Purrs In Our Hearts - Cat Forum UK
Cat General => General Cat Chat => Topic started by: CallieSkye on May 24, 2008, 18:45:44 PM
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Hi guys!! I’m writing up my final project the Think Cat course I’m taking and I need your help!
The paper is titled Enrichment of Cats in Confinement, and I need some raw data. I’ve posted a very short survey online, and my lovely bunch of cat fanatics at Purrs were the first bunch of people I thought of! I know it’s not exactly a cross-section of the population but I’ve addressed that in the paper. If you’d like to read the paper after I’m finished just let me know and I’ll send you a copy. (If I get a decent grade that is.. if I get a D or something then I'd just have to hide forever!!!)
The only requirements I have is that you’re a cat owner and that you live somewhere in the United Kingdom.
Thanks soo much for your help!!! :thanks:
Link to survey: http://enrichment.mypets.ws/
~Callie
(It’s only got 15 yes, no or n/a questions so I promise it won’t even take 3 minutes.)
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took me about 30 seconds lol :)
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I've completed it Callie - good luck
Mary
P.S. - The question about our cats having their own beds - I am sure everyone will say YES, BUT................ I can bet they sleep in human beds rather than their own!!!! :rofl: :Luv2:
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Done
I would love eto receive a copy when you are done.. Email it over.. Good luck
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Done! ;D
Agree about the cat beds - I said yes cos they do, but they don't use them - they prefer my bed or a cardboard box ;D
Also about the scratch posts - it just said do they have one - my boys have 7 ;D
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done but further to marys note, I have said no cos they dont sleep in cat beds and pick their own places.
Yes I would like to read your paper please and hope you get a really good grade ;D
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Thanks for all the quick replies so far!!
The question about the cat beds is just used as an indicator to whether the cat has it's own personal space provided for. My cat normally sleeps on my bed at night but if the heat's on she loves her radiator bed. (I had my doubts but she adores it!)
7 scratching posts?! Excellent!
Canterbury & Gill - I'll make sure I make a note to send you a copy!
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All done - good luck
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Agree about cat beds - Jameson used to have 3 around the house, but still would only sleep in ours, so we have since gotten rid of all beds. And now he reckons his place is on OH's side of the bed. OH not impressed.
We have his kitty blankets all over the place, and he'll sleep on them when he feels like it, but don't have a bed as such anymore.
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I'll make sure to put in a note about the beds when I'm writing up the paper!
Thanks for the input!
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All done :)
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All done ;D Oh dear I've only got 3 litter trays for 4 cats :-[
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Ok - job done
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ok -i have done this too - i also have 3 litter trays for 4 cats -but Winston always goes outside to the loo unless he is inall day for any reason -very rarely /hardly ever.
Yes , they sleep on my bed although they also have their own and as for scratching posts !- well, they have 7 indoor ones and 3 outdoor ones at the moment .
I am looking into getting my brothers friend to create some kind of play type scratchers for the bit of the garden i am leaving to grow for them , where they can go up in stages and go from one to another.
No idea how many cat-nip cigars Winston has hoarded under the bed -at least 12 !!!
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Bungly - I'd never heard of catnip cigars so I went and looked them up.... Winston must look adorable carrying those around... specially with a name like Winston!!
:thanks: again everybody. This is really helpful :)
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If you look in our shop you will find not only catnip cigars but also bananas :rofl: :rofl:
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Thanks - he is addicted to them -very appropiate !
He has also had the bananas and carrots too , but the cigars are easy for him to hold in his front paws and kick hell out of them with his back legs - every night !!!!
Tried to find a pic to post but they are all too big and i can''t resize them .
There is one of him in next weeks cat show with a cigar -cute cats ,class 6, what Tiggys mum resized for me.
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All done ;D
No idea how many cat-nip cigars Winston has hoarded under the bed -at least 12 !!!
I found one in my bed this morning under the covers!
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Done
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All done ;D
No idea how many cat-nip cigars Winston has hoarded under the bed -at least 12 !!!
I found one in my bed this morning under the covers!
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It's dangerous smoking in bed Helen!! :rofl: :rofl:
Mary
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All done ;D Oh dear I've only got 3 litter trays for 4 cats :-[
Snap. One of mine ALWAYS goes outside through choice.
