Difference between revisions of "Feline Socialisation"

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{{KeyPoints
 
{{KeyPoints
 
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*Early experience during the sensitive period affects the way a cat interacts with people and other animals.
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*It also affected a cat's tolerance of a range of stimuli and events that are potential stressors in a domestic environment.
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*A lack of appropriate handling between two and seven weeks of age can lead to defensively aggressive behaviour which can become pre-emptive in situations causing fear.
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*Kittens should be reared in complex and stimulating environments with a wide range of noises and contact with people and animals so these do not produce fear, anxiety or stress in the future.
 
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==Introduction==
 
==Introduction==
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The weaning process is an important part of the kitten’s behavioural development and changes in the queen’s behaviour toward the kittens at this time will have a significant effect on their behaviour as adults. For the first three weeks of life the queen spends up to 70% of her time caring for the kittens and, at this stage of development, they receive reward for their suckling behaviour on a continuous schedule. From the third week onward this behaviour begins to change and the kittens begin to show more demanding behaviour toward the queen who in turn becomes less tolerant of them and begins to spend increasing amounts of time away from the nest. At this stage, the queen may discourage the kittens from suckling by adopting certain body postures and even when she allows them to commence suckling she may move away before the feeding routine is complete, leaving the kittens to drop from her nipples one by one as she exits the kittening box. In effect, the kittens have now been placed on an intermittent schedule of reinforcement and the reward of a full feed is not always available to them. This results in a sense of frustration but the kittens learn to deal with that emotional response and return to a steady state of emotion without recourse to aggression. As the kittens develop further and become more mobile and independent, the mother begins to take a back seat in the feeding process and the emphasis moves from the provision of milk by the queen to the supply of nutrition from prey items, which are brought back to the kittens. In the early stages prey will be killed by the queen, but later the kittens will need to learn how to dispatch their own prey, thus disabled and then active live prey will be supplied by the queen. The killing of prey also contains elements of delayed reward and frustration so kittens learn to tolerate what is essentially a normal emotional state. In this situation frustration is also focussed on the natural process of killing prey, rather than at the parent or other conspecifics. By the end of this stage of the weaning process, the kittens are far more independent and look away from their mother in order to find food. She is no longer the provider of their nutrition and, as their relationship in the context of feeding alters, so does the level of social dependency. The kitten is now ready to act as a solitary hunter and to start to practice the adult behaviours that will ensure its ultimate survival. During the hand rearing process the first stage of continuous nutritional reinforcement is adequately fulfilled, but the process of feeding on demand is often continued past the third week of life because people are concerned about ensuring the kittens receive enough food. This means that early tolerance to frustration is not conditioned. When the time comes to introduce solid food, they often find that the kittens are reluctant to sample the new food and, in order to encourage them to eat, hand rearers will often put food onto their fingers. One reason for the lack of interest in solid food may be that in mammals some chemicals and flavours derived from the mother’s diet will find their way into her milk and provide the first step in conditioning food preference. Replacement milk does not contain any such flavours so hand-reared kittens fail to recognise the solid food they are presented with. There is also a lack of maternal feeding behaviours for the kittens to model. One of the consequences of this is that the person remains the focus of the feeding experience and, instead of encouraging the kitten to function independently, it is encouraged to remain in close contact with its rearer. This can lead to problems later when the owner is unable to deliver rewards when they are expected. The kitten also fails to develop a tolerance to frustration because the feeding process does not involve any delayed reinforcement or predatory behaviour.`12
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In cats, the sensitive period is from the 2nd to the 7th week of age, and is a time when kittens are exceptionally receptive to novelty, enabling them to habituate to a wide range of situations and to develop a multi-species identity through social referencing with other species (including humans).  
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Obviously hand rearing is not the only risk factor for developing aggression associated with frustration and cats that have been weaned normally by their mothers can go on to develop aggression of this sort if they are continually rewarded for demanding behaviour during kitten hood.
 
