Comparison of acute versus chronic stress responses to different housing’s systems of cats

ABSTRACT

Background: The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and functional systems undergo the assessment of stress levels throughout living environments, contributing to avoid side effects to well-being in domestic animals, including pets. Cortisol represents the most important glucocorticoid found in felis and it is frequently used as standard marker in stress research. The purpose of the present study was to compare the adrenal and haematological patterns of cats, by taking into account the effects of different housing’s systems. The hypothesis was to find a different coping strategies, according to different housings. Materials, Methods & Results: For this study a total of 50 cats were selected on the basis of the breed European domestic short hair cats, age ranged between 22 and 30 months and housing’s systems, represented by cattery and/or households, respectively. On these basis, cats were distinguished into two groups, represented by group A 22 cats living in cattery, and group B 28 cats living in households. Blood samples were collected twice a week, for two consecutive days, during one month and subsequently analysed for haematological analysis and cortisol concentrations. Group B showed higher cortisol concentrations (P < 0.01), Red Blood Cell (P < 0.05), Packed Cell Volume (P < 0.001), Platelets (P < 0.01), Heart Rate and Respiratory Rate (P < 0.05) values, and lower White Blood Cell (P < 0.001) than group A.Discussion: This observational study showed that cats housed in the households group showed higher cortisol, RBC, PCV, Plt, HR and RR values, and lower WBC rather than cattery’s cats. Another point is that males showed higher RBC, PCV, WBC and Plt than females, irrespective of different housing’s systems.[...]