A novel low-cost approach to reducing stress in shelter cats

Voiceover

Presenter(s)

Grace Jaksen

Abstract or Description

Animal shelters around the country are overflowing with abandoned and stray cats, yet many of them never get adopted. Cat temperament is a deciding factor for many families when looking to adopt, and most cats' behavior in stressful shelter kennels is not reflective of their behavior outside of the shelter environment. One environmental factor known to regulate stress and behavior is light composition, however it remains unknown how light composition impacts cat stress and behavior. We hypothesize that dim and blue-depleted light will decrease stress behavior and increase locomotor activity in shelter cats. To understand the impact of light on feline stress, we evaluated cats at the Ingham County Animal Shelter under standard (bright white light), dim (white light) and blue-depleted light. The cats' stress was scored with the accredited Cat Stress Score behavioral approach test and locomotor activity was recorded continuously via smart collars. Our preliminary data show that dim and blue-depleted light allow female, and to a lesser degree male cats, to more rapidly reduce stress in response to the shelter environment. The activity data is currently being analyzed. We expect to find an increase in activity during the duration of shelter enrollment for all the cats, where cats on dim and blue-depleted light overall will have higher activity than cats on standard light. The preliminary data indicates that using blue-depleted and dim light reduces cat stress. This project might lead to a low cost, non-invasive method for improving cat welfare and successful feline adoptions in the shelter.

Mentor

Alexandra Yaw, Hanne Hoffmann, Jacqulyn Jacobs