Veterinary Nursing Dissertation

[Kirstyhopkins]

https://surveyhero.com/c/f8608486

My name is Kirsty Hopkins. I am currently studying BSc(Hons) Veterinary Nursing Science at Hartpury University. As part of my fourth year i am undertaking a dissertation research project. The subjects i have chosen to research are the factors affecting the adoption rates of cats in the UK, mainly focusing on appearance Vs personality.

I have attached an updated survey to this post and any responses would be greatly appreciated to support my research.

My previous survey had 200+ views and only 16 responses, can i please encourage you to participate, it will take no longer that 5 minutes and will massively help me

please don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or concerns

Thank you in advance

[fjm]

Done - note there is a typo in "Appearance".

[alanc]

Done, although fur colour is that of my current cat, who of course is my favorite!

[Kirstyhopkins]

Done - note there is a typo in "Appearance".

Thank you, i've fixed it

[Mollycat]

Responded on previous thread with some comments as we couldn't fit into the survey questions but nevertheless believe that our selection criteria are perfectly valid and we're not the only ones in the world who let cats happen rather than choosing by any method.

[Ruth B]

Done.

[Kirstyhopkins]

Responded on previous thread with some comments as we couldn't fit into the survey questions but nevertheless believe that our selection criteria are perfectly valid and we're not the only ones in the world who let cats happen rather than choosing by any method.

I have read your previous comment and have no doubt that your method for choosing and adopting cats is valid and justifiable. This survey is specifically looking at adoption from rescue centers and the correlation between coat colour and adoption rates, looking at black cats in particular. The fact that you choose cats regardless of the personality/appearance does not support the fact that black cats are still the most likely colour cats to spend longer periods of time in a rescue center. This is why the purpose of my survey and my research project is to determine what factors still effect black cats in present day, whether appearance still outweighs personality and what may be the reasons for this i.e. selfie culture and social media (black cats do not photograph well). Thank you for your feedback.

[Mollycat]

Thanks Kirsty unfortunately the link didn't work for me so I didn't get to see the survey in detail. All the best and i hope you get some great data and pick out some important conclusions from it all.

Interesting though about black cats not photographing well. There seem to be a good share of You-tube black cats, some with a partner. Cole and Marmalade, Shorty and Kodi, come to mind. Wonder if black cats are also underrepresented on the internet? Or if those internet cat personalities help influence people and their choices. Just thinking aloud.

[Ruth B]

Just adding a thought, most of the people on here are avid cat fans and have learnt to see past the coat colour. People who know less about cats, and first time cat owners are the ones that I would think would be most effected by the appearance of the cat they adopt.

[Kay]

I would think, for newbies and experienced cat owners, age is a much bigger factor than coat colour, followed by sex, when choosing a cat to adopt

it would be interesting to know if young black cats are regularly overlooked in favour of older gingers, for instance

[booktigger]

That does happen Kay, I may have mentioned once someone rang in October wanting a pair of tabby kittens. At the time we had a 5 year old black, a 7 year old tortie and an 11 year old tabby, they actually went for the tabby, I was shocked as I expected her to be the hardest of the three, but it was the black, despite her being the youngest.

Ruth is right, we probably aren't the best group of people for the survey as we see past more than just colour!

[Kirstyhopkins]

Just adding a thought, most of the people on here are avid cat fans and have learnt to see past the coat colour. People who know less about cats, and first time cat owners are the ones that I would think would be most effected by the appearance of the cat they adopt.

hi, yes that was one of my worries when posting on here haha any suggestions on where would be best to post something like this would be greatly appreciated

[Mollycat]

Just adding a thought, most of the people on here are avid cat fans and have learnt to see past the coat colour. People who know less about cats, and first time cat owners are the ones that I would think would be most effected by the appearance of the cat they adopt.

hi, yes that was one of my worries when posting on here haha any suggestions on where would be best to post something like this would be greatly appreciated

Would any rescues help you by asking their adopters if they could fill in a paper questionnaire? Also there are other forums that are shall we say less rescue-focused where more breeders and kitten-choosing owners hang out.

[Ruth B]

Mollycat, you beat me to it, I was just about to say that maybe contacting rescues to see if they would be willing to ask potential adopters to fill in a questionnaire, either a paper one or an online one.

[Kay]

finding out initial preferences, and then whether actually seeing cats made a difference, would be interesting

I always thought shy cats who hid away were the hardest to rehome, regardless of any other factors

[Mollycat]

I always thought shy cats who hid away were the hardest to rehome, regardless of any other factors

I have just come up with a theory about shy vs ill-treated cats and why it seems often abused cats turn around into the most loving cuddlebugs while shy ones that have never been ill-treated seem to take forever to come around.

My idea goes, that a cat that was ill-treated connects the abuser to the fear and so can relatively easily be won over by another person who offers kindness and gentleness. On the other hand a shy cat that for instance is scared of big creatures like us, sudden movements, loud noises etc, just feels the whole world is unsafe and expects trouble at any moment, and so finds it much harder to trust anyone.

[booktigger]

That's a very interesting thought Mollycat, there is definitely something in the nature v nurture train of thought too, I've had kittens born here that were skittish because mum was untrusting but kittens come at 7 weeks with little interaction who were fine because they saw mum enjoying a fuss. I think there is also something with the amount of kittens, like they don't need humans as they have each other. I also think that's the case with mine, I do believe Chanel would have come round without her mum, but Coco would be on a farm without Chanel. Still something that I don't feel 100% about