Cat Owners’ Perceptions toward Flea Infestation and Flea-borne Diseases: Impact for Public Health and Community Awareness

A structured questionnaire was distributed to a total of 531 cat owners in Peninsular Malaysia to evaluate their perceptions toward fleas and flea-borne diseases (FBD) using a knowledge-attitude-practice (KAP) approach. This study showed that majority of cat owners (50.5%) had a moderate level of knowledge on fleas, while 65.3% of them had a relatively low level of knowledge on FBD. However, most of them had positive attitudes (87.9%) and good practices (94.5%) toward efforts on prevention from flea infestation and FBD. Statistical analysis showed significant associations between knowledge on fleas and FBD toward demographic and pet ownership profiles of the respondents. Educated cat owners from urban area were more likely to have positive attitudes toward prevention of fleas and FBD. Female cat owners with monthly income of RM 5,001–7,000 ($1143–1600) were more likely to have good practices. Middle-aged cat owners showed the highest odds toward both positive attitudes and good practices. Correlation analyses indicated significant linear relationships between both knowledge, which were also associated with attitudes, but not with practices.

本研究针对马来西亚半岛共计531名猫主人发放结构化问卷，采用知识-态度-实践（Knowledge-Attitude-Practice, KAP）研究方法，评估其对跳蚤及跳蚤传播疾病（Flea-borne Diseases, FBD）的认知与态度。研究结果显示，50.5%的猫主人对跳蚤具备中等水平的认知，而65.3%的受访者对跳蚤传播疾病的认知水平相对较低。但绝大多数受访者（87.9%）对跳蚤寄生及跳蚤传播疾病的防控工作持有积极态度，且94.5%的受访者展现出良好的防控行为。统计分析表明，受访者对跳蚤及跳蚤传播疾病的认知水平，与其人口统计学特征及宠物饲养情况存在显著关联。受过高等教育的城市猫主人，更易对跳蚤及跳蚤传播疾病的防控持有积极态度。月收入介于5001至7000林吉特（1143至1600美元）的女性猫主人，其展现出良好防控行为的概率更高。中年猫主人在持有积极防控态度与表现出良好防控行为两个维度上，均展现出最高的优势比。相关性分析结果显示，两类认知水平之间存在显著线性关联，且二者均与防控态度显著相关，但与防控行为无显著关联。