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Meal patterns of cats encountering variable food procurement cost
G Collier1, D F Johnson, C Morgan
1Department of Psychology, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey 08903, USA. gcollier@rci.rutgers.edu
Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior
|May 1, 1997
Summary
Cats adjust meal frequency and size based on the average foraging cost, not the immediate price. Daily food intake remained consistent, suggesting cats perceive a broader economic structure in their environment.
Area of Science:
- Animal Behavior
- Foraging Economics
- Operant Conditioning
Background:
- Understanding how animals manage foraging decisions is crucial for behavioral ecology.
- Previous research often focused on immediate costs, neglecting long-term economic structures.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how cats adjust meal patterns in response to variable foraging costs.
- To determine if cats respond to local or global economic structures in their environment.
Main Methods:
- Two cats participated in a foraging paradigm with a bar-press procurement price for meals.
- Procurement prices were either fixed or varied across a geometric series.
- Meal initiation, size, and frequency were recorded.
Main Results:
- Increased fixed or average variable prices led to decreased meal frequency and increased meal size.
- Daily food intake was not affected by price changes.
- Meal size did not correlate with the immediately preceding procurement price.
Conclusions:
- Cats respond to the overall (global) foraging cost structure, not just the immediate (local) price.
- Cats appear to average prices over time to regulate meal patterns.
- This suggests a longer temporal window for behavioral consequences in controlled foraging economies.