Etologi betyder per definition läran om djurens beteende och orsakerna till det. Dengenerella definitionen av en Etolog är således en person som har kunskap om djurensbeteende och orsakerna till det. Definitionen är öppen för tolkning och allmänheten harliten eller ingen kännedom om Etolog som profession. Dessutom är inte titeln Etologskyddad vilket innebär att i princip vem som helst kan kalla sig Etolog. Kunskaps- ochkompetensnivån Etologer emellan kan således variera, vilket bidrar till gemene mans dåligakännedom om Etologer samt en något splittrad yrkeskår.

Behaviour problems are often behaviours that cat owners don´t like, but are normal to the cat. The reason to why cat owners experience certain feline behaviours as problematic is probably due to the current practice in cat housing. The ways that cats are kept today causes somewhat of a compromise between cat and owner and inhibits the expressions of the cat's natural and normal behaviour. The cat owners may misunderstand their cats behaviour, for example the cat owners believe that their cats perform certain behaviours because of feelings of guilt, hate, revenge or maybe to protest against something or someone. An animal hospital may help solve behaviour problems, but also help the cat owners to undstand their cat´s behaviour in an other perspective. The aim of this study is to investigate the need of a cat ethologist in animal hospitals.