Effects of interstitial cystitis on the acoustic startle reflex in cats.

Objective: To compare acoustic startle reflexes (ASRs) of healthy cats and cats with interstitial cystitis (IC).

Animals: 28 healthy cats (11 males and 17 females) and 20 cats with IC (13 males and 7 females).

Procedures: To evaluate the effect of neutering on ASRs, ASRs in neutered and unneutered healthy cats were measured.

Sickness behaviors in response to unusual external events in healthy cats and cats with feline interstitial cystitis.

Objective: To compare sickness behaviors (SB) in response to unusual external events (UEE) in healthy cats with those of cats with feline interstitial cystitis (FIC).

Design: Prospective observational study.

Animals: 12 healthy cats and 20 donated cats with FIC.

Pinch-induced behavioral inhibition ('clipnosis') in domestic cats.

Research has documented immobilization of rodents, rabbits, guinea pigs and dogs by mechanical means, typically using neck clips or inversion ('animal hypnosis'). In contrast, only a few studies of mechanical immobilization of cats are available, although some success has been reported in the literature. Domestic cats may be effectively immobilized by clips placed along the animal's dorsum.