Abstract
The mothers of eight litters of domestic cats, Felis catus, were given a rationed diet after the birth of their kittens so that they received approximately 80% of the energy intake when given ad libitum food. Rationing of the whole family was maintained until the end of the period in which the family were observed. The subsequent play of the kittens was compared with that of litters of the same mothers when the families were given ad libitum food. When the mothers received rationed food, their kittens played with objects significantly more than when the mothers received ad libitum food. This was a specific effect and was not due to a general increase in the activity of the rationed kittens. Over the first 18 days after birth the extent to which mothers were unavailable to their kittens when rationed was strongly correlated with the object play of their kittens 70-84 days after birth. While the kittens in the rationed condition were well buffered from the effects of rationing, they nuzzled significantly more than those in the ad libitum condition in apparent attempts to reach their mothers' nipples.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 514-525 |
| Number of pages | 12 |
| Journal | Animal Behaviour |
| Volume | 40 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Sept 1990 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:This work was supported by a grant from the Medical Research Council. We thank Paul Heavens for his expert help in looking after the cats. We are also grateful to Robert Harcourt, Phyllis Lee, James Serpell and Eileen Smith for their comments on earlier drafts of the manuscript.