Object play in the adult domestic cat (Felix silvestris catus)
Object play in the adult domestic cat (Felix silvestris catus)
The internal and external stimuli which influence the performance of object play are examined with the aim of determining the role of object play in the behavioural repertoire of the adult cat. Three groups of cats were used, two which had no hunting experience (colony cats) and one which had had regular access to live prey (household pets).
The most important classes of external stimuli for eliciting object play were size, texture and movement. The most intensive play was elicited by toys of small size (7x5x1cm), which were moving, and covered in real deer fur, feathers, or fakefur. The main internal factors examined were hunger and habituation. Cats deprived of food for 16 hours showed an increase in close contact, 'killing' behaviour patterns, towards a small toy, and an increase in exploratory behaviour towards a medium (12x7x2cm) toy.
The performance of play was shown to stop primarily as a result of increasing habituation to unchanging toy stimuli, and only slightly due to a general decrease in motivation for playing, although these were both affected by the length of time over which habituation occurred. Play inhibited by habituation could be disinhibited by a change to a toy with contrasting stimuli. The combination of rapid, strong habituation followed by a contrasting toy of high sensory value produced a strong post-inhibitory rebound in play, in which play was more intensive than it had been initially.
No clear or characteristic change in frequency of any behaviour patterns could be detected that would characterise the end of a play bout. However, it was possible to relate the degree of elaboration and repetition of behaviour patterns to the cat's motivation level.
The similarity of internal causation and structure between non-hunting adult cat object play and predation supports the hypothesis that the two share the same motivational basis, and that object play may be more correctly classified with predation than with play per se.
University of Southampton
Hall, Sarah Louise
5f4084b7-abaf-44da-a747-1b21ea431e52
1995
Hall, Sarah Louise
5f4084b7-abaf-44da-a747-1b21ea431e52
Hall, Sarah Louise
(1995)
Object play in the adult domestic cat (Felix silvestris catus).
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
The internal and external stimuli which influence the performance of object play are examined with the aim of determining the role of object play in the behavioural repertoire of the adult cat. Three groups of cats were used, two which had no hunting experience (colony cats) and one which had had regular access to live prey (household pets).
The most important classes of external stimuli for eliciting object play were size, texture and movement. The most intensive play was elicited by toys of small size (7x5x1cm), which were moving, and covered in real deer fur, feathers, or fakefur. The main internal factors examined were hunger and habituation. Cats deprived of food for 16 hours showed an increase in close contact, 'killing' behaviour patterns, towards a small toy, and an increase in exploratory behaviour towards a medium (12x7x2cm) toy.
The performance of play was shown to stop primarily as a result of increasing habituation to unchanging toy stimuli, and only slightly due to a general decrease in motivation for playing, although these were both affected by the length of time over which habituation occurred. Play inhibited by habituation could be disinhibited by a change to a toy with contrasting stimuli. The combination of rapid, strong habituation followed by a contrasting toy of high sensory value produced a strong post-inhibitory rebound in play, in which play was more intensive than it had been initially.
No clear or characteristic change in frequency of any behaviour patterns could be detected that would characterise the end of a play bout. However, it was possible to relate the degree of elaboration and repetition of behaviour patterns to the cat's motivation level.
The similarity of internal causation and structure between non-hunting adult cat object play and predation supports the hypothesis that the two share the same motivational basis, and that object play may be more correctly classified with predation than with play per se.
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Published date: 1995
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Local EPrints ID: 459217
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/459217
PURE UUID: 87aceeec-4eee-4d35-91dc-27e9b6ad72b8
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 17:06
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 18:28
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Author:
Sarah Louise Hall
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