Cat management in an unregulated shelter environment: Relationship between care provision and cat health in Hong Kong

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-459
Author(s):  
S-K Kong ◽  
W Watson ◽  
KM Ho ◽  
MJ Farnworth

Cat (Felis silvestris catus) shelter practices may have important implications for cats' health and well-being. This study explored the relationship between husbandry practices and cat health in Hong Kong's shelters which are unregulated. Cat health was measured via body condition score (BCS), coat condition and signs of oculo-nasal discharge. A total of 314 cats in 24 cat shelters were assessed. A satisfactory BCS was associated with regular veterinary input, more than once per day disinfection and more than once per day change of water. The presence of oculo-nasal discharge — as a marker for upper respiratory tract infection — was associated with a lack of regular veterinary input and less frequent change of water within the shelter. A lack of regular feeding was the only factor associated with a dull coat. In summary, this study showed that certain husbandry practices had important associations with different aspects of cats' health for cats housed in an unregulated shelter environment in Hong Kong. These findings provide evidence-based support for husbandry guidelines or regulations for cat shelters which could have a positive impact on shelter cats' health and welfare.

Author(s):  
Michael C.H. Chan ◽  
Edwin K.H. Chung ◽  
Dannii Y. Yeung

Recent findings on retirement preparation found a positive impact on the psychological and physical well-being of retirees. However, the types of mental resources that are driving the relationship, such as attitudes toward retirement, only received limited attention. Reasoning from previous findings, we posit that attitudes toward retirement would explain the relationship between retirement preparation and well-being over time after retirement. A three-wave study was conducted in a sample of 130 Hong Kong Chinese retirees over a period of 1.5 years. Data were collected 6 months prior to retirement (T1) and 6 and 12 months after retirement (T2 and T3, respectively), in which preretirement preparation, attitudes toward retirement, and psychological and physical well-being were measured. The positive effect of T1 retirement planning on T3 physical and psychological well-being was partially mediated by T2 attitudes toward retirement. These results remain significant even after controlling for gender, education level, preretirement occupation, and well-being at T1. These findings reveal the role of attitudes toward retirement in driving postretirement adjustment over time.


2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (9) ◽  
pp. 4978
Author(s):  
Kei Aoki

This research studies the relationship between well-being and knowledge sharing. While user innovation has garnered greater attention in recent years, the market has failed to properly incentivize the diffusion of user innovations. This study proposes that this shortcoming could be resolved through a consumer-to-consumer (C-to-C) marketplace and sheds light on non-financial benefits for the contributors, specifically, how knowledge sharing impacts contributor well-being. This research consists of two online survey studies. In both studies, the level of well-being was compared between knowledge sharing contributors and a control group using a scale developed in positive psychology. This study empirically shows that participation in knowledge sharing has a significant positive impact on contributor well-being. In a C-to-C marketplace, contributors diffuse and monetize their creations themselves, resulting in increased well-being. Contributing to knowledge sharing may be a sufficient incentive for user innovators to diffuse their innovations. The findings of this study will gain significance as the utilization of personal knowledge increases due to the expansion of the C-to-C business and the paradigm shift in work style.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Michaela Kranepuhl ◽  
Detlef May ◽  
Edna Hillmann ◽  
Lorenz Gygax

Abstract This research communication describes the relationship between the occurrence of lameness and body condition score (BCS) in a sample of 288 cows from a single farm that were repeatedly scored in the course of 9 months while controlling for confounding variables. The relationship between BCS and lameness was evaluated using generalised linear mixed-effects models. It was found that the proportion of lame cows was higher with decreasing but also with increasing BCS, increased with lactation number and decreased with time since the last claw trimming. This is likely to reflect the importance of sufficient body condition in the prevention of lameness but also raises the question of the impact of overcondition on lameness and the influence of claw trimming events on the assessment of lameness. A stronger focus on BCS might allow improved management of lameness that is still one of the major problems in housed cows.


2020 ◽  
Vol 98 (Supplement_3) ◽  
pp. 3-3
Author(s):  
Lindsey G Wichman ◽  
Colby A Redifer ◽  
Natalie B Duncan ◽  
Craig A Payne ◽  
Allison M Meyer

