In UK, 4.7 million cats (43% of the feline population living in domestic homes) are living in multi-cat households. This is despite the fact that, except for littermates that have grown-up together, cats prefer to live apart and to have their own space (PDSA, 2019). Of these 4.7 million cats, owners report that 2 million of them are exhibiting behaviours that clearly indicate to owners that the cats do not get on. The report further highlights that 77% of cat owners would like to change at least one of their cat's behaviours — the five behaviours that feature most commonly being:
- Scratching furniture (26% of owners)
- Waking owners up for food (17% of owners)
- Begging for food (17% of owners)
- Scratching carpets (23% of owners)
- Bringing wildlife into the house (14% of owners).
Yet, these behaviours are actually natural behaviours for cats that are dealing with stressors. Hence the behaviours that owners are describing as problematic are behaviours that are being expressed due to constraints on the cat's level of control over its environment and/or exposure to social or environmental stressors. This results in the cat expressing these natural behaviours, intended to help it to cope with or deal with stressors, due to the fact that the cat is living in an unnatural or artificial situation (Ley, 2016a). As a consequence, there is no shortage of feline veterinary patients that would benefit from the incorporation of behavioural first aid advice into a veterinary practice's daily routine (Rodan, 2016); in addition, there are no shortage of cat owners who would similarly benefit from such advice.
The cat's perception of personal safety and safe access to resources
Having evolved as a territorial species that predated on rodents, but that was also predated on by larger carnivores (Bradshaw et al, 2012), the cat is effectively, constantly, asking itself ‘Am I safe?’ (Halls, 2017). The cat's evolutionary journey to domestic companion is relatively short and there is little difference in the natural behaviours of feral, stray and companion cats (Ellis, 2016a) — survival continues to be dependent on uninterrupted access to a territory that provides the resources that the cat requires for survival — water, shelter (at a safe height) and the ability to engage in behaviours that result in access to food (Cats Protection, 2017). Without a sense of safety associated with access to resources and the maintenance of control over what happens to its own body, the cat will suffer from chronic stress (Rodan and Heath, 2016).
The need to share a territory with another cat creates an impediment to a cat's immediate access to and control over essential resources and hence presents considerable challenges to the cat's sense of safety and its capacity to survive. Hence, cats can be extremely sensitive to having to share a territory with even one cat (Cats Protection, 2017), let alone the considerable number of cats that may use the gardens in urban and suburban areas (Liberg et al, 2000).
Cats have not developed the capacity to wait for or to share access to resources (Ley, 2016b), and unless genetically or socially predisposed during their socialisation period (Ramos and Reche-Junior, 2016), they will fail to cope with coexisting with other cats in environments where immediate access to resources is impaired by the presence or activity of other cats. Neither have cats developed appropriate communication skills for close feline to feline interactions, resulting in cats lacking the skills to defuse social conflict, once it has arisen (Ley, 2016c). To avoid such social conflict, cats have developed a ‘long-distance’, olfactory-based, communication system, enabling communication without physical proximity (De Porter, 2016a). When physical proximity to a stressor is unavoidable, then the cat has little or no capacity to avoid the encounter escalating into conflict (Carney and Gourkow, 2016). Hence it is no surprise that the main feline behaviours that owners report as problematic to them, are associated with the cat's chemical signalling communication system (e.g. behaviours such as urine and scratch marking), clearly indicating that the cat is failing to cope (Ley, 2016c).
Is it obvious to cat owners that you can help?
It is not the intention of this article to advise on how practices can make their premises and ethos ‘cat friendly’. However, spending a little time considering how the reception staff can ensure that owners are aware that the practice has expertise in supporting their cat's emotional needs, and that they consider this to be a welfare priority, will encourage owners to make enquiries about behaviour and welfare issues. Something as simple as the provision of blankets or towels to cover cat carriers, advice to ensure that cat carriers are kept off the ground and away from canine patients, suitable travel and waiting room related support when clients book appointments and incorporating questions about behaviour into routine consultation discussions, make it clear to cat owners that the practice is interested in the behavioural welfare of their feline patients and that they are happy to spend time discussing the subject (Seksel, 2009).
