Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

Cats are the most common companion animal in Sweden and since the 20th century the interest for cat breeding has increased. Previous research has highlighted the importance of weaning age in kittens to prevent the development of unwanted behavior in their adult life. However, like in many other aspects of society, the female’s perspective have been overlooked.
Weaning is a changing point in every young mammal's life, and defines the time when the offspring is ready to leave its mother to live on its own. According to Swedish animal protection regulations the kittens have to stay with their mother until they are a minimum of 12 weeks of age. But recent research has found that kittens who stay with their mother until 14 weeks of age have a lower probability to show unwanted behaviours such as aggression and excessive grooming. As a result FIFe (Fédération Internationale Féline) introduced a new regulation in 2023 mandating that breeders keep their kittens until a minimum of 14 weeks of age. SVERAK (The Swedish Cat Association), a member of FIFe, therefore implemented this rule for Swedish breeders. However, no studies have looked at how the prolonged weeks affect the mother cat's well-being.
This study aimed to investigate how the mother cat is affected by having to live with her kittens for two weeks longer. A survey was therefore created in Netigate and distributed to Swedish breeders within SVERAK who had experience of breeding litters both before and after the new regulation was introduced. The purpose of the survey was to map the Swedish breeders' experiences of the new rule and how they felt it affected the mother cat. A few questions also targeted the breeders' attitudes towards the regulation and the effects on the kittens' welfare.
The data collected from the study offer insights into the impact of the 14-week weaning rule. It is clear that the rule has sparked debate and the Swedish breeders can be divided into those who expressed a preference for returning to selling their kittens when they are at least 12 weeks of age and those who appreciate and support the new regulation. Furthermore the result supports previous research suggesting that kittens may show less unwanted behavior when staying with their mother until 14 weeks of age. However, the results showed that the breeders experience that the mother cat is affected by the change as a notable number of breeders reported stress-related behaviors and aggression in the mother cat. The results also indicate differences in breeds and call for continued research into potential breed-specific differences in weaning. These findings highlight a need for further research about the optimal weaning time to keep developing a sustainable breeding model where not only the kittens but also the mother cat's welfare is taken into account.