"Cat CAT" published

There is controversy over whether it is more stressful to house cats singly or in groups. A critically appraised topic (CAT) to search for and appraise evidence to answer this question has now been published in an open access journal. The project was carried out in collaboration with Lauren Finka and Sarah Ellis at the University of Lincoln School of Life Sciences.

The evidence was found to be limited, with only six relevant studies found, all with considerable methodological flaws. In some studies single housing was less stressful, whilst in others group housing was less stressful. However, conclusions were confounded by comparisons such as barren single housing versus enriched group housing.

Overall the evidence suggests that in cats without prior socialisation to other cats, group housing may be the more stressful option. Other factors such as environmental enrichment and presence of sufficient resources may be important in ameliorating stress.

Read the full results for free here: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1746-6148/10/73