Human Behaviour Change
The change we need starts with us all taking small steps.
Improving cat management requires different approaches. An important part of NCMG’s work is to motivate changes in our own behaviours regarding treating cats humanely, being a responsible cat carer, coexisting with wildlife, and being a good neighbour.
Getting the change we need means we need to understand human behaviour and apply the principles of behaviour change to our work. Recognising how and why people behave the way they do and what is needed to overcome resistance to in behaviour change can provide solutions to challenging issues, including those that affect animals.
It matters who talks about cats.
As organisations with interest in cat management, we know it’s important to share high quality information about cats to allow better understanding the issues of overpopulation of cats and also of cat management solutions.
We encourage those in a trusted positions to focus on the importance of cat welfare when discussing responsible cat ownership, colony cat management, and feral cat management.
It matters how we talk about cats.
Encouraging people to share quality, evidence-backed information about cat management is a really important part of motivating people to do the right thing. Many people don’t know how to safely stop their cat roaming or meet their needs while being kept safe and happy at home.
We know a lot of focus is needed on benefits to the cat’s and the family’s welfare, rather than focusing on the benefits of reduced wildlife predation. These narratives are most helpful in motivating people to keep their cats at home. We also don’t need to talk like scientists – keep the cat chat chatty!
Research
A conciliatory and persuasive social campaign changes owner behavior to reduce cats’ hunting.
MacDonald, E., Farnworth, M., van Heezik, Y., Stafford, K., & Linklater, W. (2024). A conciliatory and persuasive social campaign changes owner behavior to reduce cats’ hunting. Conservation Science and Practice, 6, Article e13152. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13152
Prioritizing cat-owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation
Linklater, W. L., Farnworth, M. J., van Heezik, Y., Stafford, K. J., & MacDonald, E. A. (2019). Prioritizing cat-owner behaviors for a campaign to reduce wildlife depredation. Conservation Science and Practice, 1(5), Article e29. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.29
Human dimensions of Predator Free 2050: A literature overview of social and behavioural research
Nguyen, T., Balanovic, J., Aley, J., & Neff, M. B. (2022). Human dimensions of Predator Free 2050: A literature overview of social and behavioural research. Department of Conservation. https://doi.org/10.31235/osf.io/f98m3
Audience segmentation of New Zealand cat owners: Understanding barriers and drivers of cat containment behavior
Chamberlain, S. A. E., McLeod, L. J., & Hine, D. W. (2024). Audience segmentation of New Zealand cat owners: Understanding barriers and drivers of cat containment behavior. PLoS ONE, 19(1), e0296805. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0296805
Engaging with socio-economically disadvantaged communities and their cats: Human behaviour change for animal and human benefit
McDonald, J. L., & Clements, J. (2019). Engaging with socio-economically disadvantaged communities and their cats: Human behaviour change for animal and human benefit. Animals, 9, Article 175. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani9040175