Veterinary background noise elicits fear responses in cats while freely moving in a confined space and during an examination

Many cats show signs of fear and stress during veterinary examinations and procedures, with environmental stimuli such as noise contributing to these responses. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of background noise commonly heard in veterinary clinics (people talking, kennel doors shutting, dogs barking) on behavioural and physiological responses in companion cats. In Experiment 1, owned cats underwent a mock physical examination in a veterinary clinic with (n = 16) or without (n = 16) a pre-recorded noise track. A second experiment was conducted to assess cat responses to noise outside of handling and a clinic environment. In Experiment 2, shelter cats were either exposed (n = 15) or not exposed (n = 15) to the same noise track while allowed free movement in a small enclosure. Physiological and behavioural responses previously validated as negative responses in cats (e.g., indicative of fear, stress and aversion) were recorded, and outcome variables were compared between treatments. For both experiments, cats exposed to the noise track showed higher heart and respiratory rates. Noise was not associated with behavioural changes during the physical examination; however, cats who were freely moving showed more behavioural signs of fear and/or stress during noise exposure compared to the no noise conditions. These results show that high levels of background noise elicit physiological stress responses in cats, while ceiling effects of the examination and exposure to the clinic environment likely prevented treatment-related behavioral differences from being detected during the physical examination. It is recommended that those working with cats in environments with high levels of background noise limit cat exposure to these noises to reduce cat fear and stress.