title: Environmental enrichment choices of shelter cats.
abstract: Choices made by cats between different types of environmental enrichment may help shelters to prioritize how to most effectively enrich cat housing, especially when limited by space or funds. This study investigates the environmental enrichment use of cats in a choice test. Twenty-six shelter cats were kept singularly in choice chambers for 10days. Each chamber had a central area and four centrally-linked compartments containing different types of environmental enrichment: 1) an empty control, 2) a prey-simulating toy, 3) a perching opportunity, and 4) a hiding opportunity. Cat movement between compartments was quantitatively recorded using a data-logger. Enriched compartments were visited significantly more frequently during the light period than during the dark period. Cats spent a significantly greater percentage of time in the hiding compartment (median=55%, IQR=46) than in the toy compartment (median=2%, IQR=9), or in the empty control compartment (median=4%, IQR=4). These results provide additional evidence to support the value of a hiding box to cats housed in a novel environment, in that they choose hiding relative to other types of environmental enrichment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management, Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Electronic address: Jacklyn.ellis@rd.nestle.com.
authors.forename: J J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Ellis
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stryhn
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Spears
authors.affiliation: Department of Health Management, Sir James Dunn Animal Welfare Centre, Atlantic Veterinary College, University of Prince Edward Island, Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada.
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Cockram
mesh_terms: D000827:Animal Welfare; D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000502:physiology; D002415:Cats / Q000523:psychology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D004777:Environment; D006799:Housing, Animal
keywords: Cats; Choice; Enrichment; Shelter; Welfare