The welfare aspects of breeding cats Patrick Bateson University of Cambridge

Why care about the welfare of cats? Attachment Rights Suffering

Preferences as guides to state Physiological state - comparable to suffering human Risk averse and inability to cope Loss of playfulness Approaches to Welfare Poor condition and signs of pain

Reduction of lymphocytes

Telomere length

Distance hunted (kilometres) nmol per litre Cortisol

Rats’choices Normal Sugar solution Aspirin solution Arthritic joints Colpaert, F.C. et al. (1980) Life Sci. 27,

Lid-flipping task Petri dish Card lid Mealworm Bateson, M. & Matheson, S.M. (2007) Anim. Welfare, 16 (S), 33-36

Train Unpalatable mealworm Palatable mealworm Positive shade (0% grey) Negative shade (80% grey) Flip lid No response Flip lid No response Nothing Test Present intermediate shades: 20% grey 40% grey 60% grey 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,

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

Suffering Physiology Ethology Psychology

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

Sibling with sibling 0.5 Grandfather with granddaughter 0.25 Cousin with cousin Coefficient of relatedness 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

SphynxScottish Fold

Breeding for temperament Turner, D.S. et al. (1986) Animal Behaviour, 34,

AnalysisRecognitionExecution Behavioural Aspects of Attachment Sensory Input Behavioural Aspects of Attachment Sensory Input Competitive Exclusion

Epigenetics and behaviour

Phenotypes Genotype Environments Bateson, P. & Gluckman, P (2011) Plasticity, Robustness Development & Evolution. Cambridge.

Fetus is sensitive to maternal condition

Bateson. Mendl & Feaver (1990) Animal Behaviour, 40, Mother Weight (Gm) Energy Intake (MJ)

A unique feature of domestic cat behaviour

From: Charles Darwin (1872) Expression of the Emotions “Cat in an affectionate frame of mind”

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 THIRD EDITION The biology of its behaviour Edited by Dennis C Turner & Patrick Bateson Cambridge