Women and those with veterinary experience are especially good at deciphering feline expressions, even those who admit to having no strong attachment to cats.

“The ability to read animals’ facial expressions is critical to welfare assessment,” said Prof. Lee Niel, co-leader of the study with Prof. Georgia Mason, both in U of G’s Campbell Centre for the Study of Animal Welfare. “Our finding that some people are outstanding at reading these subtle clues suggests it’s a skill more people can be trained to do.”

News of the study spread far and wide, with stories in the Washington Post, Daily Mail, CBC, and others. The research, published in Animal Welfare, looked at a wide range of positive and negative emotional states in cats. More than 6,300 people in 85 countries participated, watching a number of short online videos of emotional cats and attempting to interpret whether their expressions were positive or negative. While most participants scored roughly 50 percent, 13 percent scored 75 percent or better. They were deemed “cat whisperers.”

Test your own ability to read cat expressions at https://catdogwelfare.wixsite.com/catfaces/cat-faces-interactivequiz

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Prof. Sam Hocker, Department of Clinical Studies, is undertaking a three-year study to learn more about the anti-cancer properties of cannabidiol and its potential for treating urothelial carcinoma, a difficult-to-treat bladder cancer in animals.

The project will provide much-needed research on veterinary applications of cannabis, said OVC dean Jeff Wichtel.

“Veterinarians and pet owners have been eager for information on the medical applications for cannabis,” he says. “This groundbreaking work will help us learn about the role of cannabinoids in cancer and advance this field of medical research in Canada.”

Most bladder carcinomas in humans are treated with surgery and immunotherapy, but some cases are harder to treat. Hocker says work with dogs could help design potential therapeutic options for more aggressive forms of bladder cancer in humans.

Medicinal cannabis is used to treat people, but currently, no products are licensed in Canada for treating animals. Lobbying is under way for legislation to allow veterinarians to authorize use of medical cannabis.

For this research, OVC received one of Canada’s first grants for veterinary cannabis research. Funding came from Grey Wolf Animal Health, a specialty animal health company.

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