health and welfare exam

• understand the concept of ethics when considering human animal interactions

  • moral principles
  • moral consideration of animals and how nonhuman animals are treated
• relationship between ethics and animal welfare

  • animal welfare act 1999
  • for an animal to be capable of perceiving states we consider reflect its welfare must be sentient
• sentience is the ability to feel pain, suffering or distress
• name and define 3 categories of cats in the NZ cat management strategy

  • Fereal cats - unowned - unsocialised - no relationship with humans
  • domestic companion cats - owned by specific person - sociable - directly dependent on humans
  • domestic stray cats - unowned - socialised and unsocialised - varying interactions with dependence on humans
• advantages of TNR

  • reduced cat numbers
  • fill ecological niche - rodent control
  • improved cat health and welfare
  • reduced nuisance behaviours
  • reduced shelter admissions and euthanasia
• disadvantages of TNR

  • increased abandonment ?
  • need to de-sex 75-80% of adults in colony
  • high rates of morbidity and mortality
  • costs
  • time and money
• problems associated with cat containment

  • confined indoors - boredom, dental disease, obesity, behavioural problems
  • access to outdoors - infectious disease, road traffic, fights, poisoning
• cat time budget

  • predatory
  • hunting - crepuscular (dawn and dusk)
  • sleeping up to 16 hours a day
  • grooming - long time
• cat social organisation

  • not true lone animals - adult females cooperate - male roam between groups
  • loose social bonds do not form stable social structure like dogs
  • lack signs of submission so avoid conflict by running away
  • can get priority of resources but can shift easily
  • allogrooming strengthen bonds in social group
• cat territorial structure

  • core territory - where cat eats, sleeps - usually the house, place feel safest - spend most of their time
  • home range - includes toilet sites, observation platforms - depends on availability of food - time share home ranges
  • hunting ranges - shared by larger number of cats
• evolutionary factors affecting diet and water consumption in cats

  • entirely on wet food diet this will result in less water consumption,  can extract moisture from the wet diet 
  • Crepuscular hunting as prey species eye sight is poor at dusk and dawn 
  • nibblers eat several small meals
  • kitten eat often (4 meals per day)
  • ancestors were desert origin so able to conserve water efficiently - drink less than dogs
• common contagious diseases in cats and treatments

  • cat flu - vaccination - easily contracted
  • feline immunodeficiency (FIV) / aids - contract though saliva through cat wounds and bites - no cure
• internal parasites transmission and treatment

  • roundworm - eating affect prey, through milk to kitten - responds well to deworming treatments - every 3 months
  • tape worms - ingestion an infected flea during grooming
  • ring worm - fungal infection - responds well to anti fungal treatments
  • worm kittens from 2-12 weeks old every 2 weeks
  • worm kittens from3 -6 months old once a month
  • worm cats 6 months and older every 3 to 6 months
• three methods used to feed domestic owned cats

  • meal feeding - owner controls time food is provided or amount of food provided daily usually 2-3 small meal daily at set times
  • free choice feeding - provided with food at all times
  • combination feeding - free choice dry food, meal feeding wet food once or twice daily
• advantages of meal feeding

  • allows owners to monitor food intake
  • helps assess health
  • allows all cats access to food
• disadvantages of meal feeding

  • some cats may solicit food at other times
  • may not meet the cats internal schedule for eating
• advantages of free choice feeding

  • allows cat to control consumption
  • cat can eat multiple small meals daily
• disadvantages of free choice feeding

  • unable to monitor intake
  • may lead to over eating and obesity
  • allows no time for human animal bonding
• advantages of combination feeding

  • allows multiple small meals daily
  • allows for bonding time
• disadvantages of combination feeding

  • unless closely regulated over eating can occur
  • some individuals may not get enough to eat
• common behavioural problems

  • aggressive / timid with humans
  • inappropriate urination
  • destroying furniture
  • fighting with other pets
  • over grooming
• preventing behaviour problems

  • understand why a cat behaves the way it does
  • accept, modify or manage behaviours
• preventing genetic behaviour problems

  • genetic influences cat temperament
  • activity level
  • agression to strangers
  • shyness towards novel objects
• preventing environment behaviour problems

  • need exposure to novel things
  • socialisation period
  • unthreatening way
  • importance of play behaviour
• preventing experience behaviour problems

  • pets fit into our society need to be socialised
  • must learn to accept close proximity of own species and other species
• socialisation period is between 3 -7 weeks
• explain how the biology of dogs leads to welfare considerations for pet dogs

  • biological needs - proper nutrition, fresh water, shelter etc
  • emotional needs - love, trust, security
  • social needs - bonding with dogs and people
  • force free training - positive reinforcement
  • cognitive needs - problem solving
• time budget of dogs

  • sleep / rest - 56%
  • hunt / scavenge - 25%
  • play / social interaction - 12%
  • grooming - 2.5%
  • elimination
• modern management

  • bedding
  • 24 hour access to water
  • food
  • toys
  • daily exercise
  • bathing and grooming
  • vaccination
• welfare considerations for pet dogs

  • obesity
  • over weight
  • lack of exercise
  • predispose to diabetes
  • if dieting - constantly hungry
• animal suffering

  • ignorance - not knowing what to do
  • inexperience - knowing what but not how
  • incompetence - inability to do
  • inconsideration - not caring
• dog conflict

  • dogs should be off the street , in the house
• dog behaviours unacceptable to humans

  • roaming
  • scavenging
  • forming packs
  • defecating freely
  • barking
  • reproducing freely
  • predatory behaviour
  • fighting
• reasoning for having a dog

  • companionship - 53%
  • for children - 16%
  • security - 8%
  • relaxation - 3 %
  • exercise - 4%
  • work - 12%
  • breed / compete / hobby - 3%
• risk behaviours to be terminated

  • hyperactivity
  • urination problems
  • aggressive behaviours
  • destructive behaviours
  • fearfulness
  • barking
• risk factors

  • lack of training
  • lack of veterinary care
  • poor toilet training
  • non neutered
• welfare considerations of working dogs

  • feed once a day - 80%
  • feed every second day - 13%
  • few feed only 3 times a week
  • 1/5 of dogs too skinny (body condition below 4)
  • most dogs perform best at body condition 4-5
  • large number are at a body condition of 2
• feeding

  • high fat - use fat as main energy source during exercise
  • high protein - for muscle building and body functions - in working dogs this is crucial
  • joint support supplement - improve cartilage resistance to damage
  • feeding right after exercise improves muscle repair and energy storage - better recovery and less fatigue
• housing

  • colder the dog is the more energy and muscle mass is used to keep warm
  • kennels are water tight, small doors, in sheltered area, providing bedding that keeps drafts away
  • bedding takes pressure off the muscles and joints making dogs quicker to warm up and get working in the mornings
• urban animal management of dogs in NZ

  • register all dogs over 3 months old
  • to cover costs of dog control services
  • microchipping all dogs classified dangerous or menacing
  • microchipping unregistered dogs