Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study.
Scratching the environment is a natural behaviour that cats use for communication and physical maintenance purposes, however when it is carried out on household furniture it is considered unacceptable for some owners and even grounds for relinquishment of cats. The objective of this study was to inv...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2023-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292188&type=printable |
| _version_ | 1797649546624368640 |
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| author | Joana Soares Pereira Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas Laurianne Meppiel Sarah Endersby Gonçalo da Graça Pereira Xavier De Jaeger |
| author_facet | Joana Soares Pereira Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas Laurianne Meppiel Sarah Endersby Gonçalo da Graça Pereira Xavier De Jaeger |
| author_sort | Joana Soares Pereira |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Scratching the environment is a natural behaviour that cats use for communication and physical maintenance purposes, however when it is carried out on household furniture it is considered unacceptable for some owners and even grounds for relinquishment of cats. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of FELIWAY® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching (scratching vertical surfaces indoors other than the scratching post) in cats. A 28 day, randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study with a total of 1060 caregiver-cat dyads was conducted. The study contained two groups: the Pheromone Group consisted of caregivers who were given a pheromone diffuser (n = 546) and the Placebo Group consisted of caregivers who were given a placebo diffuser (n = 514). A questionnaire with three subsections was distributed online. The first section, completed by the respondents at day 0, inquired about the cats' daily routines, social and physical environments, behaviour, temperament, and emotional states. The second section filled on day 0, 7, 14, and 28, assessed the Frequency and the Intensity of the undesirable scratching problem and the effectiveness of the product. The last section, filled on the 28th day of the product application, related to the caregivers' opinions about the product and overall outcome. After 28 days the scratching Frequency reduced for 83.5% of the cats in the Pheromone Group and 68.5% for the Placebo Group (p<0.0001). The Intensity was significantly different between treatment groups at D7 (p = 0.0170), at D14 (p = 0.0189) and at D28 (p<0.001). The reduction of the Global Index Score, which was calculated by multiplying the Intensity with the Frequency, was significantly higher for the Pheromone Group (p<0.001). This study provides direct evidence that the use of FELIWAY® Classic diffuser significantly reduces the Frequency, Intensity and the Global Index Score of undesirable scratching. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:48:38Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-08968dac13034426afdc896459690e54 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T15:48:38Z |
| publishDate | 2023-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-08968dac13034426afdc896459690e542023-10-26T05:31:45ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032023-01-011810e029218810.1371/journal.pone.0292188Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study.Joana Soares PereiraYasemin Salgirli DemirbasLaurianne MeppielSarah EndersbyGonçalo da Graça PereiraXavier De JaegerScratching the environment is a natural behaviour that cats use for communication and physical maintenance purposes, however when it is carried out on household furniture it is considered unacceptable for some owners and even grounds for relinquishment of cats. The objective of this study was to investigate the efficacy of FELIWAY® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching (scratching vertical surfaces indoors other than the scratching post) in cats. A 28 day, randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study with a total of 1060 caregiver-cat dyads was conducted. The study contained two groups: the Pheromone Group consisted of caregivers who were given a pheromone diffuser (n = 546) and the Placebo Group consisted of caregivers who were given a placebo diffuser (n = 514). A questionnaire with three subsections was distributed online. The first section, completed by the respondents at day 0, inquired about the cats' daily routines, social and physical environments, behaviour, temperament, and emotional states. The second section filled on day 0, 7, 14, and 28, assessed the Frequency and the Intensity of the undesirable scratching problem and the effectiveness of the product. The last section, filled on the 28th day of the product application, related to the caregivers' opinions about the product and overall outcome. After 28 days the scratching Frequency reduced for 83.5% of the cats in the Pheromone Group and 68.5% for the Placebo Group (p<0.0001). The Intensity was significantly different between treatment groups at D7 (p = 0.0170), at D14 (p = 0.0189) and at D28 (p<0.001). The reduction of the Global Index Score, which was calculated by multiplying the Intensity with the Frequency, was significantly higher for the Pheromone Group (p<0.001). This study provides direct evidence that the use of FELIWAY® Classic diffuser significantly reduces the Frequency, Intensity and the Global Index Score of undesirable scratching.https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292188&type=printable |
| spellingShingle | Joana Soares Pereira Yasemin Salgirli Demirbas Laurianne Meppiel Sarah Endersby Gonçalo da Graça Pereira Xavier De Jaeger Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study. PLoS ONE |
| title | Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study. |
| title_full | Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study. |
| title_fullStr | Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study. |
| title_full_unstemmed | Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study. |
| title_short | Efficacy of the Feliway® Classic Diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats: A randomised, triple-blind, placebo-controlled study. |
| title_sort | efficacy of the feliway r classic diffuser in reducing undesirable scratching in cats a randomised triple blind placebo controlled study |
| url | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0292188&type=printable |
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