DOMESTIC CATS\u2019 CHOICE FOR CONSPECIFICS\u2019 IMAGES: PRELIMINARY FINDINGS
Carloni E1, Calori A1, De Cesare S1, Accorsi PA1
1 Dept. Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Tolara di Sopra 50, I-40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy. Corresponding author [email protected]
Sixty-three neutered domestic cats were tested for their preference for photographs of intact adult male and female domestic cats, and kittens. Based on behavioural data, pointing to a higher adult social tolerance level in male rather than female cats, we hypothesized that a majority of the experimental subjects, irrespectively of their sex, would preferentially approach Male pictures and prefer to eat close to a portrayed Male rather than Female or Kitten. We expected this preference to be sharper in females and influenced by social experience. Experimental procedure consisted in simultaneously presenting the subject with 4 pieces of food, each one positioned in front of a life-size picture of, respectively, an adult tom, an adult female, a kitten, a neutral background. Each cat was tested 4 times at a 14-day interval, being exposed on the whole to 4 different Males\u2019, 4 different Females\u2019 and 4 different Kittens\u2019 pictures, each category\u2019s position being shifted across trials to avoid orientation biases. Cats (41 household, 22 group-living in shelter, aged 1-16) were unfamiliar to depicted subjects and tested singly in a familiar room. First approach and choice of the food item placed in front of one of the 4 categories were interpreted as greater tolerance of that category. Considering only the 1st response, 33% of 57 cats (6 excluded as unresponsive) chose a Male, 28% a Female, 21% a Kitten picture, the remainder 18% preferences going to the Background. These differences were non-significant; however 40.63% of 32 females chose a Male, whereas only 24% males did so; Female images were chosen 28% times by female and male cats alike; Kitten and Background ones were chosen more frequently by males (24%) than females (18.75 and 12.50% resp.): predictions are partly met.
Keywords: cat, photographic images, social preferenc
