Pet species welfare refers to the physical, psychological, social and environmental well-being of animals kept in households for companionship—chiefly dogs, cats and small mammals—rather than to their health alone [1]. It is appraised against five needs: a suitable environment and diet, housing with or apart from other animals, species-typical behaviour, and protection from pain, injury and disease [1]. Because pets live under owner control rather than in managed groups, housing, feeding and veterinary access depend on owner decisions, and confinement, isolation and appearance-driven breeding are recurrent risks [2]. Expert consensus ranks obesity, behavioural issues and delayed veterinary care among priority issues for cats, and small housing as the leading issue for most pet small mammals [3][4].
- pet welfare
- five animal welfare needs
- owner control
- small mammals
- veterinary guidance
References
- S. Ryan; H. Bacon; N. Endenburg; S. Hazel; R. Jouppi; N. Lee; K. Seksel; G. Takashima; WSAVA Animal Welfare Guidelines. J. Small Anim. Pract. 2019, 60, E1-E46, 10.1111/jsap.12998.
- Iben Meyer; Björn Forkman; Merete Fredholm; Carmen Glanville; Bernt Guldbrandtsen; Eliza Ruiz Izaguirre; Clare Palmer; Peter Sandøe; Pampered pets or poor bastards? The welfare of dogs kept as companion animals. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 2022, 251, 886020, 10.1016/j.applanim.2022.105640.
- Fiona Rioja‐Lang; Heather Bacon; Melanie Connor; Cathy Mary Dwyer; Determining priority welfare issues for cats in the United Kingdom using expert consensus. Vet. Rec. Open 2019, 6, e000365, 10.1136/vetreco-2019-000365.
- Lauren Fenton; Livia Benato; Elisabetta Mancinelli; Nicola J. Rooney; What Are the Most Prevalent Welfare Issues for Pet Small Mammals?. Animals 2025, 15, 1423, 10.3390/ani15101423.