How Serious Are Health-Related Welfare Problems in Unowned Unsocialised Domestic Cats? A Study from Denmark Based on 598 Necropsies.

Animals (Basel). March 2022;12(5):.

Ida Sofie Thuesen¹, Jørgen Steen Agerholm², Helena Mejer³, Søren Saxmose Nielsen⁴, Peter Sandøe⁵

¹ Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.; ² Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-2630 Tåstrup, Denmark.; ³ Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.; ⁴ Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.; ⁵ Department of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, University of Copenhagen, DK-1870 Frederiksberg C, Denmark.

Abstract

Free ranging unsocialised domestic cats are widely believed to suffer from a high load of welfare problems. We assessed the validity of this belief by performing necropsies on the corpses of 598 unsocialised cats, originating from all parts of Denmark, that had been euthanised by two Danish cat welfare organisations. We selected a number of variables for health-related cat welfare that could be assessed through necropsy (e.g., gross lesions, ectoparasites and body condition) or by laboratory analysis (e.g., infection with feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV), and by feline leukaemia virus (FeLV)). Each finding was classified as having either a major or minor welfare impact on the cat. More than 83% of the cats had no major finding, and 54% had no finding indicating a welfare issue at all. More than 83% of the cats had a body condition within normal range. Only 0.3% were emaciated. The most common finding was infestation with ectoparasites, with 15.9% infected with lice, 12.3% with fleas, 4.7% with ticks, and 6.7% with ear mites. FIV and FeLV were detected in 9.2% and 1.2% of the cases, respectively. The most common lesion related to the cats' teeth. Overall, unsocialised cats in Denmark have a moderate level of health-related welfare problems.

Keywords

FIV; FeLV; Felis catus; body condition; ectoparasite; free-ranging; necropsy; unsocialised;

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Grants:

No grant number Dyrenes Dags Komité, QATO Fonden, Dyrenes Beskyttelse, Fonden Inges Kattehjem, Foreningen Kustos, Kattens Værn, Kitty og Viggo Freisleben Jensens Fond, and University of Copenhagen

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