Changes

==Prevalence and Risk Factors==

==Prevalence and Risk Factors==

A spanish study of 336 cats referred to a behavioural clinic found that 17.2% involved a complaint relating to aggression toward people; 43.1% of human directed aggression involved play, and 39.6% involved petting, with a significant overlap<ref name="Amat">Amat, M., Ruiz-de-la-Torre, J.L., Fatjo, J., Mariotti, V.M., van Wijk, S., Manteca, X. (2009) Potential risk factors associated with feline behaviour problems. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 121, 134-139.</ref>. However, referral populations such as those surveyed in that study are likely to be biased. A Brazilian survey of cat owners recruited from a general clinic population identified a similar pattern of eliciting situations for aggression, but with a very high overall prevalence of 49.5%<ref name="Ramos">Ramos, D., Mills, D.A. (2009) Human directed aggression in Brazilian domestic cats: owner reported prevalence, contexts and risk factors. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 11. 835-841.</ref>. Those authors reported that the commonest situations that elicited aggression toward the owner were when the cat was petted or put onto a lap, during play, when startled, when observing an unfamiliar animal, when in the presence of unfamiliar people and when protecting food or territory. Aggression during petting and when put on a lap were the most common. Aggression was associated with an early traumatic event and outside access. Cats that did not like being stroked or did not get on well with other animals that they had contact with were more likely to show aggression in general. However, a range of other factors, including age, sex, neuter status, accommodation, origin, and social contact with people and other cats were not significantly associated with increased aggression. However, the population of aggressive cats in this study was small (107 cats).

A spanish study of 336 cats referred to a behavioural clinic found that 17.2% involved a complaint relating to aggression toward people; 43.1% of human directed aggression involved play, and 39.6% involved petting, with a significant overlap<ref name="Amat">Amat, M., Ruiz-de-la-Torre, J.L., Fatjo, J., Mariotti, V.M., van Wijk, S., Manteca, X. (2009) Potential risk factors associated with feline behaviour problems. Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 121, 134-139.</ref>. However, referral populations such as those surveyed in that study are likely to be biased. A Brazilian survey of cat owners recruited from a general clinic population identified a similar pattern of eliciting situations for aggression, but with a very high overall prevalence of 49.5%<ref name="Ramos">Ramos, D., Mills, D.A. (2009) Human directed aggression in Brazilian domestic cats: owner reported prevalence, contexts and risk factors. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. 11. 835-841.</ref>. Those authors reported that the commonest situations that elicited aggression toward the owner were when the cat was petted or put onto a lap, during play, when startled, when observing an unfamiliar animal, when in the presence of unfamiliar people and when protecting food or territory. Aggression during petting and when put on a lap were the most common. Aggression was associated with an early traumatic event and outside access. Cats that did not like being stroked or did not get on well with other animals that they had contact with were more likely to show aggression in general. However, a range of other factors, including age, sex, neuter status, accommodation, origin, and social contact with people and other cats were not significantly associated with increased aggression. However, the population of aggressive cats in this study was small (107 cats).  There is also evidence that a significant proportion of cats become stressed by human contact even though they appear to tolerate it<ref>Ramos, D., Reche-Junior, A., Fragosos, P.L., Palme, R., Yanasse, N.K., Gouvea, V.R., Beck, A., Mills, D.S. (2013) Are cats (Felis catus) from multi-cat households more stressed? Evidence from assessment of fecal glucocorticoid metabolite analysis. Physiology and Behavior. 122, 72-75.</ref>. These authors also suggested that cats that found human contact stressful were better able to avoid it when living in a group with other cats. Aggression due to human interaction is probably a common but under-presented problem that owners rarely seek help for, probably because it is easier to accommodate the cat's behaviour by reducing interaction with it.

==Prevention==

==Prevention==