Significant (P< 0.05) effects of level of education of stakeholders, who were stakeholders in the animal transportation and slaughter sectors, on the mean utility values of issues, which measure the perceived importance of different issues for animal welfare.

<p>High values indicate high acceptability.</p

Demographic characteristics of respondents, who were stakeholders in the animal transportation and slaughter sectors, to a questionnaire on the major welfare issues in the Chinese livestock transport and slaughter industry, as defined in an initial expert meeting (n = 267).

<p>Demographic characteristics of respondents, who were stakeholders in the animal transportation and slaughter sectors, to a questionnaire on the major welfare issues in the Chinese livestock transport and slaughter industry, as defined in an initial expert meeting (n = 267).</p

Cat Ownership Perception and Caretaking Explored in an Internet Survey of People Associated with Cats

<div><p>People who feed cats that they do not perceive they own (sometimes called semi-owners) are thought to make a considerable contribution to unwanted cat numbers because the cats they support are generally not sterilized. Understanding people’s perception of cat ownership and the psychology underlying cat semi-ownership could inform approaches to mitigate the negative effects of cat semi-ownership. The primary aims of this study were to investigate cat ownership perception and to examine its association with human-cat interactions and caretaking behaviours. A secondary aim was to evaluate a definition of cat semi-ownership (including an association time of ≥1 month and frequent feeding), revised from a previous definition proposed in the literature to distinguish cat semi-ownership from casual interactions with unowned cats. Cat owners and semi-owners displayed similar types of interactions and caretaking behaviours. Nevertheless, caretaking behaviours were more commonly displayed towards owned cats than semi-owned cats, and semi-owned cats were more likely to have produced kittens (p<0.01). All interactions and caretaking behaviours were more likely to be displayed towards cats in semi-ownership relationships compared to casual interaction relationships. Determinants of cat ownership perception were identified (p<0.05) and included association time, attachment, perceived cat friendliness and health, and feelings about unowned cats, including the acceptability of feeding unowned cats. Encouraging semi-owners to have the cats they care for sterilized may assist in reducing the number of unwanted kittens and could be a valuable alternative to trying to prevent semi-ownership entirely. Highly accessible semi-owner “gatekeepers” could help to deliver education messages and facilitate the provision of cat sterilization services to semi-owners. This research enabled semi-ownership to be distinguished from casual interaction relationships and can assist welfare and government agencies to identify cat semi-owners in order to develop strategies to address this source of unwanted cats.</p></div

Interactions with and caretaking of study cats in four human-cat relationship categories.

<p>Proportions of 1305 study cats in various human-cat relationship categories that were reported to have had kittens, been sterilized, been microchipped, and had received various interactions and caretaking behaviours. CI = casual interaction, SO = semi-ownership, OP = ownership of a passively acquired cat and OA <b>=</b> ownership of an actively acquired cat. Flea/tick control, de-worm, vaccinate and vet check proportion includes those cats that received these caretaking behaviours occasionally or regularly. Toys, litter tray and scratching post proportion includes those cats for which these were provided often or always. Holiday care proportion includes those cats for which holiday care was organized sometimes or always. Confine, play, spend time and affectionate interactions (holding, stroking, and cuddling the cat) proportion includes those cats that received these interactions or caretaking behaviours sometimes or daily. ID = identification.</p