It is this author's experience that the number of canine behaviour cases mentioned to veterinary staff and referred to clinical animal behaviourists, greatly exceeds that of feline cases and in this author's opinion, this is due to the nature of those ‘problem’ behaviours. When a dog fails to cope, its behaviours are often hard to overlook, e.g. vocalising, damaging property during owner absence or possibly initiating aggressive behaviours on exposure to social stimuli. In contrast, the behaviours exhibited by cats that are failing to cope (see Table 1) are often subtle and exhibited in privacy and, as a consequence, owners may require prompting to discuss such behaviours. The first step to enlightening a cat owner to their cat's specific behavioural and environmental needs may be through the manner in which the cat is treated in the surgery (Seksel, 2009). This should start with the reception staff, who are in an excellent position to spot patterns in a feline patient's medical records, e.g. do owners buy regular supplies of Feliway (Ceva), Zylkene (Vetquinol) or other nutraceutical or herbal ‘calming’ adjuncts? Do owners frequently collect bottles of odour eliminator? At the reception desk, do owners make lighthearted comments on the cat's behaviour (e.g. ‘we won't see him for days after this visit’)? Have other pets in the household been diagnosed with stress-related problems? Do owners have bite or scratch marks on their hands or arms? These are all clear indicators that owners would benefit from an emotional welfare and behaviour-related discussion with a member of practice staff.
Table 1. Identifying the cat that is struggling to cope in its environment
| Signs of acute stress include | Signs of chronic stress (more subtle and difficult to recognise) include |
|---|---|
| Immobility | Increased resting or ‘feigned’ sleep |
| Head — lower than the body, motionless. Jaw may become tense | History of increased dependency on owner |
| Eyes — fully open | Lack of play activity |
| Pupils — fully dilated, although pupils may narrow slightly | History of inappropriate urination or breakdown in toilet training |
| Ears — fully flattened back on the head | Changes in general patterns of behaviour, e.g. spending significantly more time indoors, irrespective of normal seasonal changes |
| Whiskers — back | Urine spraying indoors |
| Legs — bent | Displacement activity (repetitive out-of-context behaviour) |
| Tail — close to the body | Over-grooming, pica (wool or material eating) |
| Body — crouched directly on top of all fours, possibly shaking.Back may arch | Extreme vigilance and heightened startle response |
| Belly — not exposed, rapid breathing | Increased facial rubbing, scratching on surfaces |
| Vocalisation — plaintive meow, yowling, growling or silent | Inhibition or increase of feeding, grooming, urination & defecation |
| Hissing, growling, shaking, drooling | Redirected aggression (aggression towards a target that is not the original source of threat) |
| Involuntary urination, defecation | Ambivalent behaviour (approach/withdraw, conflicting signals occurring almost simultaneously) |
| Actively attempting to hide | History of hiding or social withdrawal |
| Aggression if approached | Defensive aggression towards people/cats |
Cats, distress and health
Despite the popularity of the cat as a domestic companion, the 2019 PDSA Welfare report makes it clear that a considerable proportion of the UK cat population, and hence a considerable proportion of any veterinary practice's feline case load, are suffering from depleted emotional welfare and distress. Consequently, it is highly likely that these cats will be expressing that distress through the use of natural behaviours intended to enhance ‘coping’ — behaviours such as urine or scratch marking, aggression towards social stressors or hiding from social or environmental stimuli. However, as described in a previous article in this series (Hargrave, 2019), stress is also likely to be expressed in the initiation and maintenance of feline health problems (Rodan, 2016) (Table 2).
Table 2. Some of the impacts of stress on feline health
| Physical system affected by stress | Impact — increased risk of |
|---|---|
| Urinary system | Feline idiopathic cystitis |
| Gastrointestinal system | Intermittent diarrhoeaIntermittent vomitingDecreased appetiteEmotional over-eating |
| Immune system | Feline herpesvirus (FHV)Feline infectious peritonitisPersistent viraemia following exposure to Feline leukaemia virusGastrointestinal infections |
| Endocrine system | HyperthyroidismType 2 diabetes mellitus |
| Skin | Psychogenic alopeciaAllergies |
| Mental health | Wool sucking and other picasEarly onset cognitive dysfunction |
Table 2 highlights the necessity not only to ensure that owners of feline patients are maintaining the emotional welfare of their cats through careful management of resource access (De Porter, 2016b), but also, that whenever cats are presented for veterinary treatment, that questions are routinely asked to ensure that owners are creating a suitable environment for their cats (Seksel, 2009). In particular, owners can be under-prepared to recognise behavioural signs as indicators that their cat may be experiencing pain (Rochlitz, 2009). Table 3 can be used to help staff in interpreting pain-related behaviours that owners report, as well as helping staff to explain to owners the types of behaviours to look out for, should their cat be likely to experience pain; thereby helping to break the cyclic relationship between acute or chronic pain and feline stress.
