Interpretation of ambiguous spatial stimuli in cats
Publication Type: |
Journal Article |
Year of Publication: |
2011 |
Authors: |
Tami, G.; Torre, C.; Compagnucci, M.; Manteca, X. |
Publication/Journal: |
Animal Welfare |
Keywords: |
*cognitive bias, animal welfare, cat, cat cognition, interpretation of ambiguous stimuli, spatial location |
Abstract:
The aim of this paper was to develop a protocol to study the interpretation of ambiguous stimuli in cats as a measure of welfare. Ten cats were trained to discriminate between a rewarded position (R) and an unrewarded one (U), as measured by the approach latency for each position. After discrimination, they were exposed to three ambiguous unrewarded positions (R-near, R/U-equidistant, U-near) distributed at intermediate points between R and U. Approach latency increased as increasing the distance from the rewarded position: latencies to approach R and R-near were significantly shorter than for R/U-equidistant, U-near and U. This protocol should be further studied to assess its effectiveness in highlighting differences according to the welfare level of individual cats.