🧬 The Felid Wiki — 3,000 research summaries

Whitham and Wielebnowski argued that zoo welfare assessment should move beyond minimising negative states toward measuring and promoting positive welfare, and toward individual-level, continuous monit…

Whitham JC, Wielebnowski N · Applied Animal Behaviour Science · 2013

Palme reviewed methods for measuring glucocorticoid metabolites non-invasively in faeces, urine, hair and saliva, a cornerstone technique for assessing stress in captive and wild animals without restr…

Palme R · Physiology & Behavior · 2019

Wielebnowski and colleagues studied the notoriously difficult-to-breed North American clouded leopard population, using faecal corticoid monitoring across many individuals. They linked elevated adrena…

Wielebnowski NC, Fletchall N, Carlstead K, Busso JM, Brown JL · Zoo Biology · 2002

Mellor elaborated the Five Domains Model, which structures welfare assessment around four physical and functional domains, nutrition, environment, health and behaviour, that feed into a fifth, the ani…

Mellor DJ · Animals · 2017

Gartner, Powell and Weiss applied systematic personality assessment to four felid species, having keepers rate individuals on behavioural traits and then analysing the underlying structure. They ident…

Gartner MC, Powell DM, Weiss A · Journal of Comparative Psychology · 2014

Mellen and MacPhee reflected on how environmental enrichment evolved from ad hoc novelty provision toward a goal-directed, integrated husbandry process. They proposed a framework in which enrichment i…

Mellen J, MacPhee MS · Zoo Biology · 2001

Vaz, Narayan and colleagues surveyed tigers and leopards across multiple Indian zoos, combining behavioural observation of pacing with non-invasive faecal cortisol measurement. They found substantial…

Vaz J, Narayan EJ, Dileep Kumar R, Thenmozhi K, Thiyagesan K, Baskaran N · PLoS ONE · 2017

Rochlitz reviewed evidence on feline housing across the many settings cats are confined and distilled practical recommendations. She emphasised providing adequate space with vertical structure, hiding…

Rochlitz I · Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery · 1999

The One Welfare concept recognises that animal welfare, human wellbeing and the environment are interconnected, a framing increasingly applied to those who care for captive cats. This overview surveys…

While pacing dominates discussion of felid stereotypy, captive cats display a range of other abnormal repetitive behaviours that signal welfare problems. This overview surveys these: route-tracing and…

Genuine sanctuaries provide lifetime care for rescued big cats without breeding, commercial public contact or trade, distinguishing themselves from roadside attractions through formal standards. This…

A growing body of welfare thinking holds that giving animals control over their environment, the ability to make choices and influence outcomes, is itself a key contributor to good welfare. This overv…

Chemical immobilisation is sometimes unavoidable for examining or treating large carnivores, but it carries welfare and mortality risks and is itself stressful. This overview surveys the welfare consi…

Modern welfare science increasingly seeks not just to minimise suffering but to promote positive emotional states, yet measuring positive affect in cats is challenging. This overview surveys approache…

Sound is an often-overlooked feature of the captive environment, and research has examined whether auditory enrichment can calm cats in shelters and veterinary settings. This overview surveys studies…

Behaviour offers a rich, non-invasive window into felid welfare, but interpreting it requires care. This overview surveys the behavioural signs used to assess captive cats: stereotypic pacing and rout…

Big cats arriving at sanctuaries from circuses, roadside zoos, private ownership or the pet trade often carry physical and psychological scars, including declawing, malnutrition, obesity, dental disea…

Practical, validated tools let staff assess feline welfare without specialist equipment. This overview surveys behavioural scoring instruments used for cats, foremost the seven-point Cat-Stress-Score…

Sedentary captive cats fed energy-dense diets are prone to obesity, which carries serious welfare and health consequences. This overview surveys body-condition management in felids: the prevalence and…

Captive cats fed soft, processed diets commonly develop dental disease such as gingivitis, calculus and tooth fractures, whereas chewing on bone, hide and connective tissue provides natural abrasion a…

Conventional small single-compartment shelter cages force cats to eat, sleep and eliminate in close quarters, raising stress and disease. This overview surveys research on improved housing, especially…

Jaguars are powerful, semi-aquatic, wide-ranging cats whose captive welfare has been studied through behaviour and non-invasive stress physiology. This overview surveys research on captive jaguars: th…

Intensive captive lion breeding, associated in some regions with cub petting, walking-with-lions tourism, canned or captive hunting and the bone trade, has drawn extensive welfare and ethical scrutiny…

Snow leopards, adapted to cold, rugged, high-altitude terrain, present particular welfare considerations in captivity. This overview surveys their husbandry: the importance of elevated rocky structure…

The catnip response, a heritable reaction to nepetalactone causing sniffing, rubbing, rolling and a euphoric-seeming state, occurs in many domestic cats and some non-domestic felids. This overview sur…

Cheetahs are notoriously difficult to keep and breed well in captivity, and their welfare has been intensively studied. This overview surveys the cheetah's particular vulnerabilities: evidence of chro…

Chronic activation of the stress axis can suppress immunity, impair reproduction and contribute to disease, and several captive cat species show evidence of such chronic stress. This overview surveys…

Clouded leopards have a difficult captive breeding history marked by severe, sometimes fatal aggression by males toward females during pairing. This overview surveys the welfare and management science…

Cognitive enrichment challenges animals to solve problems for rewards, engaging mental faculties and providing a sense of control. This overview surveys the emerging use of cognitive enrichment for ca…

Controlling reproduction is essential for managing captive cat populations within space and genetic limits, but contraceptive methods carry welfare and health considerations. This overview surveys opt…