WELFARE OF CATS IN A QUARANTINE CATTERY

The welfare of seven domestic cats housed singly in a quarantine catte ry was studied for six months. Behavioural data were obtained with cam eras and by time-lapse video recording, and cortisol to creatinine rat ios mere measured in urine samples collected from litter trays. It too k five weeks for the cats to show evidence of adaptation to their new environment. They spent most of the first two weeks concealed in a hou se on the floor of their cage, As they adapted, they spent less time h iding and more time higher in the cage. The cats were inactive for app roximately 90 per cent of the time observed, and they received little human contact. Compared with the first day, the cats' cortisol to crea tinine ratios were significantly lower from their second month in quar antine.