UK: Increase In Homeworkers Good for the Domestic Cat

There has been a 13% increase in people working at home over the past 5 years.  There were just over 4,000,000 in 2012.  That represents a rise of 470,000 since 2007.  An increasing number of women are working from home.  The majority of home working jobs created over the past 5 years have gone to women.  This is because most of the new jobs are part-time.

All this has happened during the recession which is surprising.  This new way of working is becoming essential to the UK labour market.  I'm told that people work more productively at home. There are no office politics to contend with for a start.  That might help.

For me, being interested as I am in the welfare of a domestic cat, this trend in the labour market should benefit the domestic cat.  Very many cats are left at home, alone during the daytime as their human caretaker goes to work and many of those caretakers are single women.

As more women are working at home it would imply that there are more women spending more time with their cats at home during the working week.

Bearing in mind that cats can become stressed was left alone at home and they can suffer from separation anxiety.  Stress can lead to health problems such as cystitis.  Stress can also lead to marking territory (defecating and urinating outside the litter tray). I'm just touching on this subject but it can be seen that the increase in home workers should be a good thing for cat lovers and cats alike.

There is one modern profession which I'm told is well known for people who like to keep cats and have them around them and on their desk when they work.  I also presume that these people often work at home.  They are game developers.  Code writers.  There are almost certainly nearly always young men so it's quite nice on two counts namely that we have men liking cats which goes against the grain slightly (so we are told) and we have men working at home with their cats around them keeping them company.

How Do I Know If My Cat Is Stressed?

Perhaps a good starting point is to know what kind of environment a domestic cat should live in which is ideal and within which a cat should not become stressed.  If, then, the environment is not ideal, it is possible that the cat might be stressed.

An ideal environment for a domestic cat is one that is secure, calm, without too much noise and without stressful interactions from either people, strangers, other cats or other companion animals.  In addition the cat should not be punished but all training should be carried out through positive reinforcement if the owner really wants to train her cat.

Shelters are stressful places for cats.

There should be no abuse, obviously.  The cat should be free of pain because pain causes stress.  The cat should be well fed.  The cat should be healthy and free of disease and parasites etc..  The environment should be stimulating for a cat.  It's what the experts called an enriched environment.  This is because boredom can also cause stress and the more natural a place is in respect of normal intellectual stimulation that a cat would encounter in the wild, the more healthy and de-stressed the cat will be.

As can be seen there are quite a lot of things to think about when creating an ideal environment for the domestic cat.  The classic thing that could cause a cat to be stressed is a background threat of some sort, either from another animal or a person.

A stressed cat would probably demonstrate a change in normal behaviour.  In order to be aware of the change in normal behaviour the cat's owner obviously needs to know what normal behaviour is for this individual cat.  There is therefore quite a lot of necessary observation required in order to know how one's cat behaves normally and then to measure any changes against that.

Specific sorts of behaviour that a cat might demonstrate when stressed would be: over-grooming, usually in easily accessible places like the belly.  Hiding is another form of behaviour that indicates a cat is stressed.  Incidentally, every cat needs a place to hide so the owner of the cat should ensure that such a place exists in the household.  In addition it is useful even necessary to have some vertical spaces meaning places that a cat can climb to, to feel secure.  Height brings security.

A stressed cat might also engage in inappropriate elimination.  There are many reasons for inappropriate elimination and one of them could be a feeling of insecurity and the need to mark territory either through spraying or even defecation.

A stressed cat might also become irritable and more aggressive than usual.  The form of aggression would probably be defensive aggression because the cat would feel a need to be defensive in what would seem to the cat to be a hostile environment or at least an environment that was not calm or secure.

I suppose, a stressed cat might decide to leave.  It is not uncommon for a cat to leave the family home and find another home that feels better.  Sometimes cats which are what I call time-share cats (sharing more than one home) eventually decide to stay at one home which may not be the original home.

A cat who is subservient to another in a household without a secure place to go to will be stressed. Problems can occur at feeding stations and at cat litter trays.

Stress can lead to ill-health. Cats at shelters are exposed to stress and contagious diseases.

