Functional analysis and treatment of feline aggression in an animal shelter

Functional analysis and treatment of feline aggression in an animal shelter

Cats who engage in aggression in animal shelters may be less likely to be adopted and are at risk for euthanasia. Currently, the best methods for reducing aggressive behavior exhibited by cats are unclear. Functional analysis (FA) is an assessment approach known to be successful in identifying the variables that maintain problem behavior exhibited by humans and some nonhuman animal species. By identifying the variables that maintain the problem behavior, function-based interventions can be developed to treat the problem behavior. However, no studies utilizing FA of problem behavior, such as aggression, exhibited by cats have been published. In the current study, we conducted FAs of aggressive behavior for three shelter cats with aggression that was hindering their adoption. Results showed that all three cats exhibited aggression maintained by escape from humans; therefore, a counterconditioning and extinction treatment was used to reduce problem behavior. For all cats, an 80% reduction in problem behavior relative to baseline was achieved.

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