PhD research Ruth van der Leij shows: stress in shelter cats decreases with simple hiding places

Cats in animal shelters need a place where they can retreat. This is according to the PhD research of veterinarian Ruth van der Leij from Utrecht University's Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Van der Leij: ‘If cats can hide, they adapt faster to the stressful conditions in a shelter.’

Veterinary care for farm animals requires specific veterinary knowledge from farm veterinarians. This is so for cows, pigs and chickens in the agricultural sector, but also applies to cats, dogs and other companion animals (such as rabbits) in animal shelters or with breeders.

In her PhD research, veterinarian Ruth van der Leij presents the effects of adapted housing (shelter boxes for shelter cats). She also analysed data from the shelter population that can be used by an animal shelter in its operations and investigated the monitoring of infectious diseases in cats in animal shelters.

A number of conclusions can be drawn from these various studies:

• In order for cats to adapt more quickly to the stressful conditions in an animal shelter, shelter cats should be given the opportunity to hide or conceal themselves. This requires accommodation modification.
• Using key figures gives animal shelters more insight into opportunities to improve animal welfare and optimise their own operations.
• Shelter animals form an ever-changing sample of the Dutch pet population. Monitoring the health of shelter animals thus provides insight into (zoonotic) infectious diseases within the entire Dutch population and can therefore serve as an early warning system for changes in the nature and prevalence of diseases.

Many of these insights have since been adopted into practice. The Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, for instance, started using shelter boxes for its internal patients several years ago. The Animal Welfare Society has also included the use of shelter boxes in its guidelines for its own shelters.

Give your cat a safe place

Although the focus was on shelter cats, the insights are also useful for cat lovers at home. What can you do as an owner to give your cat a safe place? Van der Leij shares some practical tips:

• Offer hiding places: place a cardboard box or screened cat house in a quiet corner of the room.
• Encourage height use: cats feel safe at height. Consider a scratching post with a platform or a wall shelf.
• Peace and regularity: food, water and litter trays in predictable places, and preferably not in crowded rooms.
• Let cats take the initiative to contact themselves: give them space to retreat.