Typical methods of preventing cat hunting, which cause conservation and welfare concerns, depend on methods that many cat owners find unacceptable, such as keeping it indoors or having special collars worn.
But now a team of researchers from the University of Exeter, southern England, have found that exercise and diet can have a significant effect, according to a university news release published on Thursday.
The researchers said that the commercial foods in which proteins were derived from meat led to a 36% decrease in the cat’s premium commercial foods, while the proteins were derived from meat.
“While keeping cats indoors is the only safe way to prevent hunting, some owners are concerned about the welfare implications of restricting access to their cat outdoors,” said Robbie McDonald, a professor of ecology at Exeter’s Environment and Sustainability. Institute, said.
“Our study shows that owners can change the use of completely non-invasive, non-restrictive methods that the cats want to do themselves.”
During the study, owners simulated hunting so that cats could stalk, chase and strike a feather toy before giving a toy mouse after each ‘hunt’, researchers said.
Meanwhile, the scientists do not know exactly why meat foods led to less hunting, but they do have a theory.
“Some cat foods contain proteins from plant sources such as soy, and it is possible that, despite the formation of a ‘complete diet’, some cats are deficient in one or more micronutrients, which leads them to hunt,” Martina said. Cecchetti, a doctoral student, told Exeter student who did the experiments in the news release.
Cats are known for their ‘unusual nutritional needs’, McDonald told CNN. “They are extremely needy for certain nutrients, some amino acids and so on, which are best supplied in meat.”
The study involved 355 cats from 219 households in the south-west of England and lasted 12 weeks.
Researchers have also looked at the effectiveness of colorful bird-friendly collar covers to reduce hunting, with a 42% decrease in the number of birds caught and brought. The lids were found to have no effect on the number of mammals hunted.
Cat bells also have ‘no overall noticeable effect’, the researchers said. However, the impact on individual cats has varied greatly, suggesting that certain cats can learn to hunt well, even if they carry a bell.
Georgina Bradley of SongBird Survival, a bird protection charity that sponsored the research, praised the results.
“The data shows that cat owners (like me) can take some small and easy steps to really improve the health and happiness of our pets, and can make a big difference to all of our wildlife, especially to our beloved songbirds.” said Bradley. .
Researchers will now try to determine what it is in meat that reduces cat hunting, such as a specific amino acid, McDonald said.
It can add a specific micronutrient to cat food to reduce hunting without relying on meat production, which ‘raises clear climate and environmental issues’, Cecchetti said in the news release.
The team will also look into whether combining a change in food with this particular play routine could cause a greater decline in hunting, McDonald said.
“We suspect that the two things on the cat’s behavior are working slightly differently, if you will,” he said, explaining that this suggests an additive effect would be if food and play were changed.
Another possible area of study is increasing the number of play sessions, or adding another type of play, he adds.
The paper was published in the journal Current Biology.