Scientists catch scent of solution to stop cats and dogs from fighting

Pheromone product found to increase friendly behaviour and reduce aggressive incidents, writes Andy Gregory

Pheromones could hold the key to peaceful canine-feline co-habitation (Petras Malukas/AFP via Getty Images)

Scientists believe they have caught the scent of a way to foster better relations between cats and dogs.

The chances of canines and felines co-habiting in total peace are typically viewed as unfavourable unless they are socialised to do so from an early age.

But by filling a home with calming pheromones – chemicals produced and secreted by animals which can alter others’ behaviour – University of Lincoln researchers found that conflicts between the two species were significantly reduced.

In a study, published in the journal Frontiers In Veterinary Science, animal behavioural scientists explored the effects of two different pheromone products on cat-dog interactions.

During a six-week trial in 34 different homes, Professor Daniel Mills and Dr Miriam Prior found that using either Feliway Friends or Adaptil, which emit calming pheromones for cats and dogs respectively, led to a notable decrease in the number of undesirable interactions, such as the dog chasing or barking at the cat, or the cat hiding from the dog.

Participants given Adaptil even noted a significant increase in certain desirable behaviours, which included friendly greetings between cat and dog, and time spent relaxing in the same room.

“Although we are all aware of the perceived tensions between cats and dogs, we believe this is the first study of its kind to explore the use of pheromone products to improve the relationship when the two species are living in the same household," said Prof Mills, professor of veterinary behavioural medicine in Lincoln's school of life sciences.

“Seven per cent of households in the UK own both a cat and a dog, which represents a large number of pet owners and their animals living with potentially stressful animal relationships on a day-to-day basis.

“Many cat and dog owners report that their animals are comfortable in each other’s company, but where this isn’t the case, a poor relationship between a resident cat and dog can have serious consequences for the welfare of individual animals.

“There may be an unacceptable level of social stress or restricted access to key resources such as food, water or suitable toilet areas.

“There will also be increased stress for the remainder of the family (both human and animal), and potential risks of injury due to conflict.”

The pet owners involved in the study reported weekly on the frequency of 10 specific undesirable interactions and seven specific desirable interactions between their cats and dogs.

They were split into two groups, each using a single pheromone product, which were supplied in unlabelled packaging and randomly assigned by an independent staff member to ensure that neither the participants nor the researchers knew which product was being trialled in each household until after the statistics had been collected.

Between weeks two and six of the trial, eight out of 17 participants receiving Adaptil and five out of 17 using Feliway Friends saw their undesirable behaviour scores reduced by more than 50 per cent.

A reduction of 30 per cent or more in undesirable behaviours was seen in 12 out of 17 participants in both groups.

“We would like to investigate this further to really tease out the effects of these pheromone products individually and also to investigate their use in combination with each other," said Dr Prior, a Lincoln-based vet who undertook the work as part of a postgraduate degree.

“We suggest that Adaptil may have had such a beneficial effect because a more relaxed dog may be less likely to disturb the cat, resulting in a cat that is less stressed and more willing to form some form of social bond with the dog.”