  
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Socialisation and habituation during the sensitive period of development are important in the normal emotional development of cats and in the prevention of behavioural problems. The amount of human handling and the number of human handlers a kitten experiences during this period has been shown to affect approach behaviour to familiar and unfamiliar people, as well as attempts to escape from people<ref>Collard, R.R. (1967) Fear of strangers and play behavior in kittens with varied social experience. Child Development. 38, 877-891.</ref>. Higher levels of handling were associated with reduced fear of people. 
  
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==Preventing Frustration-Related Aggression Towards People==
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In one study, kittens exposed to a programme of enhanced socialisation were compared with a normally socialised group (control). Effects on behavioural problems, fear responses and the emotional bond with the owner were followed up at 1 year of age. Enhanced socialisation included increased handling, manipulation, play and times being taken away from the litter, through to the 9th week of age<ref>Casey, R., Bradshaw, J.W.S. (2008) The effects of additional socialisation for kittens in a rescue centre on their behaviour and suitability as a pet. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 114, 196 – 205.</ref>. Cats that had been given enhanced socialisation showed lower rates of fear responses towards people at 1 year of age, and their owners reported higher scores for “emotional support”, which is an indication of a better owner-pet bond. Regular gentle handling of kittens during the first six weeks of life has been shown to be associated with precocious development and novelty seeking, with kittens being more likely to approach novel objects and people<ref>Meier, G.W. (1961) Infantile handling an development in Siamese kittens. Journal of Comparative Physiology and Psychology. 54, 284-286.</ref><ref>Wilson, M., Warren, J.M., Abbott, L. (1965) Infantile stimulation, activity and learning by cats. Child Development. 36; 843-853.</ref>.
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Hand rearing of kittens should mirror natural weaning as seen in domestic cats:
 
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*Very small amounts of liquidised solid food should be mixed into replacement milk so that the flavour of solid food is familiar before weaning begins.
 
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*By 3 weeks of age some feeds should end before the kitten is fully satiated and some meals should be replaced with solid food.
 
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*The first few solid meals may be composed of a dish of replacement milk with small amounts of solid food placed in it. Gradually the milk is withdrawn for these meals.
 
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*Dried food is also made available.
 
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*From week 4-5 onwards feeding should also begin to involve some aspects of play. Games that involve food finding are a good way to train some simulated predatory behaviour: a fishing toy can be used to playfully lead the kitten to some food treats or a small bowl of food.
 
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*Direct human involvement in feeding is phased out over this period, in favour of play.
 
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*If possible the kitten should be shifted towards activity or automatic feeding. Activity feeders can be made out of old plastic drinks bottles with holes cut in [so that dried food rolls out]. Electronic feeding bowls that automatically uncover a portion of food, or which dispense a small activity ball containing food every hour are another good way to reduce human involvement in feeding.
 
  
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==Kitten Kindy==
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Socialisation clases for kittens were pioneered in Australia by Kersti Seksel, under the title "Kitten Kindy". Apart from enabling social interaction between kittens, they are also an opportunity to teach owners about cat behaviour and social interactions, as well as providing basic information about diet, grooming, feeding and preventative health. These classes should be restricted to weekly sessions for kittens of 7 to 14 weeks of age<ref>Seksel K. (2001) Training your cat. Hyland House, Melbourne, Australia.</ref>, due to the risk of decease transmission. During classes kittens are also exposed to a wide variety of stimuli including different people, sounds, and handling. Although at this age the sensitive period is already finished, kittens can still benefit from learning to cope with mild stress events, and classically conditioned positive emotional responses.
  
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[[Inappropriate Elimination - Cat#Introduction|House/litter training]]
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==Breeders and Transfer to the New Home==
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It is typical for the breeders of pedigree kittens to home them at 13 weeks of age or older, due to concerns about infectious disease and vaccination status. However, unless the breeder provides kittens with an enriched environment and opportunities to interact with a wide range of unfamiliar people then it is likely that fear and anxiety problems will develop. This tendency to home kittens long after the sensitive period has finished is a potential underlying factor in the apparently increased prevalence of stress-related problems in some oriental breeds of cat.
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The minimum safe age for homing both kittens and puppies should probably be considered to be 8 weeks of age, when they are able to live independently from the mother and can survive on solid food.
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==References==
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{{Jon Bowen written
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|date=September 9, 2014
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[[Category:To Do - Behaviour GGP]]
 
