Attitudes and Beliefs of a Sample of Australian Dog and Cat Owners towards Pet Confinement.

Animals (Basel). March 2023;13(6):.

Jacquie Rand¹, Zohre Ahmadabadi², Jade Norris³, Michael Franklin⁴

¹ School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.; ² Australian Pet Welfare Foundation, Kenmore, QLD 4069, Australia.; ³ Australian Pet Welfare Foundation, Kenmore, QLD 4069, Australia.; ⁴ School of Veterinary Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.

Abstract

Most cats and dogs entering Australian animal shelters and municipal facilities are classed as strays, typically from low socio-economic areas. Contemporary practices increasingly focus on proactively reducing the number of stray animals, which requires further understanding of factors associated with straying animals, including pet confinement. Australian cat and dog owners (n = 2103) were surveyed to investigate attitudes towards four types of pet confinement and how these were influenced by social norms, demographics and concerns about pet quality of life and potential wildlife predation. Dog owners showed the strongest support for confining dogs to the owners' property whenever unsupervised (98% agreement) and less support for confining dogs inside the house at night (54% agreement), and only 23% believed dogs had a negative impact on wildlife. Cat owners showed the strongest support for confining cats inside the house at night (89% agreement). Cat owners' non-supportive attitudes towards cat confinement were partly because of higher concern for cat quality of life and lower concern about their cats' predation behaviours, compared to non-cat owners. The findings provide valuable information to inform more effective strategies to reduce stray animals which would reduce shelter admissions, euthanasia, costs, nuisance issues, potential wildlife predation and negative mental health impacts of euthanasia on staff. Strategies to reduce strays include assisting low-income pet owners to install effective fencing and programs to increase identification. Informing cat owners about bedtime feeding is recommended to assist with night containment, and providing high-intensity free sterilization of owned and semi-owned cats targeted to areas of high cat impoundments is also recommended.

Keywords

animal shelter; confinement; containment; mental health; pet cat; pet dog; semi-owned cat; sterilization; stray; wildlife;

Article Tools:

Medline

Email to me

Archives Highlights:

The relationship between radiographic disc calcification score and FGF4L2 genotype in dachshunds.
Most dachshunds with 1 FGF4L2 copy have radiographic disc calcification scores that are associated with substantially lower risk of symptomatic disc disease. Radiographic disc calcification scores are similar in dachshunds with 0 and 1 FGF4L2 copies. Given the high allele frequency of FGF4L2, breeding to produce progeny with 1 FGF4L2 copy is expected to be a more achievable short-term goal for dachshund spinal health breeding programs than breeding for 0 copies. It is recommended that both K-n and FGF4L2 genotype status be considered when choosing dachshund breeding stock.

Splenic Masses in Dogs: Algorithms for Differentials, Diagnosis, and Definitive Treatment
There is a 63.1% to 70.5% chance a splenic mass is benign if there is no hemoabdomen and a 21.7% to 37.5% chance it is benign if there is hemoabdomen. These numbers replace the two-thirds rule, which said that two-thirds of splenic masses were malignant and two-thirds of malignant masses were HSA, without accounting for hemoabdomen.

Endoparasites of rabbits and hares.
Accurate gross and microscopic identification of endoparasites in rabbits and hares is an important element of the diagnostic work of veterinary anatomic pathologists. Given the zoonotic nature of rabbit and hare endoparasites, such as C. hepatica, E. cuniculi, and others, veterinary pathologists are ideally poised to make valuable contributions to the understanding of the disease ecology of these pathogens in the context of a One Health research program.

Emergency Approach to Acute Seizures in Dogs and Cats.
This review presents a systematic approach to the diagnosis and treatment of single seizures, cluster seizures, and status epilepticus in dogs and cats.

Effects of intranasal maropitant on clinical signs of naturally acquired upper respiratory disease in shelter cats.
There was no significant difference in clinical improvement score between the maropitant treatment and control groups for conjunctivitis, blepharospasm, ocular discharge, nasal discharge, or total disease severity after 7 days.