouse Cat Cat regularly inappropriately

eliminates/ marks Cat urine marks under window

after it has seen other cats outside Cat sometimes eliminates in

owners suitcase when she is packing for trips

Owner scolds cat and cleans up mess Cat reacts by hissing when

scolded by owner

Barn Cat One or more of the barn cats

marks the barn doors with urine

Spray marks are seldom noticed and owners do not know which cats are marking Owners do not punish cats or

clean up spray

Cat is sometimes victim of aggression by other female cat 1-2 fights occur a month Fight ends with cat fleeing

Activity Budgets

In terms of welfare assessment, which behavioral situation

ranks higher?

In terms of welfare assessment, which overall situation ranks

higher?

Acknowledgements/ Disclaimer This material is based upon work supported by the

Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under Agreement Nox. 2003-38411-13464 and 2004-38411-14759, and Michigan State University through the Office of the Provost, and the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Department of Animal Science and the College of Veterinary Medicine

Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture or Michigan State University