An outdoor enclosure is a bounded, open-air area for captive animals, delimited by a perimeter barrier that provides outdoor access while preventing escape; in cats, fitting such barriers increased time spent outside, reduced owner concern and improved welfare scores [1]. Outdoor rearing of rabbits permitted grazing and other active behaviour, though outcomes depended on management, environment and breed [2]. The barrier also bounds ranging: cats with unrestricted outdoor access had home ranges 75% larger and travelled 31% further daily than cats with restricted access [3]. Within the enclosure, physical geometry and the abiotic and biotic elements present constitute its complexity, which should vary with time of day and season [4].
- outdoor enclosure
- outdoor access
- perimeter barrier
- ranging
- environmental complexity
Animal Behavior and Welfare Studies • Small Animals • Veterinary • Health Sciences
References
- Luciana Santos de Assis; Daniel Simon Mills; Introducing a Controlled Outdoor Environment Impacts Positively in Cat Welfare and Owner Concerns: The Use of a New Feline Welfare Assessment Tool. Front. Vet. Sci. 2021, 7, 599284. [CrossRef]
- Luigia Bosa; Gloria Bernabucci; Francesca Di Federico; Lorenzo Nompleggio; Marta Vispi; Laura Menchetti; Alessandro Dal Bosco; Simona Mattioli; Riccardo Primi; Pedro Girotti; Cesare Castellini; Outdoor Rearing and Behavioural Patterns in Diverse Rabbit Breeds: An Exploratory Study. Animals 2025, 15, 3562. [CrossRef]
- Martina Cecchetti; Sarah L. Crowley; Jared Wilson‐Aggarwal; Luca Nelli; Robbie A. McDonald; Spatial behavior of domestic cats and the effects of outdoor access restrictions and interventions to reduce predation of wildlife. Conserv. Sci. Pract. 2021, 4, e597. [CrossRef]
- Cristiano Schetini de Azevedo; Cynthia Fernandes Cipreste; Cristiane Schilbach Pizzutto; Robert John Young; Review of the Effects of Enclosure Complexity and Design on the Behaviour and Physiology of Zoo Animals. Animals 2023, 13, 1277. [CrossRef]