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All done ;D Oh dear I've only got 3 litter trays for 4 cats :-[
Snap. One of mine ALWAYS goes outside through choice.
All done.
Haha ... I have only ONE litter box for three cats! I'm aware though that if there are 'issues' they will need separate ones (I have spares for that eventuality). However, my three all love each other and don't compete or anything, and are all quite happy using the shared box or going outside.
Beds - I put 'no', although I have made them little beds to use, but they mostly sleep on my bed at night, and during the day they all go through phases as to where their favourite sleeping spots are, which sometimes include one of the cat beds.
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All the so called "Standards" of cat behaviour and enrichment always have to be looked at on an individual level. As long as you can tell that your animals are happy and content and not displaying any adverse behaviours then it doesn't matter if the text book says 1 litter box per cat + one. :) These are just things that the behaviourists will look at first if there's an issue.
The response is great guys I knew you'd be able to help! I'll put up the percentages for you to see when I'm ready to take down the quiz, kay? I think you'll find it interesting. Some of the questions are a tad contradictory, because I didn't isolate the categories. But a few of the questions were just for me to get an overall feel of British cat owners and their cats.
ps. I have to brag. lol I got back both my case studies that I did consultations for and I got A's on each of them. Better yet, all the cats I dealt with are improving or completely changed!! It feels really good to be able to help!
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Love your PS and well done on all fronts ;D
I have 3 trays for 4 cats but all go outside mostly cept for Ducha ;D
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All done, agree with others about the beds although Hobbes, being the contradictory little soul that he is does have one bed that he sleeps in at night but he usually ends off upstairs on my bed :evillaugh: As for scratchers they have 4 plus one that I've yet to find a space for :rofl: I do have 2 litter trays for two cats but they both use them both anyway. Well done on your work so far, great grades. I've been thinking of doing this type of course so I'd be really interested in this when you've finished it.
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It's a lot of writing Ann, but it's really interesting. I've had to write 8 essays, 2 case studies and the special study which I'm working on now. If anyone decides to take the course there are some books I would definitely recommend that aren't on the suggested reading list. For starters, The Welfare of Cats by Irene Rochlitz is a great help!
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Done! :)
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Thanks for that, I may be after you for more information ;) Although I'm involved in rescue I don't really do the hands on stuff so this would be interesting for me to learn more and maybe help with some of our more "challenging" residents :evillaugh:
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Bed question made me laugh as well, they both have their own beds but never use them or at least only rarely. Charley's bed of choice last night was my pillow which would have been fine if my head wasn't on it at the time!!! Been woken up because a fluffy black bum is restricting your breathing isn't the most pleasant sensation in the world.
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Just to prove me wrong and to show how awkward they can be Dylan is currently tucked up in the bed which is part of their cat scratcher, it's months since he's been in there :rofl:
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Sheli - my mom gets that all the time! She wakes up to a cat on her head! I'm lucky, Leeloo's spot of choice is in the space between my shins.. odd, but as long as I don't feel like rolling over then there's no problem! (Glad she doesn't want to sleep on my head, I'm allergic to cats as it is, she'd have me sneezing all night even with the allergy pills!)
Ann- if you want to know anything just give me a holler. Peter Neville is the prof and his feedback is actually really helpful. A lot more comments than I ever got from any of my university lecturers! (Dylan must have known you were talking about him!!)
In case anyone is curious, I'm up to 40 replies! I'm thinking that around 50 I'll close it down and start doing something with the data. :) More thanks to everybody who's taken it!!
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Thanks so much for all your help!! I wanted to make sure you guys knew that the questions in the survey weren't meant to imply that there was only one accepted way to to go about things. The questions were just designed to try and get a feel for the percentages of owners who were trying particular methods. :) For example, just because there was a question about hiding food doesn't mean I think everyone should hide their cat's food or that it has had lots of success. My cat for one won't eat anything that I hide!
Here all the statistics as promised! Hopefully they'll create some kind of overall picture when analyzed in my report.
Total Respondents: 72
Do you have more than one cat?
Yes: 59 (81.94444)
No: 13 (18.055555%)
Is your cat indoor only?
Yes: 33 (45.833332)
No: 37 (51.38889%)
Not Applicable: 2 (2.7777777%)
Is your cat outdoor only?
Yes: 2 (2.7777777)
No: 58 (80.55556%)
Not Applicable: 12 (16.666666%)
Does you cat have regular access to the outside?
