Ch. 5.5: Clicking With Cats

Clicking with Cats: Assessing Socialization Methods on Domestic Cat (Felis catus) Welfare in the Animal Shelter Environment

  • Authors: Katie Burt, Carolyn Walsh, Paul Marino, Julie Posluns (ACAAB)

  • Affiliations: 1. Department of Biology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
    2. Department of Psychology, Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador
    3. Catschool Inc., Toronto, ON

Roadmap

  1. Background

  2. Research

  3. Conclusions

Background

  • Animal Shelter Environment

    • Unique challenges to a cat’s wellbeing and overall health, including:

    • Health-related procedures (Grant & Warrior, 2019)

    • Proximity to conspecifics and crowding (Kessler & Turner, 1999)

    • Disease prevalence and transmission (Dinnage et al., 2009)

    • Stress behavior and length of stay

  • Goal of Sheltering

    • To place shelter animals in suitable homes as soon as possible to limit time spent in the shelter environment.

    • Promote adoptions effectively through various methods.

  • Methods to Promote Adoptions

    • Advertising to increase exposure

    • Behavioural Modification for socialization of cats (example: Bitsy)

  • Environmental Enrichment

    • Addition of or modification to the cat’s surroundings to promote natural behavior, aimed at improving welfare.

    • Types of enrichment include:

    • Physical Enrichment

    • Social Enrichment

Clicker Training

  • Definition and Theory

    • A training method combining classical and operant conditioning.

    • Utilizes a positive reinforcer (food) along with a secondary reinforcer (an audible click).

    • Commonly popularized for use with captive animals and canines.

  • Key Figures

    • Robert E. Bailey from Fort Worth Zoo and Clever Canines Training.

  • Training Process

    • Involves "charging" the clicker, which describes building the association between the click sound and positive reinforcement (food).

    • Following a desired behavior with food and eventually clicking can ensure effective learning.

    • Shaping behavior is essential, where reinforcement is used for successes through successive approximations.

  • Fist Bump as Training Example

    • A specific behavior utilized in clicker training to illustrate "successive approximations" where the cat learns to initiate a fist bump in a structured manner.

      • The process involves breaking down the desired behavior (fist bump) into smaller, manageable steps.

      • Initially, the cat is rewarded (with a click and a treat) for any movement that is slightly closer to touching the trainer's fist.

      • As training progresses, the criteria for reward become stricter, only reinforcing actions that are successively closer to the full fist bump.

      • This continues until the cat consistently performs the complete fist bump action, initiating contact with the trainer's fist.

  • Recent Interest

    • There’s a growing interest in clicker training for shelter cats as evidenced by three studies and two reviews.

    • Emphasizes the need for direct comparison with alternative training treatments.

  • Potential Benefits of Clicker Training

    • Establishes positive interactions between cats and humans.

    • Grants cats additional behavioral choices.

    • Engages the cats in learning new behaviors.

    • Aims to reduce boredom and alleviate stress and anxiety which can lead to improved adoptability of cats.

Research

  • Questions

    • Investigates the necessity of training for implementing clicker training, requiring dedicated time and resources, alluding to its complex nature.

    • Asks whether the effort involved in training cats is worthwhile.

  • Hypothesis

    • Will participation in clicker training sessions improve the well-being of cats in the shelter environment?

    • Hypothesis posited: Clicker-trained shelter cats will exhibit improved welfare, as assessed through standardized behavioral assessments.

  • Groups in Study

    • Quasi-random assignment of cats into three groups:

    • Clicker Training: Engaging in novel clicker training sessions with a human trainer.

    • Play Group: Includes play sessions with a human using toys and treats.

    • Active Control/Treatment: Treatment continues as it typically would in shelters, i.e., gentle petting.

  • Study Timeline

    • Baseline assessments followed by three treatment days, then interim assessments, and concluding with final assessments.

    • Cats underwent standardized behavioral evaluations both before, during, and after the treatment phases.

  • Behavioral Assessments

    • Included multiple standardized behaviors and assessments including:

    • Human Approach Test (HAT) (Arhant & Troxler, 2017)

    • Fear, Anxiety, and Stress (FAS) (Ellis, 2022)

    • Response to Petting (RTP) (Ellis, 2022)

    • Participation in Play (PIP) (Ellis, 2022)

    • Cat Stress Score (Kessler & Turner, 1997)

    • Room Entry Test (RET)

    • Staff Socialization Score

  • Pilot Study

    • Conducted at Gander and Area S.P.C.A. with an N = 15 (original participant number N = 24).

    • Group assignments included: 4 in Treatment-as-usual, 5 in Clicker Training, and 6 in Play.

    • Outcome insights:

    • 4/5 cats learned at least one novel behavior.

    • Notably, reported ceiling effects with Human Approach Test (HAT) showing no changes in outcomes for 13/15 cats, while 1 demonstrated reversion (play group) and another improvement (clicker training group).

  • Ongoing Studies

    • Current studies are identified as Study 1 at Gander and Area ASPCA and Study 2 at SPCA St. John's.

Clicker Training Results

  • Preliminary success of clicker training aligns with or surpasses metrics established in previous studies (ex: Kogan et al., 2017).

    • 6/7 clicker-trained cats successfully learned at least one behavior.

Results to Date - Study 1

  • Presented data reflect various behavioral assessments across groups including:

    • Clicker Training: 1 instance of improvement noted in assessments such as HAT and Socialization Score.

    • Play group: No consistent patterns reported, but notable points in assessment measures.

    • Treatment-as-usual: Varied patterns indicating mixed results across measures.

Conclusions

  • Current findings align with the expectation that additional socialization via either clicker training or play sessions enhances the welfare of shelter cats.

  • Discussion points on whether such enriched experiences translate to decreased Length of Stay (LOS) in shelters and increased adoptability.

Acknowledgements

  • Project funding received through a grant from ASPCA.

  • Acknowledgment that results may not represent views of the ASPCA.

  • Key contributors:

    • Supervisor: Dr. Carolyn Walsh

    • Co-author & Clicker Training Expert: Julie Posluns

    • Data Collection: Nicole Careen

    • Feedback from MUN CRU lab members.

References

  • Arhant, C. & Troxler, J. (2017). Is there a relationship between attitudes of shelter staff to cats and the cats’ approach behaviour? Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 187, 60-68. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2016.11.014

  • Dinnage, J.D., Richards, J.R., Scarlett, J.M. (2009). Descriptive epidemiology of feline upper respiratory tract disease in an animal shelter. Journal of Feline Medical Surgery, 11, 816-825. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfms.2009.03.001

  • Ellis, J.J. (2022). Beyond "Doing Better": Ordinal rating scales to monitor behavioural indicators of well-being in cats. Animals, 12, article 2897. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12212897

  • Grant, R.A. & Warrior, J.R. (2019). Clicker training increases exploratory behaviour and time spent at the front of the enclosure in shelter cats; Implications for welfare and adoption rates. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 211, 77-83. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2018.12.002

  • Kessler M.R. & Turner, D.C. (1997). Stress and Adaptation of Cats (Felis Silvestris Catus) Housed Singly, in Pairs and in Groups in Boarding Catteries. Animal Welfare, 6(3), 243-254. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0962728600019837

  • Kessler, M.R. & Turner, D.C. (1999). Effects of density and cage size on stress in domestic cats housed in animal shelters and boarding catteries. Animal Welfare, 8, 259-267. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0962728600021746

  • Kogan, L., Kolus, C., & Schoenfeld-Tacher, R. (2017). Assessment of clicker training for shelter cats. Animals, 7, 73. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani7100073