The welfare aspects of breeding cats
Patrick Bateson
University of Cambridge
Why care about the welfare of cats?
Rights
Attachment
Suffering
Approaches to Welfare
Physiological state - comparable to suffering human
Preferences as guides to state
Risk averse and inability to cope
Poor condition and signs of pain
Loss of playfulness
Reduction of lymphocytes
Telomere length
250
200
Cortisol
nmol per litre
150
100
5
0
0
0
5 10 15 20 25 30
Distance hunted (kilometres)
Rats’choices
Normal
Aspirin
solution
Sugar
solution
Arthritic joints
Colpaert, F.C. et al. (1980) Life Sci. 27, 921-928
Lid-flipping task
Card lid
Petri dish
Mealworm
Bateson, M. & Matheson, S.M. (2007) Anim. Welfare, 16 (S), 33-36
Train
Test
Present intermediate shades:
Flip lid
Positive shade
(0% grey)
Palatable
mealworm
No response
20% grey
Nothing
40% grey
Flip lid
Negative shade
(80% grey)
No response
60% grey
Unpalatable
mealworm
Nothing
Record whether bird flips lid.
From Rice, D. (1997) The Complete Book of Cat Breeding. Barron’s
Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
with suspected syringomyelia
Same spaniel after receiving
an analgesic
From: Bateson, P. (2010) Independent Inquiry into Dog Breeding
Cat pain face
Held, SDE & Spinka (2011) Animal Behaviour, 81, 891-899
Every technique yields results that can be
interpreted in more than one way. A Universal
Truth!
However, the subset of interpretations for results
obtained with one technique may differ from the
subset obtained with another technique.
Triangulation
Physiology
Psychology
Suffering
Ethology
Breeding and socialising cats
Of those kept as pets in the UK, 8 per cent are pedigree cats.
(75 per cent of dogs are pedigree)
Breeding optimally
Breeding for temperament
Socialising
Consequences of inbreeding
Inbred animals are:
Less likely to survive than outbred animals
Less likely to reproduce
Less fertile and have lower birth rates
More likely to have disrupted development
More likely to express genetic disorders
More likely to have reduced immune system function
Coefficient of relatedness
Sibling with sibling 0.5
Grandfather with granddaughter 0.25
Cousin with cousin 0.125
These calculations assume a population of infinite size
and previous mating has been at random.
Most cats are much more inbred than
their pedigrees suggest
Old
Modern
Sphynx
Scottish Fold
Breeding for temperament
Turner, D.S. et al. (1986) Animal
Behaviour, 34, 1890-1892
Analysis
Recognition
Execution
Sensory
Behavioural
Aspects of
Attachment
Input
Sensory
Behavioural
Aspects of
Attachment
Input
Competitive Exclusion
Epigenetics and behaviour
Genotype
Phenotypes
Environments
Bateson, P. & Gluckman, P (2011) Plasticity, Robustness
Development & Evolution. Cambridge.
Fetus is
sensitive
to maternal
condition
ENERGY INTAKE (MJ)
Energy Intake
(MJ)
40
Ad Libitum
Rationed
30
20
MOTHER WEIGHT IN GRAMS
10
Mother Weight
(Gm)
0
20
40
60
80
3400
Ad Libitum
Rationed
3300
3200
3100
3000
0
20
40
60
AGE IN DAYS AFTER BIRTH
80
Bateson. Mendl & Feaver (1990) Animal Behaviour, 40, 514-525
OBJECT CONTACTS (% of Obs.)
8
6
Ad Libitum
Rationed
4
2
0
21-28
31-42
49-63
AGE IN DAYS AFTER BIRTH
70-84
A unique feature of domestic cat behaviour
“Cat in an affectionate frame of mind”
From: Charles Darwin (1872) Expression of the Emotions
The cat goddess
Bastet
The tomb fresco of the
sun god Ra cutting off the
head of a serpent
(from about 1300 BC)
The Ancient Egyptian priests bred cats in enormous
numbers for worshippers at the temples.
In the large cat farms o the day, rapid selection for
signalling friendly intent with the tail up may have occurred.
The Domestic Cat
The biology of its behaviour
Edited by
Dennis C Turner & Patrick Bateson
1988
2000
Cambridge
THIRD EDITION
2013