Yes: 35 (48.61111)
No: 31 (43.055557%)
Not Applicable: 6 (8.333333%)
Does your cat have occasional access to the outdoors (eg only with supervision, in a cat run, on a leash etc)?
Yes: 25 (34.72222)
No: 30 (41.666668%)
Not Applicable: 17 (23.61111%)
Does your cat have a scratching post indoors?
Yes: 66 (91.666664)
No: 5 (6.9444447%)
Not Applicable: 1 (1.3888888%)
Does your cat have toys?
Yes: 67 (93.05556)
No: 5 (6.9444447%)
Do you rotate your cat's toys in and out of circulation?
Yes: 46 (63.88889)
No: 24 (33.333332%)
Not Applicable: 2 (2.7777777%)
Do you play with your cat on a regular basis?
Yes: 68 (94.44444)
No: 4 (5.5555553%)
Does your cat have its own bed?
Yes: 60 (83.333336)
No: 12 (16.666666%)
Do you have one litter box for each cat?
Yes: 33 (45.833332)
No: 33 (45.833332%)
Not Applicable: 6 (8.333333%)
Does your cat have elevated resting perches?
Yes: 62 (86.111115)
No: 9 (12.5%)
Not Applicable: 1 (1.3888888%)
Does your cat have sufficient space to hide from you and/or other cats?
Yes: 70 (97.22222)
No: 1 (1.3888888%)
Not Applicable: 1 (1.3888888%)
Do you ever hide your cat's food to stimulate foraging?
Yes: 17 (23.61111)
No: 54 (75.0%)
Not Applicable: 1 (1.3888888%)
Do you use a treat ball (or something similar) to simulate predation?
Yes: 32 (44.444443)
No: 39 (54.166668%)
Not Applicable: 1 (1.3888888%)
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Lots of replies great ;D
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Worrying that there are 2 outdoor only cats :(
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*laughs* I think if I ever need to do this again I should spend a lot more time proofing the survey questions.
For example... there are 34 indoor only cats, 2 outdoor only cats, 35 with regular access outside, and 25 with occasional access... that totals to 60 cats having some access to the outside... even though there should be 34 cats who never go out and not just 13. But then.. I classified occasional as having an outdoor run... so that could still be considered indoor only... so if I add that back on... that equals 35... which is just two cats shy of what it should be. yaay! it made sense. I seem to be having this two cat discrepancy in a few places. I think I'm going to have to go through the results one by one to seem if someone's data clashes with itself. Isn't statistics fun...? *laughs* don't mind me and all my numerical mumblings. I'll get it figured out!!
Mark - 2 outdoor cats just means that there's only 2 cats who aren't ever allowed inside so that's okay. As my above rant shows.. the majority of cats get to go out at some point! (plus most of the participants are from cat fancy websites, so I reckon there's a lot of "normal" people out there who treat their cats way different than this cat centric bunch do ;)
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I really can't see the point of having cats if they aren't allowed in the house. Unless they are barn cats?
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OH! lol can you tell my head hurts? I read your last post wrong and thought that you were worried that there were ONLY 2 outdoor cats. (I thought that was a bit odd) Sorry!
No, I think someone put outdoor only when they didn't mean it... I'm pretty sure I know which person it is, just have to double check. So that only leaves one. Maybe that cat is a barn cat.. my grandparents have a lot of those. They get loads of love an affection but stay outside. (Luckily they have a 5 acre farm nowhere near traffic... the biggest problem they have is with coyotes catching their cats)
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Interesting the nearly equal between indoor and outdoor access cats, although if most of your respondants were cat fancy they would have indoor peds? so maybe not a true reflection of general indoor cat popularity.
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All of the results are going to be shaded by the population I collected the data from. Just have to address that in the write up.
NOTE: that one response that said their cat didn't have space to hide. I thought it was odd so I double checked, and guess what. It was ME!!! Can you believe it? I checked the wrong box. So that's fixed now. shessh. LOL
Almost finished writing, only 1500 more words to go! *laughs* and two days to write them in. I need to stop reading forum topics and go work!
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Get back to work and hope it goes well :hug:
You will be free then from 1 June, so dont forget to vote in our 2008 Cat show cos you will just be drooling over all the cats ;D
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*nods* aye aye mon cappytan! :D