title: Influence of olfactory enrichment on the exploratory behaviour of captive-housed domestic cats.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the influence of olfactory stimulation on the exploratory activity of captive-housed domestic cats.
  
  
  METHODS
  To evaluate the cats' exploratory behaviour, we devised three treatments. We placed a wooden cube (0.027 m(3)) covered with a cloth treated with rat scent on the floor of each cat enclosure (T3). We also used a cloth-covered cube that did not have rat scent (T2) and observed the cats' behaviours in the same area without any object (T1). All cats participated in T1, T2, and T3. All treatments were performed equally and at the same time in two identical enclosures with 11 and 10 cats, respectively. The cats had lived in the enclosures since entering the permanent animal house. We used a continuous recording method associated with focal sampling to analyse the recordings.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Exploration was induced in the presence of a novel object, the cube, irrespective of whether the object was associated with the scent. In T3, we observed sex differences in exploration time: females spent more time exploring the scent-impregnated cube than males. Female cats also spent more time exploring the scent-impregnated cube than the scent-free cube. Cats in T3 had shorter latency for exploration, spent more time sniffing the ground and rubbing the cube, and had a higher frequency of urine spraying than those in T2.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although exploratory behaviour was induced by novelty in the form of a new object, significant effects were observed in the presence of the scent, mainly regarding latency to explore, sex differences and sniffing, rubbing and urine spraying.
authors.affiliation: Federal University of Juiz de Fora, Campus Universitario, Martelos, Juiz de Fora, Minas Gerais, Brazil. juliajoe@terra.com.br.
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Machado
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Genaro
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology*; D002415:Cats / Q000502:physiology*; D005106:Exploratory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D055696:Olfactory Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011897:Random Allocation; D051381:Rats; D012903:Smell / Q000502:physiology; D014741:Video Recording
keywords: animal behaviour; cats; environmental enrichment; olfactory stimulation; prey scent