Öztürk, Yahya; Erten, Ömer; Şeker, İbrahim; Köseman, Abdurrahman

Objective. This study aims to examine the psychological and behavioral status of domestic cats (Felis catus) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods. Study’s material included the data collected from the responses of 306 cat owners who participated in the survey voluntarily. Results. During the study, 36.9% of the participating cat owners reported that their cats had some abnormal behaviors besides their normal behaviors during the pandemic. The most frequently mentioned abnormal behaviors were increased meowing (38.8%) and a greater desire for close contact (38.8%). Furthermore, 4.4% of cat owners said that their cats had abnormal behaviors like not using the litter box and urinating everywhere. Conclusions. As a result, the majority of cat owners who have participated in this study stated that there was no significant change in the mood and behavior of their cats during the COVID-19 pandemic, that it was beneficial to be a cat owner, and that they did not face many difficulties in taking care of their cats. Pets, with whom people spent more time during the pandemic, should be monitored in terms of animal welfare after the pandemic. Providing pet owners with information on special animal welfare would be beneficial in understanding the changes in human-animal interactions in similar pandemics and managing this process effectively.

Seker, Ibrahim; Erten, Omer; Köseman, Abdurrahman; Kogan, Senol

Objective. This study was conducted to determine the perceptions of cat owners in T & uuml;rkiye regarding the welfare conditions of their cats and their attitudes and knowledge levels during the care of their cats. Materials and methods. The research material consists of data obtained from questionnaires conducted with 494 cat owners. Results. Among cat owners, 98.6% kept cat food in closed boxes and 93.5% took precautions to prevent their cats from accessing household chemicals. In this study, according to the answers given by the participants to the questionnaire questions, statistically significant differences were found between the options in terms of their answers to all other questions, except for the answers given by the cat owners to the questions of whether they use nets for their cats on the windows and/or balconies of their houses and the frequency of changing the litter of their cats (p<0.01). Conclusions. It was determined that the majority of cat owners were generally correct and adequate in terms of their attitudes and knowledge levels during the care of their cats. However, it has been determined that cat owners do not have sufficient and correct information and preferences about using nets for their cats for protective purposes in the windows and balconies of their houses, giving their cats additional foods such as sausage, salami, sausage.