Elsevier

Journal of Veterinary Behavior

Volume 8, Issue 4, July–August 2013, Pages 189-194
Journal of Veterinary Behavior

Research
Daily rhythm of total activity pattern in domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) maintained in two different housing conditions

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jveb.2012.09.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Housing conditions and human presence have been shown to have an influence on daily amount of activity in herbivores. Only few studies on the behavior of cats and interactions between cat and human were conducted, and these few works are referred to cats housed in laboratories. At the same way, only few and conflicting reports about the presence of circadian rhythms in cats are present. In view of this incomplete literature, the main aim of our study was to investigate the influence of different housing conditions on daily rhythm of total locomotor activity (TLA) in cats.

For this purpose, 10 clinically healthy adult domestic cats were used. They were divided into 2 equal groups living with their owner in their home. Group A lived in 80-100 m2 house and had free daily access to 20-40 m2 garden from 08:00 to 9:00. Group B lived in 200-250 m2 house, had free access to 2000-2500 m2 garden all day, and from 21:00 to 08:00 they were kept outside. Our results showed that in group A, that live in strong symbiosis with owners respect to group B, the amount of activity was higher during the photophase. This supporting the view that domestic cats adapt their lifestyle with their owners. Group B exhibited the highest level of locomotor activity during the scotophase. Moreover, a robust daily rhythmicity of TLA was observed in group B; on the contrary, in group A, TLA showed no daily rhythmicity. Our findings underline the high influence of human presence and care on the amount of activity and daily rhythm in cats.

Introduction

For survival, it is important for all animals to maintain internal equilibrium. The competing demands of life, including eating, sleeping, avoiding predators, and finding mates, require that physiological processes are temporally adjusted to occur at optimal times. Also, this need occurs at the level of individual body cells as they too must partition the timing of anabolic and catabolic functions. Understanding of the temporal tuning of this system leapt forward with studies of the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus. The SCN, viewed as the master circadian clock in the brain, was first discovered in 1972. At that time, the importance of photic input in setting the phase of the brain clock and the role of the SCN in regulating circadian rhythmicity in locomotor activity were described (Moore and Lenn, 1972; Stephan and Zucker, 1972). The light/dark (L/D) cycle is recognized as the most potent cue for circadian entrainment in most organisms. Light acutely suppresses locomotor activity in some mammals but promotes activity in others; therefore, in relation to L/D cycle, some animals such as dogs and eagles are clearly diurnal (day active), whereas other animals such as rat and ewes are equally clearly nocturnal (night active) (Refinetti, 2008). The distinction between diurnal or nocturnal animals is not always clear. There is evidence against a simple diurnal–nocturnal dichotomy that includes the existence of species with individuals that spontaneously shift from nocturnal to a diurnal activity pattern. Shift in activity has been observed in degu (Octodon degus), where diurnal activity was shifted to nocturnal activity when they were given unrestricted access to a running wheel (Kas and Edgar, 1999). Another study demonstrated a shift in activity in the normally diurnal golden spiny mouse (Acomys russatus), which became nocturnal when a competitor, the nocturnal common spiny mouse (Acomys cahirinus), was removed from the area inhabited sympatrically (Shkolnik, 1971).

Species have different patterns under the effects of different environmental variables such as administration of food and sharing of the habitat with other animals or humans. Daily patterns of total locomotor activity (TLA) including different behaviors, such as feeding, drinking, walking, grooming, playing as well as all conscious and unconscious movements, have been described well in various species (Gill, 1991; Refinetti, 2006; Piccione et al., 2008a, Piccione et al., 2008b; Piccione et al., 2010a; Piccione et al., 2011a; Scheibe et al., 1999). In herbivores, it was shown that the amount of activity may be influenced by L/D schedules (Piccione et al., 2012), season (Piccione et al., 2008a), physical differences (Piccione et al., 2011a), as well as by housing conditions (Piccione et al., 2011b) and food availability (Piccione et al., 2010b, Piccione et al., 2011b).

Activity patterns of carnivores are influenced by different factors, like environmental temperature variations (Schmidt-Nielsen, 1983), interaction with competitors (Carothers and Jaksic, 1984), social behavior (Ewer, 1973), food availability (Boulos and Terman, 1980; Zielinski, 1988), and the own activity cycle of prey (Zielinski, 1988).

In cats, most of the literatures on rhythms concern on sleep/wake cycles (Kuwabara et al., 1986), but for general activity, there are only few reports referred to cats housed in laboratories. Some of these report the presence of circadian rhythms (Kuwabara et al., 1986), and others provide evidence and assertion that this species does not exhibit circadian organization (Randall et al., 1985; Kuwabara et al., 1986). In the past, the activity pattern of the cat has been described as diurnal (Szymanski, 1919), nocturnal (Macdonald and Apps, 1978), and crepuscular (Kavanau, 1971). In cats, studies have been mainly limited to 24-48–hour period of observation. The short-term records following short-term laboratory adaptation probably are the cause of reported findings not entirely in agreement. In recent years, emphasis has been placed on remote sensing of physiological parameters to obtain data that are of maximal relevance for animals in its natural physiological state.

