Helping owners to support the emotional and behavioural needs of the socially mature cat

Behavioural welfare needs of the socially mature cat

The domestic cat is a territorial species, evolved from hunting rodents within a savannah environment in which rodents were scarce (Bradshaw et al, 2012). Yet, based on the requirements of modern feral cats, each cat would have required in excess of 12 ‘kills’ per day for survival. With an approximately 10% success rate at predation, this would have involved a minimum of 120 predatory attempts per day to sustain life. Hence, survival was dependent on establishing and maintaining the defence of a territory (Cats Protection, 2017). The coexistence of another cat within that territory would predict an inability to survive and, consequently, the domestic cat is highly sensitive to social overcrowding as protecting its individual access to the resources that the cat considers necessary for survival, is an essential life skill (Ellis, 2016a). As a result, the cat has developed a strong concept of self-reliance, having no ethologically driven innate requirement for the companionship of other cats or humans. The cat requires a sense of control over the resources that it considers necessary for its welfare. The cat's over-riding priority is a continuous concept that both the cat and its access to resources is safe.

As the cat has no biological need to be social to survive, the capacity to be social is a relatively recent behavioural development in evolutionary terms. All of the cat's essential behaviours — feeding, hunting, elimination and resting —are solitary behaviours (Bradshaw et al, 2012). Yet, in non-domestic circumstances, as female cats will spend the greater part of their lives rearing kittens, 80% of the female cat's time can be said to be spent in the company of other cats (Macdonald et al, 2000). This capacity for female cats to live cooperatively has created some domestic cats that can cope with, and may choose, social contact with conspecifics; however, given the choice and opportunity, many will avoid such social contact (Bradshaw et al, 2012). Hence, although some cats can tolerate the social proximity of other cats, all cats are capable of living alone and most cats will adapt to a solitary existence (Cats Protection, 2017). For those cats capable of social contact with other cats, the individual cat's capacity to cope with life as part of a feline social group will be highly dependent on the availability and distribution of essential resources (Rodan and Heath, 2016).

Cats and stress

‘Stress’ is a broad term describing an animal's cognitive, emotional and physiological responses to both pleasant or aversive stimuli; stress is intended to enable an animal to behave appropriately to, and hence cope with, the situations with which it is faced (Mills, 2016). When a cat is exposed to a stimulus for a short period of time, stress is a normal and healthy response. However, some stressors have a deleterious effect resulting in distress — a negative form of stress experienced when the demands of the cat's life experience exceeds its capacity to cope, resulting in the cat's welfare being compromised. Such distress may be short term (acute) and the cat's response may resolve the problem exposure. However, when the cat experiences long-term exposure to continuous stressors or frequent, repeated challenges from stressors that it cannot avoid through behaviours associated with escape, hiding or defensive aggression, the distress becomes chronic (Bradshaw, 2016).

When a cat experiences chronic exposure to a distressinducing stimulus that it can not escape from, it may stop attempting to do so — despite the threat to its wellbeing. This ‘giving up’ of attempts to reduce its exposure to the stressor, sometimes described as apathy, is termed ‘learned helplessness’ (Mills, 2016). This results from the cat learning that it has no control over its exposure to the stressor — a state which may eventually create an inability to experience pleasure. As a result of this state, a cat that is eventually provided with a solution to its problem, e.g. a safe place to hide from a stressor, may be incapable of using the hiding place, furthering an owner's incorrect perception that the cat is not suffering.

What if needs are not met?

The problem of exposure to chronically enduring or frequently occurring stressors is not simply associated with an experience of distress, a lack of coping and diminishing welfare; chronic exposure of the cat's physiology to stress-related biochemicals predisposes the cat to stress-related disease and engaging in stress-related behaviours (Carney and Gourkow, 2016) (Table 1). These behaviours are likely to become problematic for the owner, resulting in a reduced quality of life for the cat, and an experience of suffering for the cat and, potentially, the owner as well.

However, it should be noted that the behaviours listed in Table 1 were those identified in the veterinary referral form/letter; however, during the consultation, many of the cats were found to present with multiple problems, e.g. many house-soiling cases also involved cat–cat conflict (Halls, 2017). Interestingly, the majority of feline behaviour problems appear to have an onset at 2–3 years of age (Halls, 2017), just as the cat enters the socially mature stage.

