PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Poor owner knowledge of cat sex life linked to 850,000 unplanned kittens every year

Misconceptions among owners common; most cat litters born in UK unplanned

2013-12-17
(Press-News.org) Contact information: Stephanie Burns
sburns@bmj.com
44-020-738-36920
BMJ-British Medical Journal
Poor owner knowledge of cat sex life linked to 850,000 unplanned kittens every year Misconceptions among owners common; most cat litters born in UK unplanned Widespread ignorance among cat-owners about the sex lives of their pets may be leading to more than 200,000 unplanned litters - or more than 850,000 kittens every year in the UK, finds research published online in Veterinary Record.

In fact most litters of cats born in the UK are unplanned, the findings indicate.

It is thought that up to 150,000 cats in the UK ended up in animal welfare facilities in 2009-10, and that unplanned litters account for up to one in seven cats being given up for rehoming by an owner.

Unplanned litters also boost the risk of health problems for the mother cat and her kittens, including birth defects as a result of inbreeding, say the authors.

The authors base their findings on a survey of almost 10,500 UK households and more than 3000 completed returns (30% response rate).

Information was gathered on pet ownership, with specific questions asked of owners of female cats about how many planned or accidental litters their pets had had. The survey also aimed to probe the prevalence of common misconceptions about the breeding patterns of cats.

In all, data were collected from 715 cat-owning households, of which 426 owned one or more female cats. Around 1 in 8 (13%) of these owners said that their pets had had one or more accidental litters.

A total of 128 litters had been produced by 91 (out of 552) female cats; 65 of these had given birth to 102 unplanned litters, meaning that just under 80% of all litters had been accidental.

Unplanned litters were more than twice as likely in households owning more than one cat and more than four times as likely if the owner mistakenly believed that a female cat should have a litter before being neutered, the responses showed. Men were more than twice as likely as women to hold this belief.

The authors calculate that if this belief were dispelled, there could be around 213,000 fewer litters and more than 851,000 fewer kittens born in the UK every year.

Half (49%) of 682 cat owners surveyed believed that cats should either have a litter before being neutered (23%) or were unsure if they should (26%), despite there being no evidence whatsoever that this benefits feline health. Similarly, among the 659 owners who answered the question about puberty, most (83.5%) mistakenly believed that the youngest age at which a cat could get pregnant was five months, with a further one in four (26%) believing that an unneutered female cat (queen) couldn't get pregnant before the age of 12 months.

It's not common for a four month old kitten to get pregnant, but it does happen, say the authors.

Furthermore, one in seven cat owners incorrectly thought that unneutered related cats wouldn't mate with each other, and a further one in four (24.5%) were unsure.

"The vast majority of litters born to cats in the UK are not planned," conclude the authors. They add: "This study suggests that improving cat-owner knowledge of the reproductive capacity of cats is likely to have a significant impact on the numbers of accidental litters."

Dispelling the commonly held belief that cats should have a litter before neutering would have the single biggest impact on the figures, they suggest.

### [Poor owner knowledge of feline reproduction contributes to the high proportion of accidental litters born to UK pet cats Online First doi 10.1136/vr.101909]


ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Climate change puts 40 percent more people at risk of absolute water scarcity: Study

2013-12-17
Climate change puts 40 percent more people at risk of absolute water scarcity: Study Water scarcity impacts people's lives in many countries already today. Future population growth will increase the demand for freshwater even ...

Recognizing the elephant in the room: Future climate impacts across sectors

2013-12-17
Recognizing the elephant in the room: Future climate impacts across sectors A pioneering collaboration within the international scientific community has provided comprehensive projections of climate change effects, ranging from ...

Cat domestication traced to Chinese farmers 5,300 years ago

2013-12-17
Cat domestication traced to Chinese farmers 5,300 years ago Five-thousand years before it was immortalized in a British nursery rhyme, the cat that caught the rat that ate the malt was doing just fine living alongside farmers in the ancient Chinese ...

