Maintaining harmony in multi-cat households.
When it comes to feline families, the more the merrier, for in a multi-cat household, paws unite and hearts purr together”.
Although this lovely saying does paint a glorious picture of multi-cat homes, I find it a teensy bit optimistic. The reason for this is that whilst each cat has his or her own unique personality and idiosyncrasies, there is one thing they all have in common is that they have no choice over which other cats live with them. This important decision is made by us, their owners. Not only that, but we also put them in an environment that is essentially designed for humans. It’s therefore not surprising that problems can arise between co-habiting cats.
With this in mind, how you maintain order in a multi-cat household is something that requires careful management and consideration of each cat’s specific needs. Here are some tips to help you establish and maintain harmony among the felines that share your home:
SPACE
A few years ago, I had a client whose two cats weren’t getting along, and to compound this some bully-boy cats moved in next door and staged a takeover of the entire outdoor environment. This made their indoor space even more important to them. However, one of the challenges we faced was that my client had a house that was small and, unfortunately for the cats, not perfectly formed. It had a layout that offered limited opportunities to maximise the space that each cat could use to help them feel more comfortable around each other. So, she ended up moving!
This is a bit of a drastic approach, and not a strategy I usually end up recommending. What I would advise however, is that when you consider adding to your cat family, think about the size of your home. Can you make it work so that multiple cats can each have their own territory within it?
It’s not all about size either, the layout of your home is just as important. In general, minimalistic or open plan homes aren’t favoured by cats. If it was up to them, we would all live in houses with separate rooms filled to the rafters with stuff that they can climb onto and hide amongst! If it’s possible to break up the space in your home to allow your cats camouflage as they move about, this will help to reduce any stress felt by the presence of their house-friends, or foes!
And beware of bi-fold doors that run along the back wall of your home. Any old cat, be it one of yours or a neighbouring feline, can wander past and stick two paws up at the cat sitting on the other side of them. In this instance wo betide any cat that wanders into the roo
