Your data on MRCVSonline
The nature of the services provided by Vision Media means that we might obtain certain information about you.
Please read our Data Protection and Privacy Policy for details.

In addition, (with your consent) some parts of our website may store a 'cookie' in your browser for the purposes of
functionality or performance monitoring.
Click here to manage your settings.
EmailIphone Application    Posted: 8th October 2014
If you would like to forward this story on to a friend, simply fill in the form below and click send.
Your friend's email:
Your email:
Your name:
 
 
Send Cancel

Cats adapt their behaviour to suit 21st century life
cat
The research aims to find out more about the way cats deal with sharing territory and challenges in their environment.
Research by the BBC and RVC finds cats are evolving

Cats are changing their behaviour to adapt to life in the 21st century, according to research by the BBC and Royal Veterinary College (RVC).

A new three-part BBC Two Horizon programme, Cat Watch 2014, aired for the first time on October 7. Reporting on the programme, the BBC says cats are learning to time-share territories with other cats, communicate better with their owners and kill less prey.

Richard Harvey, a PhD student at the RVC's Structure and Motion Laboratory, said: "It was really eye-opening to see the effect our cramped urban environments are having on the domestic cat, not only in terms of their reduced territory and ranging behaviour, but also on the occurrence of conflicts between cats forced to share ranges with multiple others."

The series compares the habits of city cats, farm cats and village cats in a bid to find out more about the way they deal with sharing territory and challenges in their environment.

"It was just incredible to see how different they were," said Mr Harvey. "The biggest difference was between the farm cats and the city cats. It was striking just how far the farm cats would travel and the areas they would cover compared to the relatively tiny distances the majority of the city cats covered."

For the research, the RVC used miniature versions of tracking collars designed to observe hunting behaviour in cheetahs, lions and leopards in South Africa. The adapted collars were attached to 100 cats for the college's latest research.

Mr Harvey added: "GPS collars designed and built by the RVC were used to interface with and trigger the ‘cat cam’ cameras, allowing us to capture some ground breaking footage of cat behaviour and interactions from previously unseen perspectives."

The final episode of Cat Watch 2014 will air tonight (Thursday, October 9). It will be shown on BBC Two at 8pm. The first two episodes are available on BBC iPlayer.

Become a member or log in to add this story to your CPD history

Birmingham Dogs Home makes urgent appeal

News Story 1
 Birmingham Dogs Home has issued an urgent winter appeal as it faces more challenges over the Christmas period.

The rescue centre has seen a dramatic increase in dogs coming into its care, and is currently caring for over 200 dogs. With rising costs and dropping temperatures, the charity is calling for urgent support.

It costs the charity £6,000 per day to continue its work.

Fi Harrison, head of fundraising and communications, said: "It's heart-breaking for our team to see the conditions some dogs arrive in. We really are their last chance and hope of survival."

More information about the appeal can be found here. 

Click here for more...
News Shorts
Avian flu confirmed at premises in Cornwall

A case of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 has been detected in commercial poultry at a premises near Rosudgeon, Cornwall.

All poultry on the infected site will be humanely culled, and a 3km protection zone and 10km surveillance zone have been put in place. Poultry and other captive birds in the 3km protection zone must be housed.

The case is the second avian flu case confirmed in commercial poultry this month. The H5N5 strain was detected in a premises near Hornsea, East Riding of Yorkshire, in early November. Before then, the disease had not been confirmed in captive birds in England since February.

The UK chief veterinary officer has urged bird keepers to remain alert and practise robust biosecurity.

A map of the disease control zones can be found here.