Understanding the natural social organisation within cat colonies

A subordinate cat waits while a higher ranking cat eats

With more multi-cat, full-time indoor cat arrangements, it’s important that people understand the natural social organisation of cats. And perhaps the greatest problem for a cat caregiver when looking after cats in a multi-cat home is adding a cat to the “colony”. In effect a multi-cat home is a managed colony of cats. They …

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Dog breeds that are good with cats?

Cats like bathrooms when occupied and used

I am going to go against the grain here and stick my neck out. It is the wrong starting point to ask if there are some dog breeds that are good with cats. It is branding dog breeds as having one character that is favorable to the cat-dog relationship. I am not saving that …

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Animal shelters are reluctant to allow a person to foster a cat if they have an existing cat

New cat

There appears to be a distinct difference in opinion between animal shelters and cat owners. I’m told that there is an increase in multi-cat homes in the US. I don’t know the percentage of homes in which there are several cats in that country but it must be substantial. But if you want to …

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Does a multi-cat lifestyle lead to more negative human-cat interactions?

The question in the title asked whether cats living in multi-cat homes tend to have more negative interactions with their owner compared to single cats living in the home with their owner. I can rely on the results of a study for the answer but I can’t really add a lot of detail as …

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14 suggestions about domestic cats not using the litter box

It's not inappropriate elimination because for me it is appropriate to avoid the litter tray.

Introduction: The problem of domestic cats not using the litter box is the source of millions of articles. It is euphemistically called “inappropriate elimination”. It is an inaccurate description because from the cat’s standpoint it is entirely appropriate because there’s a reason behind their behaviour and this article sets out 14 different possible reasons. …

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24 facts on problems with multi-cat households and some solutions

Multi-cat home problems

People make the mistake that two cats will automatically be company for each other. They might sometimes but often they don’t become friends. In the worst-case scenario, it may be necessary to rehome one of them. When siblings grow up, they may be no more friendly with each other than unrelated cats. They become …

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Cats more likely to have behavioural problems when they live with other cats

The multi-cat home. These ones look okay

A survey carried out by the British Veterinary Association (BVA) asked 520 veterinarians what they thought were the most important and pressing health and welfare issues suffered by cats who attended their clinics. And perhaps unsurprisingly, 41% of the veterinarians said that stress-related behavioural problems linked to cats living in multi-cat homes was the …

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Multi-cat homes should have to comply with enhanced fire safety regulations

Multi-cat homes should be subject to tougher regulations of safety

Fires in multi-cat homes are going to kill more cats than in single cat homes. That is obvious. There are many homes with a large number of cats. The owner does not have to comply with any special fire safety regulations. But in the UK, in houses of multiple occupation (of people) there are …

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