Utilizing citizen science to assess consistent individual variation in play behaviour of the domestic cat, Felis...

It is well known that domestic cats (Felis catus) have the potential to impact local vulnerable wildlife, and that individual cats differ in their ecological impact due to predation. However, less is known about how individual cats may differ in their behaviours with similar motivational involvement, such as in response to a moving, feathered object toy. Using an online questionnaire, we recruited participants in the United States to expose their cat (N = 87) to standardised behavioural assay trials using a feather wand toy, aiming to capture individual variation in response to the toy and the consistency of the individuals' responses over time. We collected caretaker recorded videos capturing cats' interaction with the object toy, and found high repeatability of all behaviours measured across trials (mean R = 0.467). We then consolidated the data using Principal Component Analysis to obtain a composite cat interest score for further analysis. Overall, we found significant trial effects (p = 0.002), and consistent individual variation in the cats' composite interest score (ICC = 0.650). Interestingly, we did not find any significant connections between the cats' interest score and factors such as their outdoor access, history of hunting, frequency of play in the home, or rated playfulness by their caretakers. Our study presents the first recorded use of citizen science as a method of quantifying consistent individual differences in play behaviour of cats, and highlights the importance of assessing individual variation when studying cat behaviour.