Development of an Ethogram/Guide for Identifying Feline Emotions: a New Approach to Feline Interactions and Welfare Assessment in Practice

News 23 August 2023 |

3 min read

Veterinary professionals in mixed and small animal practice frequently assess feline behaviour to safely interact with cats and monitor their wellbeing. If

The Improve Team

Veterinary professionals in mixed and small animal practice frequently assess feline behaviour to safely interact with cats and monitor their wellbeing. If the practitioner makes a mistake assessing the behaviour this can result into a stressful situation to the cat and injury to the veterinarian. Cat-attack injuries are very common and have economic impact in veterinary practice; studies have found that the more inexperienced the practitioner, the more likely to get injured. Feline patients generally find veterinary environment very challenging, with the intent to improve welfare and reduce risk of injury, the authors of this study developed a guide/ethogram that divides cat behaviours into emotions. Five primary emotions were defined: fear, anger, joy, contentment and interest. Ten of more than 300 images were selected and validated by two feline behaviour experts to represent these emotions. The objective of this guide is to give veterinary practitioners guidelines to interpret cat’s emotions, even at extremely busy settings. Literature on this topic is limited, but it’s important that positive emotions are not neglected. The emotions that represent welfare issues and hazard risk are fear and anger, they are very distinct and have different motivations. Anger is related to frustration, that usually manifests by pacing, biting, disruption of cage contents, etc; sometimes these cats just need a break from handling and/or disturbance. On the other hand, fear is usually motivated by perceived danger, in these cases cats should be given an opportunity to hide. The use of this guide/ethogram may significantly reduce the risk of handling injuries while enhancing feline welfare. Unlike other resources, it can be used at the time of interaction with the cat and help the practitioner respond to any changes in behaviour that can influence patients’ wellbeing. However, we must consider that it’s only intended for short term welfare. This guide might be also adapted to other species in the future and more emotions might need to be considered. It’s reliability still needs to be tested and trialled in the field to confirm its usefulness, but it can be an important aid to veterinary professionals in the identification of different emotional states in feline patients. Nicholson, S. L. and O'Carrol, R. A. (2021) 'Development of an ethogram/guide for identifying feline emotions: a new approach to feline interactions and welfare assessment in practice' Irish Veterinary Journal, 74 (8) DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s13620-021-00189-z

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Development of an Ethogram/Guide for Identifying Feline Emotions: a New Approach to Feline Interactions and Welfare Assessment in Practice

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Development of an Ethogram/Guide for Identifying Feline Emotions: a New Approach to Feline Interactions and Welfare Assessment in Practice

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