A retrospective internet-based survey of French cat breeders about early-age neutering.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to analyse cat breeders' application of and opinions concerning early-age (ie, <16 weeks old) neutering in cats in France. METHODS: This study analysed a retrospective cohort. A web survey was designed for French cat breeders and was published in June 2017 on the Facebook page of Livre Officiel des Origines Félines, the official feline studbook for purebred cats born in France. The early-age cat neutering habits, opinions and expectations of breeders were collected. RESULTS: A total of 999 breeders returned the questionnaire. Almost half of the breeders (49%) reported consistently requesting neutering of kittens before selling them, 32% claimed that they never requested it and the remaining 19% reported that they inconsistently requested it. When performed, 83% of breeders had kittens neutered at 12 weeks of age; for a large majority of these breeders (94%), the neutering was undertaken on their own initiative. Various reasons for neutering were provided, including the prevention of uncontrolled breeding, short- and long-term welfare benefits for neutered cats, and practical and economic reasons. Reported incidents related to early-age neutering were scarce. Nearly half of breeders who did not apply early-age neutering to their kittens cited a veterinarian's unwillingness to perform the surgery as a cause. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: A large majority of surveyed French cat breeders supported early-age neutering that would occur before kittens were sold, most of the time at the age of 3 months. These breeders reported high satisfaction with early-age neutered cats, with a low number of incidents and accidents reported.

AAFP and ISFM feline-friendly handling guidelines.

BACKGROUND: The number of pet cats is increasing in most countries, often outnumbering pet dogs, yet cats receive less veterinary care than their canine counterparts.(1) Clients state the difficulty of getting the cat into a carrier at home, driving to the clinic, and dealing with the fearful cat at the veterinary clinic as reasons for fewer visits.(2) Educating and preparing the client and the veterinary team with regard to respectful feline handling is necessary in order to avoid stress and accomplish the goal of good health care. Without such preparation, feline stress may escalate into fear or fear-associated aggression. The resulting stress may alter results of the physical examination and laboratory tests, leading to incorrect diagnoses (eg, diabetes mellitus) and unnecessary treatments.(3-5) Without compassionate and respectful handling by the veterinary team, clients may feel the team lacks skills and compassion, or does not understand cats. Injury may occur to the cat, client and/or veterinary team.(6) Clients who want to avoid stress for their cat may avoid veterinary visits or choose another practice instead. GOALS: The use of feline-friendly handling techniques should reduce these problems. Handling is most successful when the veterinary team adapts the approach to each individual cat and situation. The goal of these guidelines is to provide useful information for handling cats that can lead to: ✜ Reduced fear and pain for the cat. ✜ Reinforced veterinarian-client-cat bond, trust and confidence, and thus better lifelong medical care for the cat. ✜ Improved efficiency, productivity and job satisfaction for the veterinary team. ✜ Increased client compliance. ✜ Timely reporting and early detection of medical and behavioral concerns. ✜ Fewer injuries to clients and the veterinary team. ✜ Reduced anxiety for the client.

Pinch-induced behavioral inhibition ('clipnosis') in domestic cats.

Research has documented immobilization of rodents, rabbits, guinea pigs and dogs by mechanical means, typically using neck clips or inversion ('animal hypnosis'). In contrast, only a few studies of mechanical immobilization of cats are available, although some success has been reported in the literature. Domestic cats may be effectively immobilized by clips placed along the animal's dorsum. We use the term 'pinch-induced behavioral inhibition' (PIBI) for this behavior because it describes both the method and the response, while avoiding the more anthropomorphic term 'hypnosis'. We investigated the effectiveness of PIBI and its neurological and habituation effects in healthy cats and cats with idiopathic cystitis (IC). Although not all cats were susceptible to PIBI and effectiveness varied among individuals, PIBI was useful for gentle restraint in most cats.