research

Whether with direct financial assistance or by other contribution – such as participating; helping to recruit participants; providing data; reviewing research; collecting physical materials (eg fur, blood or faecal samples) – Cat Protection has a long and proud history of supporting scholarship in feline health, medicine, and welfare, and more recently, research about people and animals.

These focus areas align with our mission goals to “Actively work with government and non-government agencies to promote and improve cat welfare” and to “Honour the unique relationship between people and cats”.

We have also contracted research to assist us in our mission to “Improve the quality of life for cats by educating the community about socially and environmentally responsible cat care” such as the Ipsos reports below. This data gives us insights into cat owners’ concerns, attitudes, and the barriers they might face in providing responsible cat care. As we’ve publicly shared this research on each occasion, it also benefits the wider companion animal sector, from local and state governments to other animal charities.

Ipsos reports on Cat Welfare in NSW

2023 Report (provides comparisons with earlier reports)
Commissioned and fully funded by Cat Protection Society of NSW

2019 Report (incorporates findings of 2018 and 2017 reports)
Commissioned and fully funded by Cat Protection Society of NSW

Academic research

Below you’ll find links to a sample of published research with notes as to whether the paper is open access (free to read) and whether Cat Protection made a financial or other contribution towards the research.

Scotney, R.; Rand, J.; Rohlf, V.; Hayward, A.; Bennett, P. The Impact of Lethal, Enforcement-Centred Cat Management on Human Wellbeing: Exploring Lived Experiences of Cat Carers Affected by Cat Culling at the Port of Newcastle. Animals 2023, 13, 271. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13020271
Open access; financial contribution

Michelle Cleary, Sancia West, Deependra K. Thapa & Rachel Kornhaber
(2023): Putting Cats on the Spectrum: A Scoping Review of the Role of Cats in Therapy and Companionship for Autistic Adults and Children, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, April 2023 https://doi.org/10.1080/01612840.2023.2195509
Open access; financial contribution

Michelle Cleary, Sancia West, Deependra K. Thapa, Mark Westman, Kristina Vesk & Rachel Kornhaber (2022) Grieving the loss of a pet: A qualitative systematic review, Death Studies, 46:9, 2167-2178, DOI: 10.1080/07481187.2021.1901799
Financial contribution; other contribution

Quain, A.; Mullan, S.; Ward, M.P. Low and No-Contact Euthanasia: Associated Ethical Challenges Experienced by Veterinary Team Members during the Early Months of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Animals 2022, 12, 560. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani12050560
Open access; other contribution

Quain A, Mullan S and Ward MP (2022) “There Was a Sense That Our Load Had Been Lightened”: Evaluating Outcomes of Virtual Ethics Rounds for Veterinary Team Members. Front. Vet. Sci. 9:922049. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2022.922049
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2022.922049/full
Open access; other contribution

Quain A, Mullan S, McGreevy PD and Ward MP (2021) Frequency, Stressfulness and Type of Ethically Challenging Situations Encountered by Veterinary Team Members During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Front. Vet. Sci. 8:647108. doi: 10.3389/fvets.2021.647108
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2021.647108/full
Open access; other contribution

Quain, A.; Ward, M.P.; Mullan, S. Ethical Challenges Posed by Advanced Veterinary Care in Companion Animal Veterinary Practice. Animals 2021, 11, 3010. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11113010
Open access; other contribution

Michelle Cleary, Sancia West, Denis Visentin, Monique Phipps, Mark Westman, Kristina Vesk & Rachel Kornhaber (2021) The Unbreakable Bond: The Mental Health Benefits and Challenges of Pet Ownership for People Experiencing Homelessness, Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 42:8, 741-746, DOI: 10.1080/01612840.2020.1843096
Other contribution

Michelle Cleary, Deependra K. Thapa, Sancia West, Mark Westman, Rachel Kornhaber, Animal abuse in the context of adult intimate partner violence: A systematic review, Aggression and Violent Behavior, Volume 61, 2021, 101676,
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359178921001300
Open access; financial contribution

Mazeau, L., Wylie, C., Boland, L. et al. A shift towards early-age desexing of cats under veterinary care in Australia. Sci Rep 11, 811 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79513-6
Open access; other contribution

Maura Carrai, Nicola Decar, Kate Van Brussel, Paola Dall’Ara, Constantina Desario, Marco Fracasso, Jan Šlapeta, Elena Colombo, Stefano Bo, Julia A Beatty, Joanne Meers, Vanessa R Barrs (2021): Canine parvovirus is shed infrequently by cats without diarrhoea in multi-cat environments, Veterinary Microbiology, Volume 261, October 2021,10924
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0378113521002273?via%3Dihub
Financial contribution

Jenkins, E.; Davis, C.; Carrai, M.; Ward, M.P.; O’Keeffe, S.; van Boeijen, M.; Beveridge, L.; Desario, C.; Buonavoglia, C.; Beatty, J.A.; Decaro, N.; Barrs, V.R. Feline Parvovirus Seroprevalence Is High in Domestic Cats from Disease Outbreak and Non-Outbreak Regions in Australia. Viruses 2020, 12, 320. https://doi.org/10.3390/v12030320
Open access; other contribution

Van Brussel, K.; Carrai, M.; Lin, C.; Kelman, M.; Setyo, L.; Aberdein, D.; Brailey, J.; Lawler, M.; Maher, S.; Plaganyi, I.; Lewis, E.; Hawkswell, A.; Allison, A.B.; Meers, J.; Martella, V.; Beatty, J.A.; Holmes, E.C.; Decaro, N.; Barrs, V.R. Distinct Lineages of Feline Parvovirus Associated with Epizootic Outbreaks in Australia, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. Viruses 2019, 11, 1155. https://doi.org/10.3390/v11121155
Open access; financial contribution

Miller, H.; Ward, M.; Beatty, J.A. Population Characteristics of Cats Adopted from an Urban Cat Shelter and the Influence of Physical Traits and Reason for Surrender on Length of Stay. Animals 2019, 9, 940. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9110940
Open access; other contribution

Pesavento, P. A.; Jackson, K.; Scase, T.; Tse, T.; Hampson, B.; Munday, J. S.; Barrs, V. R.; Beatty, J. A. A Novel Hepadnavirus is Associated with Chronic Hepatitis and Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Cats. Viruses 2019, 11, (10), 969
https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/11/10/969
Open access; financial contribution

Byrne, P., Beatty, J. A., Šlapeta, J., Corley, S. W., Lyons, R. E., Mcmichael, L., Kyaw-Tanner, M. T., Dung, P. T., Decaro, N., Meers, J. & Barrs, V. R. 2018. Shelter-housed cats show no evidence of faecal shedding of canine parvovirus DNA. The Veterinary Journal 2018, 239, 54-58.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tvjl.2018.08.005
Financial contribution

Aghazadeh, M.; Shi, M.; Barrs, V.R.; McLuckie, A.J.; Lindsay, S.A.; Jameson, B.; Hampson, B.; Holmes, E.C.; Beatty, J.A. A Novel Hepadnavirus Identified in an Immunocompromised Domestic Cat in Australia. Viruses 2018, 10, 269. https://doi.org/10.3390/v10050269
Open access; financial contribution