🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Hosey proposed a conceptual model of how relationships form between zoo animals and the humans around them, distinguishing the effects of unfamiliar visitors from those of familiar keepers. He argued…

Hosey GR · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2008

Ellis and co-authors produced consensus veterinary guidelines defining the environmental needs of domestic cats, organised around five pillars: a safe place; multiple and separated key resources; oppo…

Ellis SLH, Rodan I, Carney HC, Heath S, Rochlitz I, Shearburn LD, et al · Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery · 2013

Mellen and Ellis authored a foundational book chapter explaining how learning theory underpins husbandry training in zoos. They described how operant conditioning with positive reinforcement can train…

Mellen JD, Ellis S · Wild Mammals in Captivity (University of Chicago Press) · 1996

Broom's influential paper defined animal welfare as an animal's state regarding its attempts to cope with its environment, a definition that is scientific and measurable rather than purely emotive. He…

Broom DM · Journal of Animal Science · 1991

Carlstead, Brown and Seidensticker conducted an early, influential study using non-invasive hormone measures on small felids. They manipulated the housing of leopard cats, adding and removing hiding p…

Carlstead K, Brown JL, Seidensticker J · Zoo Biology · 1993

Carlstead, Brown and Strawn studied domestic cats in a laboratory setting, manipulating predictability and handling while tracking behaviour and adrenocortical activity. Cats subjected to unpredictabl…

Carlstead K, Brown JL, Strawn W · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 1993

Wielebnowski examined whether individual temperament predicts which captive cheetahs breed, scoring cats on behavioural traits and relating them to reproductive history. Cheetahs rated as more tense,…

Wielebnowski NC · Zoo Biology · 1999

Miller and colleagues proposed that the diversity of behaviours an animal performs, not just the presence or absence of specific behaviours, can serve as an indicator of positive welfare, with higher…

Miller LJ, Vicino GA, Sheftel J, Lauderdale LK · Animals · 2020

Watters, Margulis and Atsalis advocated systematic, ongoing behavioural monitoring of individual zoo animals as a foundation for evidence-based husbandry. They described how regularly recording behavi…

Watters JV, Margulis SW, Atsalis S · Zoo Biology · 2009

Mason and Latham examined whether stereotypic behaviour is a trustworthy welfare marker. Reviewing many studies, they showed that while stereotypies often correlate with poor conditions at the group l…

Mason GJ, Latham NR · Animal Welfare · 2004

Clubb and Mason analysed comparative data across 35 carnivore species to ask why some thrive in zoos while others pace and breed poorly. They found that wide-ranging species with large natural home ra…

Clubb R, Mason G · Nature · 2003

Bond and Lindburg compared feeding captive cheetahs whole carcasses against conventional processed diets, assessing both behaviour and oral health. Carcass feeding prolonged feeding time, increased sp…

Bond JC, Lindburg DG · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 1990

Skibiel, Trevino and Naugher systematically compared categories of enrichment, including food-based items, spices and scents, and novel objects, for captive cats to see which most effectively boosted…

Skibiel AL, Trevino HS, Naugher K · Zoo Biology · 2007

Margulis, Hoyos and Anderson examined the relationship between how active captive cats are and how long visitors watch them. Observing several felid species, they found that visitor interest, measured…

Margulis SW, Hoyos C, Anderson M · Zoo Biology · 2003

Gourkow, Hamon and Phillips tested whether positive human interaction improves the health of anxious shelter cats. Cats receiving structured gentle stroking and soft talking from handlers showed more…

Gourkow N, Hamon SC, Phillips CJC · Preventive Veterinary Medicine · 2014

In this widely cited book chapter, Carlstead reviewed how captivity alters the behaviour of wild mammals, examining feeding, social, reproductive and anti-predator behaviours and the development of ab…

Carlstead K · Wild Mammals in Captivity (University of Chicago Press) · 1996

Kessler and Turner investigated how stocking density and cage size affect stress in shelter and cattery cats, again using the Cat-Stress-Score. They found that very high densities raised stress, but t…

Kessler MR, Turner DC · Animal Welfare · 1999

Stella, Croney and Buffington experimentally exposed cats to unpredictable husbandry and other stressors, measuring sickness behaviours such as reduced eating, elimination outside the litter box, vomi…

Stella JL, Croney CC, Buffington CAT · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2013

Szokalski, Litchfield and Foster reviewed the published evidence on enrichment specifically for captive tigers, organising it by enrichment type and outcome. They covered feeding, sensory, structural,…

Szokalski MS, Litchfield CA, Foster WK · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2012

Young's book provided a comprehensive, practical and scientific treatment of environmental enrichment, covering its theory, types, design, implementation and evaluation across captive species. It addr…

Young RJ · Blackwell Publishing (UFAW Animal Welfare Series) · 2003

De Azevedo, Cipreste and Young surveyed the published enrichment literature to identify which taxa, enrichment types and research questions were well studied and which were neglected. They found resea…

de Azevedo CS, Cipreste CF, Young RJ · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2007

Newberry argued that effective enrichment is not about adding novelty for its own sake but about increasing the biological relevance of captive environments, that is, providing opportunities for anima…

Newberry RC · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 1995

Terio, Marker and Munson compared adrenal gland morphology and function between captive and wild cheetahs to test whether captivity imposes chronic stress. Captive cheetahs showed adrenal changes and…

Terio KA, Marker L, Munson L · Journal of Wildlife Diseases · 2004

Mellen surveyed husbandry across many institutions holding small exotic cats and used multiple regression to identify which factors predicted breeding success. Strikingly, the strongest predictors wer…

Mellen JD · Zoo Biology · 1991

Quirke, O'Riordan and Zuur analysed a large dataset of captive cheetahs to identify which husbandry and demographic factors predict stereotypic pacing. Variables such as enclosure features, neighbouri…

Quirke T, O'Riordan RM, Zuur A · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2012

McPhee tested whether feeding whole, intact carcasses rather than processed meat changes the behaviour of large captive cats. Providing carcasses increased feeding-related and active behaviours and al…

McPhee ME · Zoo Biology · 2002

Sheriff and colleagues reviewed how glucocorticoid hormones are measured to assess stress in wild and captive animals, covering blood, faecal, urinary, salivary and hair sampling. They discussed the s…

Sheriff MJ, Dantzer B, Delehanty B, Palme R, Boonstra R · Oecologia · 2011

Hill and Broom reviewed the conceptual and practical challenges of assessing welfare in zoo animals, applying Broom's coping-based definition to the captive context. They surveyed the range of indicat…

Hill SP, Broom DM · Zoo Biology · 2009

Pion, Kittleson, Rogers and Morris linked dilated cardiomyopathy in domestic cats to taurine deficiency and showed that supplementation could reverse the heart failure. The discovery confirmed taurine…

Pion PD, Kittleson MD, Rogers QR, Morris JG · Science · 1987

Building on their Nature note, Clubb and Mason developed a fuller comparative model of which natural traits predict poor captive welfare in carnivores. Across dozens of species they tested whether hom…

Clubb R, Mason GJ · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2007