Distress and clinical disease in cats

Whether a consequence of the veterinary or home environment, the acute (making accurate diagnosis difficult) or prolonged distress experienced by cats can result in feline ill-health (Sparks et al, 2016). It is not within the remit of this article to provide details of stress-related feline conditions, but Table 2 provides a summary.

Meeting the behavioural and welfare needs of the socially mature cat

The provision of a suitable environment (Figure 1) and the ability to avoid stressors, as well as the availability of positive, nurturing experiences, can all help a cat to cope. Even cats whose early life experiences have not been appropriate to enabling coping within a domestic environment will experience welfare benefits from an appropriate physical and social environment in later life (Hargrave 2018a; 2018b; Mills, 2016).

However, the cat's needs are so specific, to its rather unique ethological background, that owners are often shocked and distressed when they hear that their cat's behaviour or health problems may be associated with a home environment. Often the owner has gone to considerable lengths to provide a suitable environment but, through misunderstandings regarding the cat's needs, has inadvertently produced an environment that has failed to meet their cat's needs (Hall, 2016). A brief examination of the cat's ethology with an owner can help owners to identify their cat's needs.

The International Society of Feline Medicine (ISFM) has identified basic needs of the cat (Ellis et al, 2013):

It is important that owners understand that the above are basic requirements and that without provision of these basic needs, the cat cannot consider itself ‘safe’; consequently, it will be unable to ‘cope’. Even if the domestic cat is living in a home as a sole feline occupier, to enable it to cope with the sight and smell of other local, neighbouring cats (even if only observed or smelled from within the home), the cat will need multiple and separated key environmental resources (Ramos and Reche-Junior, 2016). In addition, if the cat is living in a multi-cat household, the resource supply should not only be plentiful (at least one per cat plus one), but dispersed throughout the home so that no cat has to pass another to gain access to its desired resource. Cat Protection (2017) has produced house plans to assist veterinary staff in guiding owners regarding the placement of resources (Figure 1).

The indoor cat

Although many companion cats live in homes where the outdoor environment may pose specific dangers to their safety (e.g. heavy traffic), ideally, if cats are to express their natural behaviours, they would have access to the outdoors (Cats Protection, 2017). Consequently, the care of the indoor cat raises enhanced responsibilities to ensure that all of the cat's basic needs are fully met within the home (Ellis, 2016b). Although outdoor cats may roam and investigate a considerable area of land, the restricted size of the indoor environment is not the biggest challenge to the indoor cat's welfare, as long as the cat can be provided with a stimulating and plentiful access to a three-dimensional (3D) environment within the home. Increasing the complexity and stimulation that the home environment provides is key to maintaining the indoor cat's welfare, ensuring that it can carry out food foraging exercises that mimic hunting and that provide both exercise and mental stimulation. In addition, as the indoor cat is not able to escape the home environment when stressed, there is the extra responsibility of providing multiple and varied, accessible hiding places for the cat (Rochlitz, 2009).

Multi-cat households — good or bad?

Because of the cat's ethological lack of requirement for feline companionship, the major problem in creating a feline household of more than one cat, is finding compatible feline housemates. If this can be successfully achieved and resources can be appropriately placed, and immediately available to either cat at all times, there is potential for a successful multi-cat arrangement, in that the cats may be able to tolerate each other without individual cats living a life of chronically depleted welfare (Halls, 2016). The problem lies in selecting compatible cats — a task fraught with potential failure. However, if after appropriate guidance from veterinary staff to the contrary, a client is insistent that they require a second cat, there are mixes that should be avoided:

However, even if litter siblings or kittens of the same age (but different litters) are introduced to a home, there will be further risk factors to consider (Horwitz and Pike, 2016):

Spotting cats with affiliative relationships

If cats are part of a social group, that group will be maintained by behaviours that facilitate their relationship (Ley, 2016a), many of which are associated with maintaining a communal scent (Table 3). As cat social behaviour is quite subtle, it is the lack of such behaviours (rather than obvious, overt aggression) that signals a lack of affiliation (Ley, 2016b). This can make it difficult for owners to understand that their cats do not necessarily appreciate the company of one another, as many owners assume that a lack of hissing, growling and fighting (behaviours of last resort) is a sure sign that the cats' relationship is benefiting all (Cats Protection, 2017) (Figure 3; Figure 4).

