HOW TO HELP INCREASE THE HARMONY IN YOUR MULTI-CAT HOME:
MANAGING ALTERCATIONS BETWEEN CATS:
If your cats are getting in to fights, the best thing to do is to physically separate them straight away. If you need to break them up mid-fight, try placing a towel over one or both of them, which should help to disrupt things long enough for one cat to make a quick getaway (you might also be able to scoop one of the cats up).
Your cats may benefit from living separately for a period of time (i.e. in separate parts of the house), before being very gradually and careful re-introduced.
MANAGING THE INDOOR ENVIRONMENT:
● Make sure you have multiples of all the things that your cats’ value so that they never need to share.The golden rule is one of each per cat, plus a few extras.
● Make sure each cat can access all of their resources without having to cross paths.
● Cats can feel most vulnerable when they are a little distracted (e.g. eating, drinking or toileting, or when they are resting or snoozing). Position associated resources in a way that your cat can feel safe when using them and that they have a clear view of any potential threats coming their way.
● Ensure that one cat cannot block another cat’s access to parts of the house or outdoors.
● You could try to provide the more vulnerable cats with access to safe areas within the home where they can go without any risk of being disturbed or bullied.
● Ensure you schedule each of your cats in separately for regular, quality ‘you time’.
● Try to make your cats’ indoor and outdoor environment as enriching and stimulating as possible, keeping them busy and out of mischief.
MANAGING THE OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT: Sometimes tension in multi-cat homes can be caused just as much by the cats outside your home as those inside. Ensure there aren’t intruder cats sneaking into your house. If you have a cat flap, make sure it’s microchipoperated so your cats have exclusive access. If there are lots of cats in the neighbourhood, try to discourage them from hanging around in your garden. Make sure there are a lot of places your cats can hide and get up high so that they feel safer when outdoors.You might even want to consider cat-proofing your garden.
BEING REALISTIC:
When you have implemented all your new ‘cat harmonising strategies’, make sure you keep an eye on each cat and continue to track their progress.You can repeat the above quiz periodically to compare their scores over time.
Finally, be prepared to accept that, if your cats fundamentally dislike each other or their personalities clash, there may be very little you can do. Sometimes the best way to improve the harmony and well-being for all cats concerned is to rehome the ones that continue to struggl, or those that cause the majority of problems. While this can be an extremely difficult thing to do, it might just be the kindest thing.