Animal Welfare Professionals

Maddie's Insights webinars are back! 

Join us on the second Thursday every month for a series on the latest research in animal well-being and how you can use the findings in your shelter and community.

This webinar was recorded on 9/14/23.  

WATCH THE RECORDING and take a quiz to earn continuing education credit

Social Behavior and Implications for Bonded Pairs in Group-Housed Shelter Cats
Dr. Malini Suchak, Professor & Chair, Animal Behavior, Ecology, and Conservation, Canisius College

Little is known about the social behavior of cats living in group housing at shelters. In a series of studies, the presenter recorded all of the social behavior occurring between cats living in group housing and compared cats who were introduced at the shelter versus those who were surrendered together. Dr. Suchak and her team then followed up by specifically examining social behavior between cats who were labeled as bonded pairs or adopted together. Cats who were labeled as bonded pairs had a longer time to adoption, but the relationship between this designation and social behavior was weak. Recommendations will be provided for identifying bonded pairs.

These one-hour webinars will be recorded and have been pre-approved for 1.0 Certified Animal Welfare Administrator continuing education credits by The Association for Animal Welfare Advancement and by the National Animal Care & Control Association.

These webcasts have also been submitted for approval for 1 hour of continuing education credit in jurisdictions which recognize Registry of Approved Continuing Education (RACE) approval.

Maddie's Fund does not share registration information. The presentations will be recorded, so register even if you cannot attend live - you'll be sent the on-demand recording link.

About the presenter

Malini Suchak, PhD
Chair, Animal Behavior, Ecology and Conservation
Canisius University

Malini Suchak, PhD is an award-winning professor of animal behavior, animal cognition (how animals think and make decisions) and animal wellbeing at Canisius University in Buffalo, NY.  Her research explores how nonhuman animals think about other individuals in their social group and make decisions about their social relationships. She previously worked with chimpanzees and capuchin monkeys, and currently explores these questions in companion animals like cats and dogs. She is particularly fascinated with how companion animals navigate a multi-species world, interacting with others of their own kind, other pets, and their human companions. Dr. Suchak also looks at how social interactions with others can impact an individual's welfare, such as the impact of group housing on cats living in animal shelters. Cats are not known for being the most social creatures, so it is important to understand the impact of different housing systems on their well being. Dr. Suchak and her research team routinely present the results of their research at local and international conferences and have published numerous papers on this topic in peer-reviewed journals.

#Behavior,TrainingandEnrichment
#Conferences,WorkshopsandWebcasts
#EducationandTraining

------------------------------
alison gibson
Senior Media Specialist
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Hello Dr. Suchak (@Malini Suchak),

Thank you for this most interesting presentation!  We alas ran out of time to get to all of the questions that were asked during the webcast.  Here are the three that we didn't get to:

1. Do you have any recommended studies/resources regarding hoarding cats in shelters? I'd love to use it to help house our hoarding cats more appropriately to decrease FAS. (Sorry it's a little off topic!)

------------------------------
Alison Gibson
Media Projects Manager
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Oh great questions!

1. I love the fact that you are asking about hoarding cats! Unfortunately they are woefully understudied, but we did look at them when we were doing a study on enrichment use. The things I've noticed is that they do need more space than people realize (as I mentioned during the talk), they tend to use vertical space (towers, shelves, perches) more than owner surrendered cats, and they also use hiding spaces (including partially hidden spaces like crates and boxes) more as well. Basically, I think they really make the most of the space and resources they are given, which is not surprising given the environment they came from.
2. Interspecies bonding is so interesting! Just anecdotally, my cousin recently adopted a horse that came with a barn cat. They do seem bonded! So much so that the person giving away the horse also gave away their only barn cat because they didn't want to separate them. In my work we haven't really seen that because the shelter is so segregated by species, but it certainly seems to happen! (Of course, cat-human bonding is also interspecies bonding, so we probably shouldn't be surprised) 
3. Such an interesting question. Anecdotally yes. I think this can happen when one cat kind of follows around another cat and seems really attached, but the other cat could kind of take it or leave it. And I've definitely seen cases like that where if you separated them, one cat would be in distress but the other wouldn't. I haven't seen this in my research, but I don't know that the metrics I use would pick that up. But it is a really interesting question. One thing I have seen loads of (both in cats and other species) is one directional play. Like one individual is clearly playing, but the other individual is not enjoying themselves nearly as much. Which I always find super interesting from a behavioral standpoint. 

------------------------------
Malini Suchak
Assoc Prof
Canisius College
NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-14-2023 01:29 PM
From: Alison Gibson
Subject: Maddie's Insights Webinar: Social Behavior and Implications for Bonded Pairs in Group-Housed Shelter Cats

Hello Dr. Suchak (@Malini Suchak),

Thank you for this most interesting presentation!  We alas ran out of time to get to all of the questions that were asked during the webcast.  Here are the three that we didn't get to:

1. Do you have any recommended studies/resources regarding hoarding cats in shelters? I'd love to use it to help house our hoarding cats more appropriately to decrease FAS. (Sorry it's a little off topic!)

2. Any interspecies bonding? Like cat with dog? Cat with rabbit? etc.

3. Have you seen any evidence of a one-sided bond?

Thank you again for your time and expertise.

