Hair Cortisol Concentrations in 103 Privately Owned Intact Cats

103 hair samples from intact cats were analyzed for cortisol, a biomarker for long-term stress, with an overall mean concentration of 9.99 pg/mg. The data, collected by Veronika Vojtkovská, includes owner-reported information on cat characteristics, behavior, and housing. Male cats exhibited significantly higher cortisol levels than females, while age, breed, and environmental factors showed no significant effect.

Use Cases

• Investigating sex-based differences in long-term stress biomarkers based on cortisol concentration data.
• Modeling the relationship between inherent traits and stress levels based on cat characteristics like breed and coat type.
• Assessing the utility of owner-reported lifestyle questionnaires for predicting physiological stress measures.

Strengths

• Includes cortisol measurements from 103 cats (40 males, 63 females).
• Data collection was standardized, with hair samples taken during routine surgical preparation.
• Owner-reported data covers physical, behavioral, and housing factors.

Limitations

• Row count and column-level documentation are unknown, limiting suitability assessment.
• The dataset is small (912.0 KB), which may constrain statistical power for some analyses.
• Geographic and temporal coverage of the sample population is not specified.

Provenance

Source

Veronika Vojtkovská via figshare.

Collection Method

Hair samples collected from cats under anesthesia, with cortisol quantified via ELISA kit; owner information gathered via questionnaire.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-14 04:19:47; freshness should be verified.