The Cat–Owner Relationship: Validation of the Italian C/DORS for Cat Owners and Correlation with the LAPS
Carmen Borrelli,
Giacomo Riggio,
Tiffani Josey Howell,
Patrizia Piotti,
Silvana Diverio,
Mariangela Albertini,
Paolo Mongillo,
Lieta Marinelli,
Paolo Baragli,
Francesco Paolo Di Iacovo,
Angelo Gazzano,
Federica Pirrone,
Chiara Mariti
Affiliations
Carmen Borrelli
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Giacomo Riggio
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Tiffani Josey Howell
Anthrozoology Research Group, School of Psychology and Public Health, La Trobe University, Bendigo, VIC 3552, Australia
Patrizia Piotti
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Silvana Diverio
Laboratory of Ethology and Animal Welfare (LEBA), Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Perugia, 06126 Perugia, Italy
Mariangela Albertini
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Paolo Mongillo
Laboratory of Applied Ethology, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, Università degli Studi di Padova, Viale dell′Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Lieta Marinelli
Laboratory of Applied Ethology, Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food Science, Università degli Studi di Padova, Viale dell′Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Paolo Baragli
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Francesco Paolo Di Iacovo
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Angelo Gazzano
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Federica Pirrone
Department of Veterinary Medicine and Animal Sciences, University of Milan, 26900 Lodi, Italy
Chiara Mariti
Department of Veterinary Sciences, University of Pisa, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Globally, most people now own a pet. Scales have been developed to understand the impact of pet ownership on people’s lives and to measure specific aspects of the owner–pet relationship. The Cat-/Dog-Owner Relationship Scale (C/DORS) is a tool developed to investigate this relationship in both dog and cat owners. The aim of the study was to refine and validate the C/DORS for cat owners in Italian. Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) were used to determine the most appropriate factor model. Construct validity was confirmed by correlating the C/DORS subscales with the Lexington Attachment to Pets (LAPS) subscales. Results confirmed the original structure of the English version (i.e., three factors: Pet Owner Interaction = POI, Perceived Emotional Closeness = PEC, Perceived Costs = PC) and CFA confirmed the structure of LAPS and C/DORS scales. Cronbach’s alpha demonstrated the Italian version of the two scales to have good internal reliability for all domains. Owners of cats living exclusively indoors reported higher scores on POI and PEC compared to indoor/outdoor cats. Owning both cats and dogs was correlated with lower scores on POI, and fewer perceived costs (i.e., PC) of cat ownership. Finally, behaviour problems, not being neutered, and lack of previous experience with cat ownership were associated with lower scores on PC.
