The multicat household
Point Breeze Veterinary Clinic
Sharing a home with multiple people can lead to arguments…… who gets the best place on the sofa, who gets in the bathroom first, who ate my food I was saving for later??.....
This can also be the case with our feline housemates.
Although cats are social animals, they generally prefer independent living, but not necessarily solitary living situations.
We all have had the picture in our heads…. Images of our two (or more ) cats cuddled up together on the sofa , mutually grooming each other , smiling and purring away . Unfortunately this is not always the case. In some instances, the best we can hope for is a mutual coexistence in our home.
Think of it as a roommate to roommate situation. Like people, cats like to have their own space. You may be ok living in the same space with someone, but you don’t necessarily want to share food,shower together, or sleep in the same bed! Remember, when we introduce cats to make a multicat household… they are not the ones choosing their new roommate.
Just like in human households where multiple individuals live together, the more cats there are, the greater chance of conflict.
One of the most important things we can do to ensure we keep the peace in a multicat household , is to provide each cat with free and immediate access to all of its “resources “.
*Resources*
Food and Water – Don’t ask cats to share a community food bowl. Provide multiple options of food bowls, spread throughout the feeding area, or set up additional feeding and water stations in another area of the home. It can be very stressful to some cats to be forced to eat in the presence of another cat. Also spreading feeding areas out through the home eliminates the instance of intimidation at feeding time between cats.
Litter Boxes – ( This may be the most important thing you do – and is often the most overlooked ...) There should be the same number of litter boxes as there are cats in the household, plus one . In addition to having an adequate number of boxes, place them in different locations throughout the house, and not in one room. If you have multiple levels to your home – having at least one option on each level would be ideal. If one cat feels nervous about passing by something, or through another cats or animals space in order to eliminate, he may decide that its just too stressful and could end up eliminating on the carpet, or holding it until the last possible second. Either of those options are not good, and can lead to a world of trouble …
Reduce stress by making sure boxes are in places where the cats are comfortable. And please , not next to the washer and dryer .
Resting places(beds and hideaways) – There may be one place in the home that has become the favorite among all of the cats, and there may be some stress over who gets to sleep there. Provide other cozy napping areas around the home to reduce disputes. Place beds on shelves or tuck them away in corners for those cats who like to hide when sleeping. Install padded window perches for cats who like to nap in the sun. Observe your cats sleeping habits and location preferences so you can provide comfortable options for each one.
Vertical spaces – You can greatly increase your cats territory just by increasing accessible vertical spaces in your home. Cat trees, cat shelves and window perches are an easy and effective way to make your cats feel like they have more physical territory than they actually do.
Multiple perched cat trees allow for more than one cat to remain in close proximity to one another while still keeping a degree of distance.
Play and attention – Engage your cats in interactive play but don’t ask them all to compete for it at the same time. Even if just for a few minutes a day – give each cat in your home some undivided attention.