Cats in multi-cat homes find ways to share space by living parallel lives and time sharing space. One major conclusion of the BBC series Cat Watch: The New Horizon Experiment was that in homes where there is more than one cat, they find ways to share the available space. They do this because the domestic cat is halfway between its wild cat ancestor felis silvestris lybica and a fully domesticated creature entirely suited to living with humans in the 21st century. When the wild cat was first domesticated it was suited to the semi-domesticated lifestyle of that era thousands of years ago in the same way barn cat life better suits today’s domestic cat in some ways.
Having taken that conclusion on board as have other commentators I asked Ruth to diarise, in outline, where her cat companions, Jozef and Walter positioned themselves throughout the day. This little, basic test does not include nighttime of course and at night cats can have a way of life which people are unfamiliar with particularly if they are allowed out as they please.
The conclusion from Ruth’s mini-diary is that Walt and Jozef live parallel lives finding their own space and doing their own thing. There is a good level of harmony as well due to the cat’s ability to find a compromise. I feel that this supports the findings of the BBC cat experiment.
Here is the diary:
One Day Diary Of Two Cats Sharing A Home
6am
- Jozef on Ruth’s bed announcing it’s time to get up (He always knows whose turn it is to get up early with them)
- Walter waiting at the top of the stairs
7am
- Jozef out on his morning rounds
- Walter sitting on his high chair next to Ruth’s computer desk in the living room
8am
- Jozef just in from his rounds and eating in the kitchen
- Walter eating in the living room
9am
- Jozef on the couch in the living room
- Walter out on the patio in the back garden
10am
- Jozef on the couch
- Walter in the armchair
11am
- Jozef out, not in the garden, so probably across hunting mice on the embankment
- Walter asleep in the armchair
12 noon
- Jozef still out
- Walter sitting in the front garden
1pm
- Jozef still out
- Walter sitting in the living room window
2pm
- Jozef still out
- Walter on high chair by Ruth’s computer
3pm
- Jozef just home and eating in the kitchen
- Walter eating in the living room
4pm
- Jozef asleep in the cats chair
- Walter asleep lying on Babz in the arm chair
5pm
- Jozef still sleeping in the cats chair
- Walter sleeping in the armchair having turfed Babz out
6pm
- Both eating in the living room
7pm
- Both out
8pm
- Jozef still out
- Walter on high chair
9pm
- Jozef on couch next to Ruth
- Walter out
10pm
- Both eating upstairs as we prepare for bed
Jozef stays upstairs on one of our beds, Walter goes back downstairs to sleep in the armchair, but both cats wander around in the night, having a snack and a look out of the windows.
ps see the exact same position, tails to the right
Wow ruth that’s amazing Love the Photos of them.
Thanks Kylee, I love to see them when they do their mirror image rolling outside too, cats politics are so fascinating.
All are wonderful cats and very close to each other and I love them, fantastic <3 hmmmmuaaa for them, mean Kisses to all cats <3
Black or black and white cats seem to always come our way, we have had only one ginger, one grey and one brown tabby, but we love any colour equally as much.
People as well as cats, our outer colour makes no difference, we are all the same inside, except good or bad and I love the good people like you Ahsan.