694
edits
Changes
→Prevention
==Prevention==
==Prevention==
Studies, such as those by McCune, indicate that fearfulness/boldness is a heritable trait that is strongly influenced by paternity, and that willingness to approach and interact with unfamiliar people and objects is strongly influenced by experience during the sensitive period of development<ref>McCune, S. (1995) The impact of paternity and early socialisation on the development of cats' behaviour to people and novel objects. ''Applied Animal Behaviour Science''. 45(1-2), 109-124.</ref>. Since the [[Feline Socialisation|‘socialisation’ period]] of the cat ends at around 7 weeks, breeders must take responsibility for exposing kittens to a wide range of people and other species before homing.
Owners seeking to acquire a kitten should be advised that:
* Kittens that are the progeny of aggressive or fearful parents should be avoided.
* Kittens that are the progeny of aggressive or fearful parents should be avoided.
* Avoid choosing kittens that have been reared in impoverished or barren environments.
* Kittens that are reared in domestic environment, with exposure to unfamiliar people and a range of typical domestic stimuli and events are those which are most likely to develop without fear and anxiety problems.
* When introducing new cats to an environment, provide them with a secure space that includes all major resources and a number of hiding places.
* Allow the cat to become [[Effect of Environment on Feline Behaviour|confident in its environment]] before introducing it to new people.
This acquiring an adult cat, for example from a shelter, should be advised that:
* When introducing new cats to the home, they should be provided with a secure space that includes all resources (food, water, latrine sites) and a number of hiding places.
* The cat should be allowed to become [[Effect of Environment on Feline Behaviour|confident in its environment]] before introducing it to people.
* Handling should be minimised until the cat has begin to approach and interact with people voluntarily.
Feral cats may have great difficulty adapting to a domestic setting, and should not be taken on by inexperienced owners, or without support from a shelter that has experience of rehabilitating them.
==Diagnosis==
==Diagnosis==