Neanderthals buried their dead, new research concludes

2013-12-17
Neanderthals buried their dead, new research concludes Neanderthals, forerunners to modern humans, buried their dead, an international team of archaeologists has concluded after a 13-year study of remains discovered in southwestern France. Their findings, which ...

New global study reveals how diet and digestion in cows, chickens and pigs drives climate change 'hoofprint'

2013-12-17
New global study reveals how diet and digestion in cows, chickens and pigs drives climate change 'hoofprint' Most detailed livestock analysis to date shows vast differences in animal diets and emissions NAIROBI, KENYA (16 DECEMBER 2013)—The resources required ...

Discovery of 1.4 million-year-old fossil human hand bone closes human evolution gap

2013-12-17
Discovery of 1.4 million-year-old fossil human hand bone closes human evolution gap COLUMBIA, Mo. – Humans have a distinctive hand anatomy that allows them to make and use tools. Apes and other nonhuman primates do not have these distinctive anatomical ...

Despite rising health costs, few residency programs train doctors to practice cost-conscious care

2013-12-17
Despite rising health costs, few residency programs train doctors to practice cost-conscious care Penn Medicine physician calls for expansion of training in high-value, cost-conscious care PHILADELPHIA—Despite a national consensus ...

Physicians who prefer hospice care for themselves more likely to discuss it with patients

2013-12-17
Physicians who prefer hospice care for themselves more likely to discuss it with patients Despite preferences for their own care, many physicians still delay hospice discussions with patients Although the vast majority of physicians participating in ...

Antihypertensives associated with lower dialysis risk for patients with advanced CKD

2013-12-17
Antihypertensives associated with lower dialysis risk for patients with advanced CKD Patients with stable hypertension and the most advanced stage of chronic kidney disease (CKD) before dialysis appeared to have a lower risk for long-term dialysis or death if they were treated ...

Study analyzes diabetes drug metformin as obesity treatment for children

2013-12-17
Study analyzes diabetes drug metformin as obesity treatment for children Treatment with the diabetes drug metformin appears to be associated with a modest reduction in body mass index (BMI) in obese children when combined with lifestyle interventions such ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, Innovative Genomics Institute announce new Center for Pediatric CRISPR Cures

Innovative liquid biopsy test uses RNA to detect early-stage cancer

New quantum record: Transmon qubit coherence reaches millisecond threshold

How Germany’s 2021 floods could have been even worse

Study traces evolutionary origins of important enzyme complex

Tiny antibody has big impact on deadly viruses

Scientists find new way to control electricity at tiniest scale

Heat and heavy metals are changing the way that bees buzz

What’s behind the enormous increase in early-onset gastrointestinal cancers?

Pharmacogenomics expert advances precision medicine for bipolar disorder

Brazilian researcher explores centenarian stem cells for aging insights

Dr. Xuyu Qian's breakthrough analysis of 18 million brain cells advances understanding of human brain development

Gene networks decode human brain architecture from health to glioma

How artificial light at night damages brain health and metabolism

For ultrasound, ultra-strength not always a good thing

Matching your workouts to your personality could make exercising more enjoyable and give you better results

Study shows people perceive biodiversity

Personality type can predict which forms of exercise people enjoy

People can accurately judge biodiversity through sight and sound

People diagnosed with dementia are living longer, global study shows

When domesticated rabbits go feral, new morphologies emerge

Rain events could cause major failure of Waikīkī storm drainage by 2050

Breakthrough in upconversion luminescence research: Uncovering the energy back transfer mechanism

Hidden role of 'cell protector' opens cancer treatment possibilities

How plants build the microbiome they need to survive in a tough environment

Depression due to politics and its quiet danger to democracy addressed in new book 'The Sad Citizen'

International experts and patients unite to help ensure all patients are fully informed before consenting to new surgical procedures

Melting glaciers could trigger more explosive eruptions globally, finds research

Nearly half of U.S. grandchildren live within 10 miles of a grandparent

Study demonstrates low-cost method to remove CO₂ from air using cold temperatures, common materials

[Press-News.org] Poor owner knowledge of cat sex life linked to 850,000 unplanned kittens every year
Misconceptions among owners common; most cat litters born in UK unplanned