title: Cat Ownership Perception and Caretaking Explored in an Internet Survey of People Associated with Cats.
abstract: People who feed cats that they do not perceive they own (sometimes called semi-owners) are thought to make a considerable contribution to unwanted cat numbers because the cats they support are generally not sterilized. Understanding people's perception of cat ownership and the psychology underlying cat semi-ownership could inform approaches to mitigate the negative effects of cat semi-ownership. The primary aims of this study were to investigate cat ownership perception and to examine its association with human-cat interactions and caretaking behaviours. A secondary aim was to evaluate a definition of cat semi-ownership (including an association time of ≥1 month and frequent feeding), revised from a previous definition proposed in the literature to distinguish cat semi-ownership from casual interactions with unowned cats. Cat owners and semi-owners displayed similar types of interactions and caretaking behaviours. Nevertheless, caretaking behaviours were more commonly displayed towards owned cats than semi-owned cats, and semi-owned cats were more likely to have produced kittens (p<0.01). All interactions and caretaking behaviours were more likely to be displayed towards cats in semi-ownership relationships compared to casual interaction relationships. Determinants of cat ownership perception were identified (p<0.05) and included association time, attachment, perceived cat friendliness and health, and feelings about unowned cats, including the acceptability of feeding unowned cats. Encouraging semi-owners to have the cats they care for sterilized may assist in reducing the number of unwanted kittens and could be a valuable alternative to trying to prevent semi-ownership entirely. Highly accessible semi-owner "gatekeepers" could help to deliver education messages and facilitate the provision of cat sterilization services to semi-owners. This research enabled semi-ownership to be distinguished from casual interaction relationships and can assist welfare and government agencies to identify cat semi-owners in order to develop strategies to address this source of unwanted cats.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton Campus, Gatton, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Zito
authors.affiliation: School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton Campus, Gatton, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Dianne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Vankan
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bendigo, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Pauleen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bennett
authors.affiliation: RSPCA Queensland, Wacol, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Mandy
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Animal Welfare and Ethics, School of Veterinary Science, University of Queensland, Gatton Campus, Gatton, QLD, Australia.
authors.forename: Clive J C
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000818:Animals; D002415:Cats; D005260:Female; D001841:Human-Animal Bond; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010067:Ownership; D010465:Perception; D057805:Pets; D011793:Queensland; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D013245:Sterilization, Reproductive / Q000662:veterinary; D013383:Suburban Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires