Purrfect Project: Dartmouth teen unravels some of the mysteries of cat behavior
Cats are mysterious beasts and much harder to fathom than dogs love me.
While volunteering at the Dartmouth NS SPCA, Jemma McKinnon, a 15-year-old high school student, became curious about what kind of interactions cats and humans prefer.
“I noticed that sometimes when I interacted with the cats I had a really positive interaction and they were very friendly and sometimes they didn’t react the same way,” she said in a recent interview. “So I wanted to find the best way for people to interact with cats that was beneficial for the cats and also for the people.”
She previously looked up research into animal behavior and devised a method for collecting data. Her grandmother, who was a nurse, offered a stethoscope and McKinnon went to work.
For a month, she recorded her and a cat’s heart rate before and after using each of three different techniques: petting them around the cage, taking them outside to cuddle, or talking to them in their cages.
Drum roll please…
McKinnon has since tabulated the results and submitted them to the SPCA. She found that the best, most calming interaction was different for both species.
“I found that the cats’ heart rate would drop the most if they just stayed in their cage and were petted by people,” McKinnon said, adding that her heart rate would drop the most if she picked up the cats and cuddled them.
Cats’ heart rates went up the most during cuddle sessions and also increased when they were spoken to, but not as much, McKinnon said.
In terms of co-regulation, petting through the cage was most beneficial to both species, she added.
Useful information
McKinnon said she hopes her research project will help people who work or visit shelters understand the best ways to interact with cats.
“One hundred percent it will help,” said Jen Welshman, deputy director of veterinary education at Nova Scotia SPCA’s College of Animal Welfare. “We all just assume and we definitely want to cuddle everything, (but) cats are definitely more independent than dogs.”
She said she wasn’t too surprised with the results.
“But I loved that the experiment was done so we have something tangible. I’ve never heard of anything like it, so I’m going to include it in my curriculum.”
The Animal Welfare Board, which will open in 2021, will train veterinary assistants.
Expansion of research into domestic cats
McKinnon, who said she has her eye on a career in the veterinary field, said she would like to expand her research by studying domestic cats.
But there is only one problem.
“Unfortunately I don’t have cats in the house, my parents are allergic and so am I,” she said. “I love them so much, I just have to suffer through it.”