Abstract To determine effects of cow BCS and calving season on calf vigor and size and the relationship of calf size with vigor, 310 multiparous and primiparous beef cows (age: 4.6 ± 2.2 yr; BW: 663 ± 86 kg; BCS: 5.3 ± 0.6) from 3 spring (2015, 2016, 2017) and 4 fall (2015, 2017, 2018, 2019) calving seasons were observed during parturition. Time to stand (n = 191) was determined as minutes from birth to standing successfully for 5 sec. Within 24 h, calf BW (n = 187) and size [shoulder to tailhead length (STL), heart girth (HG), and abdominal girth (AG; n = 154)] were recorded. Data were analyzed using a mixed model containing effects of calving season (spring and fall), BCS category (< 5, =5, ≥6), and their interaction. Correlations were determined between time to stand and calf measurements separately for spring (n = 79) versus fall (n = 111). Cows with BCS < 5 gave birth to lighter (P = 0.02) calves that tended to have a faster (P ≤ 0.13) time to stand than =5 and ≥6. Calves from cows with BCS ≥6 tended to have greater (P ≤ 0.09) STL than =5 and < 5. Calves from cows with BCS < 5 had smaller (P = 0.13) HG than =5. Fall-born calves tended to have smaller (P ≤ 0.06) BW, HG, and AG than spring-born calves. Within fall calves, there tended to be a positive relationship (r = 0.16; P = 0.09) between time to stand and calf BW. Despite this, spring calves had a negative relationship (r = -0.26; P = 0.02) between time to stand and calf BW. In conclusion, cow BCS and calving season affect calf size and may affect calf vigor. These data suggest that calving season may dictate the relationship between calf vigor and size.


Author(s):  
Orose Leelakulthanit ◽  
Boonchai Hongcharu

One of the roles marketing contributes to the society is to improve the consumer well-being through the acquisition and possession of economic goods. This study attempts to investigate this role when subjective well-being or life satisfaction is considered in the difficult time of economic recession. From the part-whole perspective, life satisfaction can be broken down into satisfaction with thirteen domains of life. The multiple regression is run in order to determine the relationship between the satisfaction with these thirteen domains of life as well as household income and overall life satisfaction. The results suggest that consumer well-being in terms of satisfaction with material possession has a positive impact on life satisfaction along with satisfaction with work, self, family, personal health and the objective indicator of economic well-being which is household income.


Complexity ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Hongshen Liu ◽  
Yuying Fu ◽  
Hao He

Knowing how to improve urban consumers’ well-being is of great importance for sustainable urban development and has become a research hotspot in the field of service marketing, which is evolving from functionality-focused view into experience-focused view. This study explored the mechanism and boundary conditions of experiential marketing on urban consumers’ well-being with a survey data collected from 256 consumers in the catering service industry in China. The results showed that experiential marketing had a significant positive impact on consumer well-being, experiential value played a partial mediation role between experiential marketing and consumer well-being, value proposition engagement moderated the relationship between experiential value and consumer well-being, and value proposition engagement moderated the mediation role of experiential value between experiential marketing and consumer well-being. This study complements the literature of transformative service by revealing a complex mechanism relating to the effects of experiential marketing on urban consumers’ well-being and provides theoretical guidance for service enterprises to improve their offerings.


2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (Suppl. 2) ◽  
pp. 44-52 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Holder

The newly emerging field of positive psychology focuses on the positive facets of life, including happiness, life satisfaction, personal strengths, and flourishing. Research in this field has empirically identified many important benefits of enhanced well-being, including improvements in blood pressure, immune competence, longevity, career success, and satisfaction with personal relationships. Recognizing these benefits has motivated researchers to identify the correlates and causes of well-being to inform them in the development and testing of strategies and interventions to elevate well-being. As positive psychology researchers throughout the world have turned their attention toward facets of food intake, a consensus is developing that the consumption of healthy foods can enhance well-being in a dose-response fashion. The link between unhealthy foods and well-being is less clear. Some studies suggest that under certain conditions, fast food may increase happiness, though other studies demonstrate that fast food can indirectly undermine happiness. The positive impact of food consumption on well-being is not limited to what people consume but extends to how they consume it and social factors related to eating. Though the research suggests that our food intake, particularly fruits and vegetables, increases our well-being, this research is in its infancy. Research specifically focused on subpopulations, including infants and pregnant mothers, is mostly lacking, and the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between food consumption and well-being remain to be elucidated.


2014 ◽  
Vol 44 (11) ◽  
pp. 2052-2057
Author(s):  
Luiz Fernando Rapp de Oliveira Pimentel ◽  
André Luis do Valle De Zoppa

The purpose of this retrospective study was to evaluate the relationship between occlusal and clinical parameters and the need for incisor shortening in horses. It was based on the retrospective analysis of the dental charts of 75 confined horses. Body condition score, shape of incisors, presence of dysmastication, excursion to molar contact (EMC) distance before and after cheek teeth occlusal adjustment were evaluated. History of difficult to riding, dysmastication and digestive problems was also considered. The initial measurement of lateral excursion to molar contact (EMC) revealed incisor occlusal surface abnormalities in 45 (60%) horses and long incisors (EMC>15mm) in five (6.6%) horses. Considering clinical examination and history data the need for reduction of incisor length was significant when EMC exceeded 15mm (P<0.0001) and when based on dental shape, clinical history of dysmastication and/or digestive problems or body condition score was also significant (P<0.05). In confined horses, the decision to shorten and align the incisor teeth should be based on observation and history of dysmastication and digestive problems, body condition score, incisors shape and EMC distance. The need for incisor reduction should be determined before dental intervention and reassessed following cheek teeth oclusal adjustment


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