Disorders related to environmental stress. Feline stereotypies

2 DISORDERS RELATED TO ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS. FELINE STEREOTYPIES

Stereotyped behaviours are abnormal expressions of normal behaviours typically observed in the species, for example, grooming, vocalisation, locomotion, etc.

Stereotypies are the manifestation of an animal’s previous or current conflict with its environment, its early life experiences, and its genetic predisposition (e.g. wool sucking in oriental breeds).

CLINICAL SIGNS

Some anomalous conducts can derive from a normal movement pattern and transform into stereotypies or compulsive behaviours, these also involve neurosis and by definition are not species-specific behaviours. Accordingly, the clinical signs of stereotypies based on normal patterns can be found in Table 1.

Table 1. Clinical signs of stereotypies based on normal movement patterns.

Pattern

Grooming

Diet

Clinical signs of the stereotypy

➤ Compulsive self-licking ➤ Hair chewing ➤ Acral granuloma (a cutaneous lump as a result of inflammation caused by incessant licking)

➤ Polydipsia ➤ Polyphagia ➤ Wool sucking ➤ Excessive drooling ➤ Fabric eating

Locomotion

Vocalisation

Neurosis

➤ Sudden movements of the body ➤ Running and jumping ➤ Freezing of gait ➤ Shaking or nodding the head

➤ Constant meowing ➤ Constant crying ➤ Self-mutilation with or without vocalisation

➤ Regular aggression directed at people ➤ Teeth chattering ➤ Hunting nonexistent prey ➤ Staring at nothing

15