Attitudes toward and perceptions of free-roaming cats among individuals living in Ohio
Summary
A great deal of attention has been given over the past two decades to manageing free-roaming cat populationsJournal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
April 15, 2008, Vol. 232, No. 8, Pages 1159-1167
doi: 10.2460/javma.232.8.1159
Attitudes toward and perceptions of free-roaming cats among individuals living in Ohio
Linda K. Lord, DVM, PhD
Department of Veterinary Preventive Medicine, College of Veterinary Medicine, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210. (Lord)
Supported by the Kenneth A. Scott Charitable Trust, a KeyBank Trust.
Presented in part at the Conference of Research Workers in Animal Diseases Annual Meeting, Chicago, December 2007, and at the Midwest Veterinary Conference, February 2008.
The author thanks Tina Kassebaum for assistance with statistical analyses.
Objective-To characterise attitudes toward and perceptions of free-roaming cats among individuals living in Ohio.
Design-Cross-sectional study.
Sample Population-Households in Ohio.
Procedures-A random-digit-dial telephone survey was performed, and 1,250 households were contacted.
Results-703 of the 1,250 (56.2%) households completed interviews. Five hundred fifty-three (78.7%) participants reported seeing free-roaming cats at least occasionally, and 184 (26.2%) reported having fed free-roaming cats during the previous year. However, only 42 (22.8%) participants who fed free-roaming cats had ever taken one to a veterinarian, and 43 (23.4%) participants who fed free-roaming cats reported that at least one of the free-roaming cats had produced a litter in the preceding year. Differences existed between cat owners and other participants and among urban, suburban, and rural residents in regard to their attitudes toward free-roaming cats and the need for government regulations.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Results suggested that free-roaming cats were common in Ohio, but that attitudes toward and perceptions of free-roaming cats differed between cat owners and other participants and among participants grouped on the basis of residential area. Thus, developing statewide approaches for regulating free-roaming cats may be challenging or unrealistic.