Table 3. Recognising the role of pain in a cat's behaviour and the inter-relationship between pain and feline stress (Hargrave, 2019)
| Behaviour seen in the cat | Potential link to disease |
|---|---|
| General over-grooming | Skin disease |
| Licking/grooming throat/front legs | Dietary allergy or upper GI tract problem |
| Licking lower limbs | Arthritic pain |
| Excessive grooming of lower abdomen/inner flanks | Upper or lower urinary tract conditions |
| Urine spraying, urinating outside litter tray | Feline lower urinary tract disease |
| Defecating outside litter tray | Urinary or GI tract problem |
| Generalised grumpiness in older cat | Dental disease |
GI = gastrointestinal.
Basic environmental management advice
Many of the behaviours that owners report as problematic can be managed through the provision of an appropriate home environment (Halls, 2016). Cat Protection's website provides blank ‘house plans’ (Figure 1) that can be used both in the reception/waiting area and consultation rooms. Once completed by owners to indicate the placement of feline resources within the home, these can be useful to veterinary staff in spotting potential problem areas. Table 4 provides advice on the supply and placement of feline resources and can be used by staff wishing to suggest improvements to existing environmental management. Such simple environmental changes can make considerable inroads into helping cats to cope with coexisting with another cat within a household, coping with a feline population outside the home, and coping with social stressors belonging to other species (e.g. children, workmen, dogs) (Ellis et al, 2013).
Table 4. Resource management and placement
| Creating a suitable environment | Comment |
|---|---|
| In a multi-cat home, ensure that no cat has to pass another's ‘territory’ to gain access to an essential resource (Figure 2) | Identify where each cat spends most of its time and provide all essential resources (beds, litter tray, water, food) in each of these areas. No cat should have to eat within the sight or proximity of another cat |
| Enhance any cat's use of a 3D environment in the home | Make shelves and worktops accessible to the cat |
| Cat ‘trees’ and other raised areas should be varied and plentiful — at least one in every area/room that a cat uses | Designs should provide observation (open) and resting (closed or with sides) areas |
| Enhance the cat's capacity to access areas — even ‘single’ cats may be wary of outside cats that can be observed from windows, children or visitors | Tunnels and boxes (Figure 3) provide safety while travelling from place to place (especially hallways). Ensure all have two openings to enable escape if another cat jumps in! |
| In multi-cat homes, ensure that all shelves are wide enough for cats to pass each other and offer sufficient variation in height and angle | Having to make eye to eye contact or engage in a ‘stand-off’ with another cat can damage relationships |
| Cats prefer to sleep alone | Beds, igloos etc. should be only large enough for one cat! |
| Elderly cats also require the safety of raised areas | Provide ramps and low steps |
| If one cat ‘guards’ the back door area or neighbouring cats use your garden | Consider an extra cat flap on a front door |
| If cats can see other cats from resting areas or from windows | Make windows opaque with attractive, temporary plastic sheets or other material |
| Prevent outdoor cats from entering the home | Use a micro-chip triggered cat flap and keep doors and windows closed |
| If outdoor cats are marking around door-ways or lurking there | Keep this area cleaned with biological washing powder. Provide large ornamental plant pots for your cat to hide behind as it attempts to exit the home and use home harvested pheromones to wipe their surfaces |
| If other cats are using the garden | Consider cat-proof fencing |
The cat's need to express natural behaviours
Many cats in busy homes, multi-cat households, or households with an outdoor cat population that can be either seen or smelt by the cat, are highly inhibited in their ability to perform natural behaviours (Cat Protection, 2017), particularly the investigation of their environment and predatory activity. However, families may consider that as facilities such a litter trays, toys and resting places are available, that their cat's lack of interaction with the resources is simply one of personal preference. Table 1 gives an indication of behaviours that practice staff can discuss with owners (Rochlitz, 2009), helping families to better identify the emotional state of their cat and hence the cat's likely capacity to openly engage with its environment — a capacity that will be severely restricted in the stressed cat. If it is established that a cat may be struggling to relax in its environment, the Cat Protection resource plan (Figure 1) and Table 4 can be used to help improve the cat's environment and its sense of safety. In addition, if the social environment in and outside the home remains a potential problem for the cat, Table 5 can be used to assist staff in identifying activities that may benefit the cat and improve its emotional welfare.
