Overview
We study strategies for improving animal welfare in a variety of contexts, such as examining approaches for mitigating agonistic interactions in socially housed animals, improving human-animal interactions, and reducing procedural pain and stress.

Current Research:

1.Companion cat welfare research
i) Incorporating video telemedicine into cat health and behavior care
Photo: Dr. Moody’s cats Alfie and Henry

Routine veterinary visits are crucial for preventing, detecting, and managing pet health, behavior, and welfare. However, dogs are more likely to receive health care than pet cats, with reports suggesting 40% of pet cats are not brought to the veterinary clinic for routine visits. This is concerning given that there are an estimated 94.2 million pet cats in the US, all requiring routine veterinary care to maintain their health and welfare throughout their lifetime. Research shows that cat owners have a reduced willingness to bring their cats to the veterinary clinic due to many reasons including cat resistance to travel, accessibility challenges (ex. time away from work/home responsibilities, living in rural/remote communities), and stressful experiences at the veterinary clinic. The COVID-19 pandemic has created even more barriers to accessing veterinary care, resulting in a reduction of veterinary visits detected in US companion animal clinics. An important solution for overcoming these barriers may be use of video telemedicine: using video technology to deliver health and behavior care, education, and information remotely. Use of interactive videos allows health and behavior care to be provided to pets at home, and may become an important extension of the veterinary and behaviorist practice. Although the use of telemedicine has increased in many parts of the world with the COVID-19 pandemic, little research has examined the use of video telemedicine for improving access to veterinary health and behavior care for companion cats.

Photo: Olive getting ready for her annual veterinary visit

ii) Strategies to improve care & management practices for shelter cats

Cats in the shelter are exposed to all kinds of stressors, including new people, environments, and new or unpredictable schedules. While considerable research has aimed to improve the welfare of dogs living in shelter facilities, less work has identified evidence-based strategies for improving the welfare of shelter cats. Our work focuses on developing strategies to enhance the welfare of adult shelter cats during routine procedures (e.g., handling for nail trims) and evaluating management practices with the aim of optimizing the welfare of socially housed cats.

iii) Reducing stress during in-clinic veterinary visits for cats and their owners 

In-clinic veterinary visits can be very stressful experiences for both cats and their owners. Many cat owners avoid bringing their cat to the veterinarian due to stress associated with clinic visits, such as getting cats into carriers, travel to the clinic, as well as waiting room and examination room experiences. Although guidelines exist for ways to reduce negative experiences for cats, many of these recommendations are based on anecdotes and are not science-based. Our lab examines strategies using an evidence-based approach, to help provide science-based recommendations for improving the welfare of cats at the veterinary clinic.

2. Dairy goat welfare research

i) Studying strategies for improving the lives of production dairy goats

Photo: Pita, a dairy goat at the UC Davis Goat Teaching and Research Facility

Dairy goats are unique, gregarious, and social animals. More milk comes from dairy goats than dairy cows worldwide, although in the US dairy cows largely outnumber dairy goats. However, over the past decade the dairy goat industry has been increasing as consumer demand for goat-milk products (cheese, yogurt, and milk) grows. Domestic goats are not indigenous to the US; however, California has a long history of commercial farms producing goat milk. There are many benefits of dairy goat production systems as they have a lower environmental impact than dairy cows and goat milk is easier to digest (particularly for those who are lactose-intolerant) in comparison to dairy cow milk.

Research is needed to provide evidence-based decision making and best-practice for dairy goat production systems in the US. We are currently working on research which aims to improve early experiences and management of dairy goat kids.

Photo: 10-day-old goat kid from the UC Davis Goat Teaching and Research Facility