Sharing a house often leads to arguments – who gets the best place on the sofa, who hogs the heater, who ate the snack you were saving for later and who gets the bathroom first?
It’s bad enough when these occur between human housemates but multiple cat households often have the same tensions between the feline housemates.
Ideally multiple cats should join the household at the same time – as kittens from the same litter but the reality is that cat lovers usually find room for one more cat, the little waif who wanders in, the sad soul in a rescue shelter or they find so much pleasure in cat ownership that they decide to double the joy and get another cat. Often the second cat is acquired as company for the cat whose owners are absent during work hours. In the owner’s mind is an image of two cats curled up together on the sofa, mutually grooming...unfortunately this is not always the case.
Although cats are social animals they generally prefer independent living but not necessarily solitary living. They like their own space, will vigorously defend their territory against intruders and each considers it alone is entitled to the best spot on the sofa. Cats can usually work out living arrangements without bloodshed. They often cleverly divide the house into “mine”, “yours” and “ours” areas and any trespass is usually met only with a hiss and spit. If you observe closely you will see that even cats who are the best of friends will have divided up their territory. One corner of the bed may belong to one cat, and the other corner to the other cat.
Owners should respect the boundaries that the cats establish. If they don’t want to curl up together, so be it. If they live at opposite ends of the house and hiss and swipe as they pass in the hallway, then accept that is the natural way of the cat. You will have to enjoy your cats as individuals, not as a pair.
One of the most important things you must do to ensure harmony in a multicat household is provide each cat with his own ‘resources’- Have one litter box for each cat plus one extra in the house. Provide each cat with its own food, water bowls, bed and scratching post. Make sure you enrich the environment with areas to climb, toys to play with and safe places to hide or sit such as tunnels or high perches.
Owning a cat is a pleasure that may be doubled or trebled by owning two or three cats but, just as in human households where individuals co-habit, the more cats the greater chance of conflict.
When introducing another cat to the household is it advisable to keep your first cat confined and them in adjoining rooms for a few days where they can smell and hear each other. Introduce them under supervision in an area where they can get away from each other if they choose. Do not verbally or physically discipline your cats for fighting. Reward them with kind words and stroking when they are tolerating each other’s company.
Your vet can suggest products that release cat pheromones to relax the cats and ease introductions.
Try to relax yourself – tense owners make tense cats!
And remember, sometimes when you have two cats that appear to resent the presence of the other you may catch them unawares in a mutual grooming moment. It is a cat thing!