The above are some initial thoughts on the matter which I have written about without reference to any web page or book.  You might like to add to the list if you have time to comment.

Feline Cystitis Warning

There should be a warning about feline cystitis and its association with stress. What I mean is we should look at stress in our cat if she has cystitis. Cystitis is a feline urinary tract disease and Urinary Tract Infections (UTI) are one the most common feline diseases. It makes you think actually because there may be more stress problems in the domestic cat than we think. We know that cats don't openly show their distress. Our cat can't communicate with us on the issue of stress. We have to look for signs. One possible sign is cystitis. It might not be the only cause - another could be a diet of dry cat food - but being sensitive to the possibility that your cat might be stressed should be a consideration.

It appears that stress aggravates symptoms of cystitis rather than being a single direct cause. A scientific study by Cameron and associates in 2004 found that "several stress factors were found to be associated with FIC" (feline idiopathic cystitis -- cystitis with no obvious cause). It was concluded that the outstanding stressor or stress factor was a cat living with another cat or cats with which there was some form of conflict. People managing multi-cat households should probably look at how their cats get on and whether anything can be done to alleviate compatibility problems between cats. Also the "lack of adequate provision for normal feline behaviors" should be assessed¹. In multi-cat households there may be competition for litter trays, food and water. The competition should be reduced because someone is losing the competition regularly. Also if a cat has limited access to water due to the presence of a dominant cat the submissive cat may develop a UTI. A safe area for submissive cats might help.

On a personal level my experience informs me that another stress factor can be separation anxiety for a single cat whose only companion is the human caretaker. This does not have to be for long individual periods of separation. To put that in different terms, a cat left alone all day, every weekday, in a flat while the owner goes out to make a living and comes back late having left early can cause stress. Day after day of that may greatly exacerbate urinary tract problems leading to cystitis.

Normally, you won't know your cat is stressed until you see spots of bloody urine on the carpet in the corners. This form of inappropriate elimination can be caused by your cat forming an association between the pain of urination and the litter tray driving her to go elsewhere. Or perhaps and in addition your cat simply has to go anywhere. Cystitis creates a strong urge to go to the toilet.

You might be able to detect stress through separation anxiety by the behavior of your cat on your return. Was she by the front door when you opened it?  Sometimes cat with FIC will over-groom in the area of the lower abdomen and thighs. This is probably due to the discomfort felt in those areas.

Note: 1 page 111 The Welfare of Cats ISBN 978-1-4020-6143-1 - excellent book. Buy it on Amazon for the best price.

Cat Health And Stress

Reducing a cat's stress as a way of improving health has not been adequately recognised and tackled. Stress reduction is an important part of medical treatment. This is something that is well recognized in people.

Stress can affect a cat's immune response and therefore the cat is more likely to develop a disease. Once infected, stress can prolong the disease. One aspect of a cat's daily life that can cause stress is being forced into close proximity with other cats that the cat does not want to be close to. This can happen in multi-cat households where the person introduces new cats rather than the cats being related. The person chooses the cat's companions rather than the cat choosing them (as happens naturally in feral cat colonies).

Short-term stress increases the hormone cortisol, which does not reduce the effectiveness of the immune system. The problem is long term stress resulting in long term release of hormones such as cortisol and cytokines.

One disease is repeatedly mentioned as being exacerbated or caused by stress: idiopathic feline lower urinary tract disease (e.g. cystitis). "Idiopathic" means arising for an apparently unknown reason. The well discussed "inappropriate elimination" (not using the litter box but going somewhere inappropriate to the human) can be caused by stress.

Stress can also exacerbate disease through a loss of appetite and poor diet.

In places where cats are thrust together such as multi-cat households, catteries, shelters etc. paying attention to "social stress" can have a positive effect on the welfare of the cats. The domestic cat has learned to be a social animal. Many domestic cats are thoroughly in tune with idea of living in groups and socialising. However cats are individuals and some cats will not wish to socialise. These cats might become stressed if forced to socialise for the long term with little means to escape.

When there is an outbreak of a disease in a multi-cat establishment, one long term strategy should be to look at the reduction of stressors through reorganising the social groups and by making environmental changes.

Associated: Stressed Rescued Cats