ABSTRACT:
The objective of the present study was to know the profile of Brazilian cat owners and their perceptions of responsible ownership and the veterinary care environment. The application of a semi-structured online questionnaire investigating the owner’s socioeconomic level and perception of knowledge concerning health care and history of medical-veterinary care of their cats using the snowball method. A total of 5,213 participants were included, of which: 93% were women, 52% were single and lived in urban areas (96%). Fifty nine per cent of the owners answered that their cat is taken to the veterinary care service only when it shows a clinical sign and 65% of them feel anxious when they need to take their cats to the vet. Only 1% of the owner did not consider the cat as a family member. Concerning the veterinary care scenario, 40% of the owners answered that at least once, that their cat(s) had been handled inappropriately by veterinary service professionals, and they believed that low affinity with the species and excessive restraint were the main causes for this misconduct. Around 40% of the owners had already changed their veterinarian because of this inappropriate interaction/handling. Conclusion and relevancethe data presented point to the importance of implementing and improving friendly and gentle care practices with cats and their owners.
Key words:
care; cat owners; health; behavior; cat friendly practices
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