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| Source: Cats Protection stock image |
The stress of living in a multi-cat household can result in unwanted behaviours: 77% of owners state that their cat performs at least one behaviour they would like to change but 74% of owners believed their cats were not stressed. It appears there could be a lack of understanding in cat owners of the link between stress in cats and the development of unwanted behaviours.
The root of how cats interact comes from their history as solitary predators. Descended from the African wildcat, our cats are designed to hunt, eat, drink and sleep alone. In fact all cats except lions, who live in prides, live in this way. As people are a social species they often wish to keep more than one cat.
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| African wild cat (Source: http://www.krugerpark.co.za) |
Some cats do get on well together forming social groups and this is displayed by grooming each other (allo-grooming), rubbing against each other (allo-rubbing), sleeping cuddled up together, spending time together and playing. This video produced by Cats Protection outlines whether your cats may be friends or foe. By looking at these signs it is possible to work out which cats are in the same social groups.
HOW TO HELP
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| Source: PDSA Paw Report, 2018 |
The video mentions the need for each cat in the household to have its own resources, the minimum of which include a food source, water source, litter tray, scratching post and resting area.
The PAW Report (2018) looked at resources provided by cat owners with 2 or more cats:
- 66% provide 1 or 0 litter trays
- 55% provide 1 or 0 water bowls
- 73% provide 2 or fewer cat beds
- 16% provide only 1 food bowl
Despite many cats having to share resources 95%
of owners state that their cat is happy.
Top tips for managing resources:
- Keep food and water sources away from the litter tray - would you want to use the toilet in your kitchen?
- Position food and water sources separate from each other - cats perceive water next to food as contaminated.
- Follow the general rule of one resource per cat plus one extra.
- Ensure the resources are suitable for the individual cats; for example different scratching options were discussed in my last post and litter trays were discussed in this previous post.
- Position the resources in suitable places for the cats, not for owner convenience. Would the cats rather not have to interact to reach their resources? Do they spend time on different floors of the house? Cats should be able to reach resources independently of each other.
- Do not position resources near to entry/exit points and not at bottle-neck areas where cats would need to come into close proximity to each other
- Clean litter trays regularly - cats hate soiled latrines, particularly when they smell of another cat.
- Try to make their environment predictable with as much routine as possible. Unpredictability has been found to result in toileting outside the litter tray and reluctance to eat.
- Offer outdoor access that is predictable, which can promote natural behaviours such as territory marking and hunting.
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| Source: author |
Feliway Friends is a synthetic pheromone product designed to mimic the appeasing pheromone given off by a mother cat to her kittens, to enhance their bond and promote harmony. This can help to reduce conflict between cats and prevent fighting, chasing, blocking and staring. Find out more in this video from the manufacturer and also from their website - More about Feliway Friends
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| Source: protectapet.com |
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| Source: cats.org.uk |
There is a lot more information on multi-cat households on the International Cat Care website: Multi-cat households and how to survive them and also in the Cats Protection Cats Living Together document.
