Factors influencing stress and fear-related behaviour of cats during veterinary examinations

Figures & data

Table 1. Ethogram used during the study. The behaviour was recorded using a 1/0 sampling method.

Behaviour	Definition
Mydriasis	Cat showed very dilated pupils (Nibblett et al. 2015)
Slit pupils	Cat showed slightly narrowed or oblong pupils (Nibblett et al. 2015)
Alert ears	Cat showed ears upright and oriented forward (Nibblett et al. 2015)
Ears pressed flat back	Cat showed ears pressed flat back against the head (Nibblett et al. 2015)
Escape attempt	Attempt by the cat to struggle while restrained, or move purposefully and rapidly away from the handler at any time (Nibblett et al. 2015)
Tail lashing	A rapid flick of the tail in either a side to side or up to down motion (Cameron-Beaumont 1997)
Scratching/Attempt to scratch	The cat scratched the veterinarian/handler or the cat lifted his paw rapidly trying to scratch without making any physical contact
Crouching in carrier	Crouching close to the floor of the container
Hard stare	Cat gazed fixedly at (something) and is not easily distracted (Stanton et al. 2015)
Urination	Cat released urine on the ground/table while in a squatting position
Defaecation	Cat released faeces on the ground while in a squatting position (Stanton et al. 2015)
Biting/Attempt to biting	Cat bites or attempts to bite (Stanton et al. 2015)
Vocalising	Cat produced sounds or calls, originating from the throat and mouth; meow, meow loudly, yowl or growl (Nibblett et al. 2015)
Hiss	The cat opened its mouth, forcing the burst of air out with a hissing sound (Nibblett et al. 2015)
Piloerection	Cat raises the hairs on the nape of its neck, shoulder, back or tail, so that the fur is standing erect (Stanton et al. 2015)

Table 2. Type of profile attributed to each cat based on the behaviour showed during the veterinary examination of 95 cats taken to a veterinary clinic in the south of Italy.

Type of profile	Description
Alert	During the visit, the cat was mainly alert, with ears erect and upright most of the time, but overall relaxed.
Anxious	During the visit, the cat had its ears sideways or back and pupils very dilated most of the time. It was crouching close to the floor or the container, showing some tail lashing. It tried to escape.
Frightened	During the visit, the cat had its ears pressed flat and pupils very dilated most of the time; it was crouching close to the floor or the container. It tried to escape. It vocalised (i.e. yowl, growl) and hissed showing some piloerection.
Irritated	During the visit, the cat had its ears turned back and pupils very dilated, often showing tail lashing. It vocalised (i.e. yowl, growl) and hissed, and threatened to scratch.
Agonistic	During the visit, the cat had its ears pressed flat back and slit pupils. Its tail may be up or down or lashed side to side. It showed piloerection, hard stare, yowl, spit, scratching or attempt to scratch, bite or attempts to bite

Table 3. Classification of the explanatory variables considered in the study with data collected from 95 cats taken to a veterinary clinic in the south of Italy.

Name	Description	Values
Age	Age of the cats	Young, adult, elderly
Gender	Gender of the cat	Male, castrated male, female, neutered female
Breed	Cat breed	European, non-European
Reason	Reason why the owner brought the cat to the veterinary clinics	General visit, surgery, gastro-enteric problem, respiratory problem, urinary problem, vaccine/blood sample, diagnostic (X-ray or ultrasound), other (lameness, alopecia, euthanasia, parental fluids)
Temperament	The temperament of the cat reported by the owner	Aggressive, non-aggressive
First visit	If the veterinary visit was the first-ever done	Yes, No
Carrier	If the cat was familiar with the pet carrier	Yes, No
Travelling	If the cat was familiar with car rides	Yes, No

Table 4. Descriptive statistics of the data collected from 95 cats taken to a veterinary clinic in the south of Italy.

Variable Name	Category	Count	Percent
Age	adult	43	45.4
	elderly	26	27.3
	young	26	27.3
	Total	95	100
Gender	male	27	28.4
	neutered	27	28.4
	female	25	26.3
	castrated	16	16.9
	Total	95	100
Breed	European	82	86.3
	Non-European	13	13.7
	Total	95	100
Reason	general visit	25	26.3
	vaccine/blood	16	16.8
	other	14	14.7
	gastroenteric	13	13.7
	surgery	8	8.4
	x-ray/ultrasound	8	8.5
	respiratory	6	6.3
	urinary	5	5.3
	Total	95	100
Temperament	aggressive	10	10.5
	non-aggressive	85	89.5
	Total	95	100
First visit	no	72	76.6
	yes	22	23.4
	Total	94	100
	Missing Values	1	1.0
Carrier	no	47	50.5
	yes	46	49.5
	Total	93	100
	Missing Values	2	2.1
Travelling	no	55	59.8
	yes	37	40.2
	Total	92	100
	Missing Values	3	3.2
Mydriasis	0	14	14.7
	1	81	85.3
	Total	95	100
Slit pupils	0	78	82.1
	1	17	17.9
	Total	95	100
Alert ears	0	14	14.7
	1	81	85.3
	Total	95	100
Ears pressed flat back	0	77	81.1
	1	18	18.9
	Total	95	100
Escape attempt	0	64	67.4
	1	31	32.6
	Total	95	100
Tail lashing	0	79	83.2
	1	16	16.8
	Total	95	100
Scratching/Attempt to scratch	0	72	75.8
	1	23	24.2
	Total	95	100
Crouching in carrier	0	84	88.4
	1	11	11.6
	Total	95	100
Hard stare	0	90	94.7
	1	5	5.3
	Total	95	100
Biting/Attempt to bite	0	86	90.5
	1	9	9.5
	Total	95	100
Vocalising	0	48	50.5
	1	47	49.5
	Total	95	100
Hiss	0	70	73.7
	1	25	26.3
	Total	95	100
Piloerection	0	70	73.7
	1	25	26.3
	Total	95	100
Profile	agonistic	29	30.5
	frightened	25	26.3
	anxious	16	16.9
	irritated	14	14.7
	alert	11	11.6
	Total	95	100

Table 5. Descriptive statistics of rectal temperature (RT), respiratory rate (RR), and heart rate (HR) recorded in 95 cats during a veterinary visit.

Variable Name	Mean	Standard Deviation	Min	First Quartile	Median	Third Quartile	Max
HR (beats per minute, bpm)	156.3	30.8	100	130	150	196	220
RR (breaths per minute, bpm)	30.4	9.6	10	20	30	40	44
RT (°C)	38.7	0.6	37.1	38.4	39	39	39.9

Figure 1. Association between the age and the profile of the cat subjected to a veterinary visit.

Figure 2. Association between the gender and the profile of the cat subjected to a veterinary visit.

Figure 3. Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) biplot. The plot reports the observations distinguished on the basis of the cats’ profile and the vectors (red arrows) representing the variables with the greatest effect on the two new dimensions (Dim1 and Dim2).

Figure 4. The results of the Hierarchical Clustering on Principal Components (HCPC) analysis. The 3D tree (A) displaying the hierarchy of the variables affecting the most the creation of the four clusters, the representation of the chosen height (0.06) to perform the cut of the hierarchical clustering tree (B), and the (Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) biplot with the four clusters obtained from HCPC analysis (C).

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