They’re so adorable, you can’t imagine living without any of them. But life with more than one feline friend in your home isn’t always easy. Whether you already have more than one cat or are considering adding another, following these tips for overcoming the five top problems in multicat households will make the experience much more pleasant.
Cats have very distinctive personalities. As a rescuer, I’ve learned that the stress level in a home isn’t always in direct proportion to the number of cats there. Three cats can create 10 times the stress as one.
U.S. homes with cats average 2.1 felines each, according to PetPlace.com. Maybe you added a cat as a companion to your first cat. Living in my home are five rescued feral cats and one abandoned domestic seeking adoption. Based on my experience as a cat rescuer, these are the top five problems in a multicat household:
Pecking Order
Unlike dogs, who constantly bicker over dominance, cats are mainly territorial. When you add a cat, this upsets everybody. Once the cats sort it out, however, each normally accepts his or her place.
Reduce aggression by making sure all the cats are spayed or neutered. Your cats need sufficient opportunities to establish their own territories. A fellow rescuer with nine cats in her small apartment created a special spot for each by layering perches on her walls.
When it comes to litter boxes, use one per cat.
The most important behavior you can adopt when introducing another cat is patience, the ASPCA points out. The cats need time to adjust.
Indoor/outdoor
Having a mix of indoor and indoor/outdoor cats is difficult if your indoor furballs grow resentful. Rescuers aim to keep all cats indoors to avoid exposure to diseases or potential injuries.
When a cat constantly whines to go out, ignore the temptation to buy a harness for a daily stroll. You’ll do the cat a favor by not exposing him or her to fresh-air temptations.
With cats whose temperaments dictate remaining indoor/outdoor, exercise vigilance every time you open a door. The indoor cats might attempt an escape.
Owners with indoor-only pets in small spaces wonder how to provide enough exercise for their cats. Adding wall perches is one way. If your home has at least two stories, put some litter boxes on each floor. Narrow hallways are perfect places where cats can run through long canvas tunnels.
Nutritional needs
One cat eats only wet food. Another won’t eat the dry food you bought. The males bully the females and steal their food.
The quickest solution to these problems is putting cats into segregated feeding areas and removing food but not water after each feeding.
However, if you don’t have a compatible floor plan, you’ll need the lowest common denominator: dry and wet food all will eat. You might also need extra feedings for those whose food was stolen by more aggressive cats.
Contagion
A number of feline illnesses and conditions are highly contagious. Segregate a new cat from the rest until your vet provides the necessary immunizations and care, then approves mingling.
Make sure all cats have been wormed and use preventive flea treatment. Litter boxes, fighting (real or play), and feeding dishes are the usual ways illnesses like Bartonella, giardia, feline leukemia, and toxoplasmosis spread.
If you spot diarrhea, how do you know which cat (or cats) might be affected? You won’t, until you see one have a bowel movement. When you can’t be sure who made the mess, take the “suspects” to the vet for a loop procedure to remove stool for testing.
Sometimes a contagious illness requires oral meds for all the cats in a multicat household. If some are impossible to dose, they’ll need to board with the vet to get medication.
Special Needs
Lots of cats have special needs. Our five cats won’t accept the sixth. His special need is being a pariah cat. We segregate him from the others and make sure if both of us are gone, he’s behind a closed door.
Some of the most difficult situations involve cats with aggression issues. Often the safest solution is separating them and relocating them to different floors or areas. Passing a special-needs cat from one owner to another doesn’t help the animal. It just moves the problem to a different home.
If you own more than one cat, these tips for overcoming the top five problems in multicat households should make life more satisfying for you and your pets.
Sources:
http://www.petplace.com/cats/reducing-multicat-household-stress/page1.aspx
http://aspcabehavior.org/articles/26/Introducing-Your-Cat-to-a-New-Cat.aspx
Personal experience as a cat rescuer