Sometimes getting cats to live together
peacefully can be as difficult as trying to herd them. Others
appear to get along famously. Why do some cats get along well
together while others do not?
To answer this question it is helpful to know something about
cats’ natural inclinations toward each other. Cats are not,
by nature, as sociable as dogs. When resources are scarce, as
they are in nature, most cats have to get by pretty much on
their own and do not seem to need or seek company. There are a
few exceptions to this: mating time, kitten nursing/rearing
time (for females only), and congregation time for itinerant
urban males off their own territory. No one is quite sure of
the purpose of these latter gatherings, which often occur in
the back alleys off busy city streets. At these times, the
cats simply sit and look at each other from a distance. And
that just about sums it up for feline “social” behavior,
except under different conditions, that is.
When there is ample food for all, cats have
the leisure to live together in harmony, if they wish. Under
these circumstances groups of 70 or more cats can live
together with some degree of mutual harmony in a unit that has
been found to be a true society, not simply an aggregation of
animals of the same species around a common food source.
In the “cat society,” females tend to form alliances and
share some of the duties of kitten-raising to their mutual
benefit. They will, for example, cross suckle and engage in
cooperative hunting. Males patrol territories in which groups
of females reside and, like the males of many species, seem
indifferent to the social side of things. Their job is to feed
themselves and procreate.
Within these large groups of cats, it has been found that
certain individuals spend more time than the average in close
proximity to each other. These cats have been termed
“preferred associates,” or what you and I would call
friends. They show some affinity for each other. Other cats
distance themselves from each other and might be referred to
non-preferred associates or as showing a degree of antagonism
toward each other. Preferred associates communicate their
affection for each other in subtle ways, such as momentary
bunting and flank rubbing, or they may actually allow each
other inside their personal space, grooming each other and
curling up together.
In the Home
This is (or should be) the situation in our homes, allowing
cats to live together in a society. The term society implies
some sort of civil code of conduct and perhaps some social
ranking system. Both appear to exist, at least on occasion, in
groups of cats in the home. One type of social arrangement
occurs when a leader cat controls the whole group. This is
referred to as a despotic hierarchy. All other cats are equal
in terms of access to valued resources, with the exception of
the occasional pariah cat that in nature normally would be
excluded from the group and driven away.
Other times, the order is less easy to see and may take the
form of a “time-sharing cooperative.” The leader may have
the favored spot on the windowsill in the sun in the morning,
turning it over without fuss to another cat in the afternoon.
All these hierarchical concerns occur at a level barely
detectable to us body-language blind humans. Not only do we
not appreciate the subtleties of our feline companion’s
social structure but we also transgress by breaking certain
unwritten rules.
Common Mistakes
When we have only one cat, we assume that the addition
of any other cat will provide social and environmental
enrichment.
Because we have two or three cats who get along well
together, we assume a third cat will cause no trouble.
We assume that reuniting siblings is a cinch.
If they don’t get along at first, they will
eventually.
The Truths
Some cats are better kept as only cats.
Stable societies can be destabilized by the addition of
a new cat.
When there are more than 10 cats in a household there is
inevitably a behavior problem related to inter-cat
friction.
Neither new kittens or siblings have carte blanche when
introduced/reintroduced into a home.
“Trial marriages” should always precede permanent
residency.
When introducing a new cat do it from behind closed
doors. Proceed with the gradual introduction only as long
as peace permits.
Some cats will never get along.
When we get another cat, whether for ourselves, or
ostensibly for another cats’ pleasure, we destabilize their
order. We work on the basis that the addition of another cat
will be accepted sooner or later. Nothing could be further
from the truth. Cats, as it turns out, are a bit like us. Some
other cats they like, others they do not, and never will.
Luckily for us, most cats are not in the second category and
will come round in time, as long as we play our cards right.
The fact is that when cats are introduced, many will initially
show some degree of aloofness or animosity toward each other.
Resident cats has squatters’ rights but matters of
individual temperament can overturn any theoretical
“rights.” Some degree of overt aggression, often confined
to growling and hissing, often occurs initially when cats are
first introduced, but the hostilities will usually melt away
over time until natural harmony is achieved in a period of
some 90 days. Aggression persisting after this time is termed
territorial aggression and has its roots in both dominance and
fearfulness.
The four possible end results are:
The cats get on just fine or even enjoy each other
company.
The cats go through an initial reactive phase and then
achieve mutual respect.
The cats fight, but can later be persuaded to tolerate
each other.
The cats never get along, always fight, will always hate
each other.
The ways to circumvent hostile relationships between
housemate cats are:
Wait and see. Sometimes things improve.
Counterconditioning. Make sure that fun things happen
when the two cats are together side by side, if at all
possible.
Separate the cats and reintroduce them slowly, over
months if necessary, under pleasant circumstances.
Find a home for one of the cats.
As you may have guessed, it is not always possible to get
two cats to live together without hostilities occurring. Cats
are more like humans than most of us would have ever imagined!
When two cats are apparently incompatible, it may be possible,
working with a behaviorist, to defuse overt aggression and
allow the pair to live together in mutual indifference, if not
harmony. In many instances, even mutual indifference would be
an acceptable conclusion to the owners.
Barring occasional oil and water personality mixes, owners
often find that problems between cats often do settle
eventually and sometimes relationships between cats positively
blossom. As mentioned, there is no absolute way to tell which
cat is going to react in which way and which ones will
reconcile their differences in due course. It’s mainly a
matter of trial and error … and luck. Cat personality-wise,
good omens for a successful blend include a history of proper
socialization, no prior history of inter-cat aggression
(either as aggressor or recipient), curiosity, and a calm
even-tempered personality. With all these factors present in
the cats to be brought together, the mix should be just
purr-fect.
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