It can be seen in Table 3 that feline inter-cat aggression (inter-cat distance creation) can be subtle and passive, rarely involving active signs of aggression that would be expected in a cat fight. In addition, the onset of medical conditions noted in Table 2 can indicate that a cat is failing to cope with the feline social situation in a home, as can the appearance of behaviours such as those in Table 4.

There are 4.3 million cats (42% of the UK cat population) living in multi-cat households (The People's Dispensary of Sick Animals (PDSA), 2017). There are no reliable tests to enable prospective owners to predict the compatibility of cats regarding gender, breed, kitten or adult cat. Therefore, if owners are insisting on attempting to introduce an adult cat into an existing feline group, owners should be advised to select a cat with a proven history of positive multi-cat living and a calm temperament. If a prospective owner is selecting a kitten, they should be advised to seek one that is alert and interactive with the environment, playful with the other kittens in the litter and keen to approach visitors — but most certainly not seemingly hyperactive, boisterous or over-confident. Owners will also need to be made aware that inter-cat relationships can change over time and that the introduction of a new cat into a group that is currently sharing resources, may produce the extra strain on resource-sharing that can destroy a previously socially tolerant grouping. Above all, it should be stressed to multi-cat owners that the key to success in avoiding distress lies in the following factors:

Assisting owners in introducing a new kitten to an existing feline group

Owners will need to plan carefully if they are to be successful in creating a good relationship between the kitten and existing household cats. The existing feline group will consider the kitten to represent a territorial challenge, rather than being their new best friend. Successful integration of a new cat will be dependent on all cats initially accepting the scent of one another; following that, ensuring that the cats can tolerate the sight of one another; and finally, and only if the other two parameters have been achieved, allowing the cats to have the choice of physical contact.

The collection of the kitten will have to be timed carefully so that family members have the time to devote to safe and gentle introductions to both the physical and social environment. The first stage of a successful introduction is to ensure that all cats can cope with each other's scent. Ideally, scent cloths associated with the existing cats, will already have been introduced to the kitten at the breeding establishment, but this should continue in the new home. In addition, the scent of the kitten can be harvested onto small cotton cloths and introduced to the cats within the home, initially at a distance, and gradually closer up. The individual initial reactions of the cats to the cloth can be a good indicator of which cats will have specific difficulties with the kitten; however, supplies of kitten-scented cloths (kept in sealed plastic bags when not in use) can be used, along with small tasty treats, to gradually increase proximity to the smell while associating it with a pleasurable experience (taking care to maintain a distance that fails to result in startle or alarm in the cat).

Prior to the kitten's arrival, a kitten room should be created — one that is not much used by resident cats. The room will need to be checked for safety, e.g. to ensure that the kitten can not become stuck behind furniture or pull items on top of itself. The room will need to contain all of the resources that the kitten may need, e.g. beds in different positions and placed at safe heights, a food bowl, water bowl and litter tray (well separated from one another), scratching post and toys. Ideally, the family may initially wish to use a kitten pen in the room. If scent swapping is advancing successfully in both directions, bedding and other cat-related items can be swapped between the kitten room and the other cats' resting places. The kitten will be receiving frequent, short periods of gentle attention from the family, but it is important that the existing cat's routine is maintained and that it also receives attention (at a level with which it can cope, not exceeding the amount it finds enjoyable).

The next stage of the introduction involves enabling the cats to cope with seeing each other. If a kitten pen has been used, this can be positioned in a corner of a room or against a wall (if a kitten pen has not been used, it is not at all appropriate to use a cage or other, small, confined object as a replacement — the kitten will need to be able to move away from an approaching cat, should it wish to do so). The pen should contain multiple hiding places, such as boxes or small tunnels. More than one person should be present as the kitten should be distracted via gentle play, while the second person observes as the resident cat explores the outer area of the pen without unnecessary intervention. If there are multiple cats, this introduction should initially occur singly and if either the kitten or cat show signs of fear or agitation, the interaction should be gently interrupted and the cats separated to a distance at which they can relax. While the adult cat shows signs of investigation or passive interest, it should be gently praised and provided with small, tasty rewards (e.g. small pieces of tuna or prawn). Once successful, the kitten pen can be moved to other rooms and allow approximately 2 weeks to pass while repeating this exercise, several times per day, if possible.

