Multi-cat homes · 5 min read
How to Get Two Cats to Get Along
By feline behaviourist Mitali Parekh
The truth our cats want us to know is that they don't especially like living with other cats. Here's how to reduce the friction.
Cats are solitary by design
The truth our cats want us to know is that they don't like living with other cats. Cats are solitary creatures — they do not get together in their natural lives to hunt, raise young or live in packs. A large number of female cats and their kittens may live together in an open space, such as a housing society, where there is plenty of food, but they don't co-operate like dogs do towards a mutual goal.
Two kittens, adopted together, can get along well; usually friction appears when there's a third addition.
What hostility looks like
There will be visible displays of aggression such as one cat blocking the other's access to the food and litter, hissing attacks, or even blocking the other when one cat approaches a human. There can be vicious fights and spraying of urine. They may also swat each other as they try to pass through doorways, or when on a cat tree. These are all signs of hostility.
But it starts on the scent level first — cats leave pheromones at junctions, on beds and chairs to tell the other cat they are not welcome.
Multiply the resources
Resources such as food, litter trays, sunbathing areas, and high and hidden places should be multiplied and spread over a large area. The rule for everything is one per cat, plus one.
Enough shelves or high places (tops of cupboards, and so on), with step-like or sloped walkways, are essential for them to move through a room. More than one cat tree, with about three pedestals at least; three or more litter trays in different areas of the house, with easy access that cannot be blocked by any cat, will avoid fights. The same goes for food and water — spread it over the house, with many bowls of water, and feed them away from each other. There should also be enough cave-like hiding places: the insides of cupboards, shelves, tents.
Respect the treaty they write themselves
Often the cats will respectfully choose to be in different rooms, or parts of the house. This is an agreement they have reached between themselves, and the best thing to do would be to go along with it.
Ensure that each one of them has one or two litter trays, climbing opportunities, places to sunbathe, water and food in each territory. Give both of them equal measures of affection and play time.