Table 5. Suggestions for enhancing the emotional wellbeing of cats
| Allow each cat to be a cat! | Comment |
|---|---|
| From the time that the cat enters the home — encourage environmental enrichment activities associated with puzzle feeding | Such activities provide opportunities for natural predatory type behaviours and problem solving — they help to reduce frustration and may prevent the development of behaviour problems |
| Provide plenty of scratch posts in a variety of materials, positions (vertical and horizontal) and rooms. Cat trees can double for this purpose | Every cat will have a different preference. Do not forget well-travelled passageways. Place them where cats have to come together — allowing appropriate territorial signalling |
| Place litter trays around the house so no cat has to run the gauntlet past another cat to reach one | One tray per cat plus one (all in separate rooms) is a minimum. Single cats can also benefit from multiple trays, especially if there are children or visitors in the home |
| Toys should resemble prey — small and furry or feathery | Constantly rotate the toys during play sessions — every few minutes |
| Erratic movement — such as provided by ‘fishing-rod’ type toys — is popular | Try to end the game over a tasty morsel — this can relieve frustration and reduce injury to other cats and humans |
| Play ‘retrieve’ | Use small jingle balls or scrunched up paper and tunnels to increase the fun |
| Teach your cat new tricks and increase mental stimulation, right from kittenhood | Rewards and target training will make your cat easier to handle and will provide you both with a lot of fun |
| Cats need to feel ‘in control’ of a familiar environment, so prevent inappropriate marking by creating familiarity | Harvest your cat's facial pheromones on cotton gloves and wipe these over novel items that come into the home |
Dealing with specific behaviour problems
Although the 2019 PDSA Welfare Report specifically mentioned inter-cat problems and five other feline behaviours that owners found to be particularly difficult to cope with, Table 6 gives advice on these and several other common problems. Of particular note should be those behaviours associated with aggression. Veterinary staff can be in no doubt regarding the potential danger associated with cat bites and scratches, both to humans and to other animals (Heath, 2016); hence any hint of feline aggression within a household should receive immediate behavioural first aid intervention and then arrangements should be made to ensure that the case is referred to a clinical animal behaviourist (CAB) (see the ASAB, ABTC or APBC registers — below).
Table 6. Basic first aid behavioural advice for owners that should supplement environmental and enrichment advice
| Objective | Method |
|---|---|
| For all forms of behaviour problem | Stop all forms of punishment — verbal and physical. Ignore the unwanted activity but reinforce acceptable activity with gentle attention or small tasty treats |
| For behaviours that are resulting in damage to owner property | For example, cover scratched or urine marked areas with protective material. Cover electrical sockets that are being urine marked with plastic |
| Waking owners up for food | Cats prefer to predate at dusk and dawn when rodents are most active — providing a cat flap (specific to the cat's microchip) will allow the cat to control access to outdoors at these times without disturbing owners |
| Bringing prey home | Cats predate as and when the opportunity arises. As they may not be hungry at the time, they take the prey to a safe place — often home. If owners do not like this, they can reduce their cat's likely success at predation by not allowing it out at dusk or dawn |
| Begging owners for food | Cats naturally eat multiple small meals per day — provide these via puzzle feeding rather than providing 1 or 2 large meals per day. However, cats also greet social companions by rubbing and vocalising — the cat may be merely saying ‘hello’! |
| Play related aggression problems | Never allow play with hands or other body parts — always use a toy. Aim for short bursts of play with a toy and try to end the game with the toy landing on a small treat to reduce any residual behavioural frustration |
| Reducing social aggression | Avoid interactions between the cat and the victim — if this cannot be avoided for care-givers, thick protective clothing should be worn. Provide environmental enrichment and puzzle feeding games to teach problem solving and to reduce the expectation of immediate satiation of needs. Use such games to pre-empt likely attacks |
| Scratching furniture and carpets | Wash scratched areas in enzymatic cleaner and consider using Feliway (Ceva) or the cat's facial pheromones on the scratched items and Feliscratch (Ceva) on the preferred scratch surface. Consider covering the previously scratched surface in a protective layer. Ensure suitable scratching items are made available beside the previously scratched areas and gradually move them from beside the previous scratching area and place them near doors to outdoors and by windows |