Alison

------------------------------
Alison Gibson
Media Projects Manager
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Thank you, Dr. Suchak for your quick reply.  Love the story about the horse and the barn cat being inseparable.  And so interesting about the hoarded cats preferring vertical space - great tip for shelters who need to house them. 

------------------------------
Alison Gibson
Media Projects Manager
Maddie's Fund
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-14-2023 01:47 PM
From: Malini Suchak
Subject: Maddie's Insights Webinar: Social Behavior and Implications for Bonded Pairs in Group-Housed Shelter Cats

Oh great questions!

1. I love the fact that you are asking about hoarding cats! Unfortunately they are woefully understudied, but we did look at them when we were doing a study on enrichment use. The things I've noticed is that they do need more space than people realize (as I mentioned during the talk), they tend to use vertical space (towers, shelves, perches) more than owner surrendered cats, and they also use hiding spaces (including partially hidden spaces like crates and boxes) more as well. Basically, I think they really make the most of the space and resources they are given, which is not surprising given the environment they came from.
2. Interspecies bonding is so interesting! Just anecdotally, my cousin recently adopted a horse that came with a barn cat. They do seem bonded! So much so that the person giving away the horse also gave away their only barn cat because they didn't want to separate them. In my work we haven't really seen that because the shelter is so segregated by species, but it certainly seems to happen! (Of course, cat-human bonding is also interspecies bonding, so we probably shouldn't be surprised) 
3. Such an interesting question. Anecdotally yes. I think this can happen when one cat kind of follows around another cat and seems really attached, but the other cat could kind of take it or leave it. And I've definitely seen cases like that where if you separated them, one cat would be in distress but the other wouldn't. I haven't seen this in my research, but I don't know that the metrics I use would pick that up. But it is a really interesting question. One thing I have seen loads of (both in cats and other species) is one directional play. Like one individual is clearly playing, but the other individual is not enjoying themselves nearly as much. Which I always find super interesting from a behavioral standpoint. 

------------------------------
Malini Suchak
Assoc Prof
Canisius College
NY
------------------------------


Original Message:
Sent: 09-14-2023 01:29 PM
From: Alison Gibson
Subject: Maddie's Insights Webinar: Social Behavior and Implications for Bonded Pairs in Group-Housed Shelter Cats

Hello Dr. Suchak (@Malini Suchak),

Thank you for this most interesting presentation!  We alas ran out of time to get to all of the questions that were asked during the webcast.  Here are the three that we didn't get to:

1. Do you have any recommended studies/resources regarding hoarding cats in shelters? I'd love to use it to help house our hoarding cats more appropriately to decrease FAS. (Sorry it's a little off topic!)

2. Any interspecies bonding? Like cat with dog? Cat with rabbit? etc.

3. Have you seen any evidence of a one-sided bond?

Thank you again for your time and expertise.

Alison

------------------------------
Alison Gibson
Media Projects Manager
Maddie's Fund

Very informative presentation that I will share with our shelter staff. So often people assume any two cats that come in together are bonded!

------------------------------
Pamela Adelmann
------------------------------

Thank you, Pamela. Glad it was useful!

------------------------------
Malini Suchak
Prof
Canisius College
NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 09-29-2023 05:04 AM
From: Pamela Adelmann
Subject: Maddie's Insights Webinar: Social Behavior and Implications for Bonded Pairs in Group-Housed Shelter Cats

Very informative presentation that I will share with our shelter staff. So often people assume any two cats that come in together are bonded!

------------------------------
Pamela Adelmann
------------------------------

Thank you for studying this important topic! I really enjoyed the presentation. :)

Could secure attachments (and potentially bondedness) explain why so many of the bonded cats were comfortable socializing with other cats in the group space? Would this be in favor of bonding rather than an argument against the notion that they were genuinely bonded? I.e. Cats who are securely attached and bonded may feel more empowered to explore their environment and socialize with others because their secure attachment is present.  

------------------------------
Heather Kalman (she/her), CPDT-KA, SBA, ABCDT
Research and Development Data Coordinator
American Pets Alive!, Human Animal Support Services
FL
------------------------------

Thanks for the question!

So, it wouldn't be considered "bonded" to associate with a lot of different cats, because bonding is a measure of relationship quality and should be pair-specific. I think in terms of your point about secure attachments, perhaps yes that would make them more comfortable, although I suspect the shelter setting disrupts established attachments quite a bit. I've also thought along similar lines that perhaps it is more a measure of boldness (bold = more comfortable around others). But I'm really not exactly sure what is driving the behavior of these very social cats who just seem to hang around a lot with other cats! 

------------------------------
Malini Suchak
Assoc Prof
Canisius College
NY
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11-06-2023 06:47 AM
From: Heather Kalman (she/her)
Subject: Maddie's Insights Webinar: Social Behavior and Implications for Bonded Pairs in Group-Housed Shelter Cats

Thank you for studying this important topic! I really enjoyed the presentation. :)

Could secure attachments (and potentially bondedness) explain why so many of the bonded cats were comfortable socializing with other cats in the group space? Would this be in favor of bonding rather than an argument against the notion that they were genuinely bonded? I.e. Cats who are securely attached and bonded may feel more empowered to explore their environment and socialize with others because their secure attachment is present.  

------------------------------
Heather Kalman (she/her), CPDT-KA, SBA, ABCDT
Research and Development Data Coordinator
American Pets Alive!, Human Animal Support Services
FL
------------------------------