Throughout the above and for several more weeks, the client should continue to use the kitten room with the kitten, reinforcing litter training. However, after about 2 weeks of successful pen-based introductions, the kitten pen can be opened and the kitten can be allowed to have supervised opportunities to move around different rooms of the house while the resident cats are elsewhere. However, the kitten should remain in the closed pen in its room at night and should continue to be kept sperate from the other cats when unsupervised until it is approximately 5 months old.

Once the cat and kitten are to be allowed to come into physical contact, this should occur in an open room (never in the pen or other confined space) and plenty of hiding places should be dispersed around the room; signs of fear should be carefully monitored and, if detected, the cat and kitten should be gently separated. This should be followed by further owner efforts regarding scent swapping without signs of agitation, and opportunities for mutual observation without signs of fear or frustration, prior to further opportunities for physical proximity.

Introducing adult cats

The introduction of an adult cat should follow much the same pattern as that of a kitten and should progress with the same level of care. Objects that have been used by both cats can be swapped between areas of the home, but care should be taken to observe the responses of individual cats to the smell of the other cat, and any signs of alarm or frustration should be used to slow down the introduction process. Once the cats can tolerate the smell of the other cat, facial pheromones can be collected from individual cats using fine cotton gloves that have been stroked along the cat's cheeks, chin and forehead. These pheromones can then be rubbed against doorways and furniture. Assisting the cats in creating a shared scent profile can be facilitated by stroking both cats, one after the other, with the same gloves.

Once the cats can tolerate the scent of the other cat, they can be allowed to observe one another by replacing the ‘pen’ that is mentioned above, with a wire mesh/chicken net door that can be firmly fixed to existing door frames as the cat is introduced to the rooms of the house. During such introductions, each room should contain multiple hiding places and escape routes on either side to the frame. Initial introductions should occur at a distance and passive or investigative responses should be reinforced with high value rewards interspersed with distraction with toys. Sessions should be kept short to avoid either cat becoming distressed. The time that the cats remain in visual contact should only be gradually increased and only if both cats remain relaxed (Seksel, 2009). Once cats are allowed to encounter one another in a single room, the room should be cluttered with hiding places so that either cat can escape the other with ease.

Conclusion

The PDSA's (2017) PAW report estimates that there are over 10 million pet cats in the UK and that 25% of the UK's population has at least one cat in their home. Yet only 25% of that cat-owning population considers themselves to be well informed regarding their cat's welfare needs. Of those questioned, 44% of the cat-owning population considered that their veterinary practice and its staff should be the ‘go to’ place for advice on feline welfare needs. Despite this, only 4% of cat owners report getting any advice from their veterinary practice prior to taking on the care of their cat (PDSA, 2017).

Perhaps practices need to ask themselves whether they are fulfilling their customers' expectations regarding owner education. While ensuring that the physical wellbeing of feline patients is maintained, is the practice also educating their feline owners regarding the emotional and behavioural welfare requirements of their feline companion? With adulthood comes increased social and territorial pressure for cats, making them susceptible to chronic stress/distress if they cannot control or resolve perceived threat and danger. Veterinary team members are in an ideal position to educate owners and to help them to understand the cat's emotional and behavioural transition from juvenile to socially mature adult and its implications. Are veterinary staff being sufficiently proactive in ensuring that clients have realistic expectations of what a cat can be expected to offer in terms of sociability to other felines and humans? Or are the welfare needs of feline patients being overlooked owing to a practice-based reticence to dispel owner misconceptions regarding the limitations on interfeline sociability?

The PDSA's (2017) PAW report points out that many owners remain unaware that cats are naturally solitary animals and tend to prefer living away from other cats. Consequently, the majority of owners are still providing too few resources (in range, placement and number) for their cats (both indoor and outdoor), particularly when it comes to ensuring harmony in a multi-cat household. Owners remain unaware that if these needs are not provided for, the related distress can be linked to medical problems in cats.

The veterinary practice should be the first port of call for advice for the current and prospective cat owner, providing quality, evidence-based knowledge. This knowledge should gently steer the owner away from assuming that the feline companion is in their home to provide for the owner's social and tactile needs, and enable the owner to understand the cat's specific welfare needs and social limitations. Such advice will provide a happier future for both the owner and their feline companion.

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