Pet Partners Commits $100K to Support Therapy Animal Research

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) today announced a new grant for research to evaluate the impact of a youth-cat training program on youth thriving and cat wellbeing. This grant was awarded to a team of researchers at Oregon State University including Dr. Kristen Davis Moore, 4-H Program Coordinator, Professor Monique Udell, associate professor and Director of the Human-Animal Interaction Laboratory, and Dr. Saethra Darling, Postdoctoral Scholar. In this study, youth and their family cat will take part in a 12-session youth-cat training program that is focused on positive youth development with active learning activities and fear-free cat handling and care. The goal of this project is to evaluate a multidisciplinary, whole-child approach to fostering a partnership between young people and their family cats that promotes both youth and cat well-being. “Cats are the second most commonly owned pet in America, but we find that they are often misunderstood and still heavily underrepresented in animal behavior and human-animal bond research compared to dogs,” said Dr. Kristen Moore, the project’s Principal Investigator. “Our research will raise awareness of new opportunities for young people to bond with their pet cats and promote more animal-assisted activities in local communities.” The study design involves 30 children between the ages of 8 and 13 years and their pet cats, who will be recruited through schools and community programs in Oregon to participate in this youth-cat training program. Researchers will employ a pseudo-randomized control model with an experimental group and a control group of children on a waitlist to participate in the training program. The youth-cat training program will be focused on positive youth development with opportunities for learning about cat health, care, and individual preferences. All cat training methods will be fear free and positive reinforcement based. To encourage further community engagement, additional...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) announced today it has awarded a grant to GITAM (Deemed) University for a new study which will investigate the impact of pet ownership and human-animal interaction (HAI) on overall social functioning including social attention in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This study aims to fill a critical gap in the current literature by uncovering the potential benefits of HAI on core deficit areas in ADHD. “This project brings together an international team of experts to undertake a comprehensive examination of social attention and emotion processing in neurotypical children and children living with ADHD,” said Dr. Georgitta Valiyamattam, GITAM University, the study’s Principal Investigator. “We hope to answer a key question – do foundational social skills in ADHD have the potential to be impacted by animal-assisted interventions? This knowledge will provide the necessary groundwork for future research and practice, which we hope will improve treatment and quality of life for children living with ADHD.” Along with Dr. Valiyamattam, the team comprises Dr. Harish Katti, Dr. Jessica Taubert, Dr. Vinay Chaganti and Dr. Virender Sachdeva. A substantial body of research describes social attention and emotional recognition deficits to human faces in ADHD. This project will study the impact of pet ownership on children with ADHD to determine whether HAI may enhance social attention and emotional recognition and modulate overall social functioning. State-of-the-art eye tracking technology and rigorous statistical approaches will be deployed to compare attention towards human and nonhuman faces. Researchers will also investigate the recognition of facial expressions. The research team anticipates that children with ADHD will show greater attention and emotion recognition capabilities for animal faces as compared to human faces. The focus on uncovering the visual mechanisms regarding HAI may also...

The Human Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) and Royal Canin have teamed up to protect the human-cat bond by delivering important information to cat owners about their cats’ urinary health. “Research shows that house soiling is the #1 reason that cats are relinquished to a shelter[1], yet many cats presenting to veterinary clinics with lower urinary signs are diagnosed with a medical condition,” said Dr. Angela Hughes DVM PhD, Scientific Communications Veterinarian for Royal Canin. “Royal Canin is focused on improving cat health and welfare by educating current and future cat owners about the importance of cats’ urinary health.” Studies show that 60% of cat owners say they only take their cat to the veterinarian when they notice something is wrong[2], but cats are notorious for hiding pain, making it difficult for owners to recognize a health issue. For example, over 90% of cats with feline lower urinary tract signs have blood in their urine indicating a medical condition, but less than half of owners recognize the signs[3].  Instead, these signs may be misinterpreted as a behavioral issue, negatively impacting the human-cat bond. “Helping cat owners stay curious and informed about their cat’s health, even when it comes to litter box behavior, leads to healthier, happier lives together,” said Steven Feldman, President of HABRI. “Our cats do so much for us, which is why we need to do more for them.” Research shows that cats can serve as a source of social and emotional support for their owners and can help reduce stress, support older adults as they age and improve heart rate and blood pressure. HABRI and Royal Canin are working to strengthen the human-animal bond and improve the veterinary care that cats receive by spotlighting the science of the human-animal bond and important information about cat health. HABRI and Royal Canin have partnered together to create educational content, including an article, shareable infographic, a series of social...