 
[[Category:Normal Feline Behaviour]]
 
[[Category:Normal Feline Behaviour]]

Latest revision as of 09:45, 16 July 2015

Key Points

  • Early experience during the sensitive period affects the way a cat interacts with people and other animals.
  • It also affected a cat's tolerance of a range of stimuli and events that are potential stressors in a domestic environment.
  • A lack of appropriate handling between two and seven weeks of age can lead to defensively aggressive behaviour which can become pre-emptive in situations causing fear.
  • Kittens should be reared in complex and stimulating environments with a wide range of noises and contact with people and animals so these do not produce fear, anxiety or stress in the future.

Introduction

In cats, the sensitive period is from the 2nd to the 7th week of age, and is a time when kittens are exceptionally receptive to novelty, enabling them to habituate to a wide range of situations and to develop a multi-species identity through social referencing with other species (including humans).

Socialisation and habituation during the sensitive period of development are important in the normal emotional development of cats and in the prevention of behavioural problems. The amount of human handling and the number of human handlers a kitten experiences during this period has been shown to affect approach behaviour to familiar and unfamiliar people, as well as attempts to escape from people[1]. Higher levels of handling were associated with reduced fear of people.

In one study, kittens exposed to a programme of enhanced socialisation were compared with a normally socialised group (control). Effects on behavioural problems, fear responses and the emotional bond with the owner were followed up at 1 year of age. Enhanced socialisation included increased handling, manipulation, play and times being taken away from the litter, through to the 9th week of age[2]. Cats that had been given enhanced socialisation showed lower rates of fear responses towards people at 1 year of age, and their owners reported higher scores for “emotional support”, which is an indication of a better owner-pet bond. Regular gentle handling of kittens during the first six weeks of life has been shown to be associated with precocious development and novelty seeking, with kittens being more likely to approach novel objects and people[3][4].

Kitten Kindy

Socialisation clases for kittens were pioneered in Australia by Kersti Seksel, under the title "Kitten Kindy". Apart from enabling social interaction between kittens, they are also an opportunity to teach owners about cat behaviour and social interactions, as well as providing basic information about diet, grooming, feeding and preventative health. These classes should be restricted to weekly sessions for kittens of 7 to 14 weeks of age[5], due to the risk of decease transmission. During classes kittens are also exposed to a wide variety of stimuli including different people, sounds, and handling. Although at this age the sensitive period is already finished, kittens can still benefit from learning to cope with mild stress events, and classically conditioned positive emotional responses.

Breeders and Transfer to the New Home

It is typical for the breeders of pedigree kittens to home them at 13 weeks of age or older, due to concerns about infectious disease and vaccination status. However, unless the breeder provides kittens with an enriched environment and opportunities to interact with a wide range of unfamiliar people then it is likely that fear and anxiety problems will develop. This tendency to home kittens long after the sensitive period has finished is a potential underlying factor in the apparently increased prevalence of stress-related problems in some oriental breeds of cat.

The minimum safe age for homing both kittens and puppies should probably be considered to be 8 weeks of age, when they are able to live independently from the mother and can survive on solid food.

References

  1. ↑ Collard, R.R. (1967) Fear of strangers and play behavior in kittens with varied social experience. Child Development. 38, 877-891.
  2. ↑ Casey, R., Bradshaw, J.W.S. (2008) The effects of additional socialisation for kittens in a rescue centre on their behaviour and suitability as a pet. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 114, 196 – 205.
  3. ↑ Meier, G.W. (1961) Infantile handling an development in Siamese kittens. Journal of Comparative Physiology and Psychology. 54, 284-286.
  4. ↑ Wilson, M., Warren, J.M., Abbott, L. (1965) Infantile stimulation, activity and learning by cats. Child Development. 36; 843-853.
  5. ↑ Seksel K. (2001) Training your cat. Hyland House, Melbourne, Australia.



This article has been written and expert reviewed by Jon Bowen BVetMed DipAS(CABC) MRCVS.

Date reviewed: September 9, 2014


The creation of this content was made possible by Ceva Santé Animale as part of the feline behaviour project. Ceva logo.jpg


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