Practical feline behaviour understanding cat behaviour and improving welfare

(Axel Boer) #1

Advice for Veterinary Professionals 153


● Cats that experience fear and stress are more likely to exhibit fear-based defensive
aggression and become increasingly difficult to handle.
● Stress may delay healing and recovery from disease and injury (Padgett and Glaser,
2003; Gouin and Kiecolt-Glaser, 2011).
● Stress can significantly alter the results of physical examinations and laboratory
tests, leading to incorrect diagnoses and treatment (see Box 11.1).
● Stress can have many significant negative effects on feline health and welfare (see
Chapter 6).


The Journey to the Practice


Minimizing the cat’s stress associated with the journey to the practice can also help to
reduce stress and reactive behaviour at the surgery. Practice staff can offer advice and
guidance as to how travelling may be made easier for cats and their owners and how
associated stress may be reduced (see Appendix 12).


The Waiting Room


The sights, sounds and smells of other animals and stimuli associated with the veteri-
nary practice can make the waiting room a frightening and highly stressful place for a
cat; however, there are ways in which these stressors may be significantly lessened:


● Provide a separate cat-only waiting area:
● Provide a separate room for feline patients or arrange separate consultation
times for cats and dogs. An unused consultation room could be utilized as a
cat-only waiting room.
● If this is not possible, cordon off an area of the waiting room as a designated
cat-only area.
● If possible, the cat waiting area should be a significant distance away from the
dog area, and should be positioned so that it is not necessary for dogs to be
walked through the cat area for any reason. If space is limited, solid barriers
should be erected so that dogs cannot be seen, even if it is not possible to
prevent them from being heard or smelt.


Box 11.1. Physiological and diagnostic parameters influenced by stress.
●● Changes to heart rate – usually increased but can be decreased if stress is chronic.
●● Increased respiratory rate.
●● Alkaluria (increased urine pH owing to increased respiratory rate).
●● Increased rectal temperature.
●● Dilated pupils.
●● Hypertension (raised blood pressure).
●● Stress hyperglycaemia (raised blood glucose).
●● Raised white blood cell count if stress is chronic.
●● Diarrhoea or stress colitis.
(Cannon and Rodan, 2016a; Sparkes et al., 2016)
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