On the basis of this knowledge, the aim of our study was to investigate the influence of different housing conditions on daily rhythm of TLA in domestic cats.

Section snippets

Animal and housing

Ten clinically healthy adult domestic cats of different breed (European, Siamese, and Persian; 4-6 years old; mean body weight, 4.5 ± 0.30 kg) were used in our study carried out in Messina, Italy (latitude: 38°, 26' and longitude: 15°, 59') during summer season (sunrise at 05:00 hours and sunset at 21:00 hours). All animals were enrolled in the study after the written consent of the owners following the Italian regulation D.L. 116/1992. Before the study, complete clinical examinations were

Results

Visual inspection of actograms showed a mainly diurnal activity in group A, and the amount of activity was higher during the photophase than during the scotophase. On the contrary, group B exhibited the highest level of locomotor activity during the scotophase than the photophase (Figure 1). These data were confirmed by the application of a paired Student t test that showed statistical difference between photophase and scotophase in group A (t9 = 3.74; P < 0.001) and B (t9 = 6.59; P < 0.0001).

Discussion

Our results showed high influence of human presence and care on the amount of activity in cats. In all experimental periods, the total amount of activity was mainly diurnal in group A; on the contrary, it was nocturnal in group B. Visual inspection of actograms showed that the amount of activity in group A was related with the owners' schedules: when the owners were out (e.g., at work), the amount of activity of cats was lower compared with when the owners were at home and involved in the care

Conclusion

The results of this research underline how domestic cats that live in close relationship with human adapt their lifestyle with their owner, supporting the views of previous studies discussing the impact of captivity and human influence on rhythm parameters of domestic animals.

References (35)

  • J.H. Carothers et al.

    Time as a niche difference: the role of interference competition

    Oikos

    (1984)
  • Dards, J., 1979. The lation ecology of feral cats (Felis catus L.) in portsmouth dockyard. Unpublished dopopuctoral...
  • R.F. Ewer

    The Carnivores

    (1973)
  • M.J.H. Kas et al.

    A nonphotic stimulus inverts the diurnal-nocturnal phase reference in Octodon degus

    J. Neurosci.

    (1999)
  • J. Kavanau

    Locomotor and activity phasing of some medium-sized mammals

    J. Mammal.

    (1971)
  • D.W. Macdonald et al.

    The social behaviour of a group of semi-dependent farm cats, Felis catus: a progress report

    Carnivore Genet. Newsl.

    (1978)
  • T.M. Mann et al.

    A novel method for activity monitoring in small non-human primates

    Lab. Anim.

    (2005)
  • Cited by (30)

    • Role of light/dark schedules on daily pattern of total locomotor activity in wild and domestic felids

      2022, Journal of Veterinary Behavior
      Citation Excerpt :

      Others reported that it showed a circadian fluctuation, with a bimodal pattern displaying activity peaks during dawn and dusk (Kuwabara et al. 1986). Others identified this ambiguity in the adaptability of cats to a prey presence (Randall et al. 1987) or to their ability to adapt to the housing conditions and owner's habits (Piccione et al. 2013). The application of constant light conditions did not disrupt the daily rhythm of total locomotor activity, showing its endogenous generation.

    • Association of age and body condition with physical activity of domestic cats (Felis catus)

      2022, Applied Animal Behaviour Science
      Citation Excerpt :

      Similar activity peaks have been reported in the same cat colony (Andrews et al., 2015), which may be due in part to human presence. Piccione et al. (2013) reported that human presence had a high influence on PA in housed pet cats, with a higher activity when owners were present. While the high PA peak between 07:00 and 13:00 h can be explained by the presence of caretakers and interaction between the caretakers and cats, this does not explain the PA peak identified between 17:00 and 22:00 h when no human interaction occurred.

    • Interspecies comparison of daily total locomotor activity between maned wolves (Chrysocyon brachyurus) and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) maintained in captivity

      2021, Journal of Veterinary Behavior
      Citation Excerpt :

      In domestic cats, we previously observed an adaptation of their lifestyle with owners' lifestyle with respect to daily activity. When cats live in symbiosis with owners induces a change of their behavior from nocturnal to diurnal (Piccione et al., 2013b). In dogs maintained in two different habitats, we observed an effect of environment and of owner's presence on activity rhythms (Piccione 2013a).

    • Effect of the presence of a person known to the cats on the feeding behavior and placement of feeders of a domestic cat colony

      2016, Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research
      Citation Excerpt :

      This finding indicates “dominant animals” identified as specified here, cannot monopolize all types of situations or activities, a conclusion corroborated by a study conducted by Durr and Smith (1997). The behavior of a species depends on the environmental variables, such as the food supply and the sharing of available resources (with other animals and humans) (Piccione et al., 2013). When cats and humans coexist in the same environment, this relationship affects both parties (Bradshaw et al., 2012).

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text