| Urine marking and problems associated with toileting in inappropriate areas of the home | Clean soiled areas with a specifically designed enzymatic cleaner and dispose of any cloths etc outdoors. Block the sight of outdoor cats. Stop access to social stimuli that may be in conflict with the cat (this may be a family member). Prevent indoor cats from observing outdoor cats by making windows opaque. Ensure that no outdoor cats are entering the home — particularly via the cat flap. Implement the advice in Tables 4 and 5 |
| Self-mutilation and repetitive behaviours | Owners should keep a detailed diary of environmental changes just prior to events. If specific environments or social stimuli are involved, the cat should be kept away from these. Predictive changes should also be pre-empted with puzzlefeeding, games or other environmental enrichment. Seek further advice from a clinical animal behaviourist |
In general, all behavioural interventions should aim at:
- Managing the risk to humans, the cat and to other animals
- Preventing further damage to the environment
- Preventing the need for the unwanted behaviour.
As with any behaviour problem in any species, intervention and resolution should begin with a thorough physical examination of the cat to rule out initiating or maintaining medical problems (Zulch, 2019).
The multi-cat household — a need for special attention
Innate to the art of being a cat is the need to avoid harm, and competition from, other cats (Seksel, 2016). For the majority of cats, this means living in a house that does not provide a home to other cats. Humans and dogs are innately social and benefit from the company of other animals of the same species — cats have no requirement for the social companionship of other cats and the majority of cats find such forced proximity to be a considerable source of distress (Ellis, 2016a). The cat's communication system has developed with the primary intention of only ever having to communicate with other cats from a distance. Hence, behaviour problems associated with cats living in the same home involve the cat using the natural behaviours associated with communicating to other cats that they should maintain a safe distance — the use of long-distance olfactory communication (Ley, 2016c). Such communication includes urine marking of areas within the home where cats encounter one another and pedal marking associated with scratch marks. As cats have no capacity for diffusing antagonistic social behaviour, once cats begin to hiss at and scratch each other it can be impossible to repair the damage to their relationship.
Consequently, when veterinary staff are asked for advice regarding the pros and cons of introducing a second or subsequent cat to a household, staff should be pro-active in pointing out the likelihood that this will not benefit the emotional welfare of either the existing or joining cat. When staff are faced with giving first aid advice for behaviour problems within multi-cat households where aggression has arisen between the cats, the priority should be to separate the cats into safe environments that contain all necessary environmental and enrichment resources, including regular access to the owner (see Tables 3 and 5) and to then seek advice from a clinical animal behaviourist.
Do not underestimate the outdoor feline population density
Cats living as sole feline occupiers of a house can experience exactly the same loss of coping as a cat in a multi-cat household, as a result of the outdoor feline population that can be observed from within the house or encountered while outdoors. Liberg et al's (2000) study suggested that in an urban environment, there could be as many as 3000 cats per square kilometre — all trying to time share access to the resources outside their homes and, hence, regularly coming into contact with other cats. The presence of cats in the local environment, whether met outdoors or simply observed from windows, is a considerable source of anxiety and frustration for both outdoor and indoor cats. This scenario can result in owners describing the same range of problem behaviours as is seen when cats co-exist within a home. The major difference being only in the positioning of the chemical signalling via urine or scratch marking — often around windows and doors.
Conclusion
Improvements in feline welfare are intrinsically associated with reducing the often under-recognised incidence of chronic stress that manifests itself through behavioural changes — changes that are often so subtle that owners fail to notice them (Seksel, 2016). Hence, the emotional and behavioural welfare of feline patients should be a priority in every mixed species or specialist feline practice. Sadly, due to a general lack of owner understanding regarding feline welfare and the cat's tendency to ensure that its lack of coping is neither seen nor heard, the provision of behavioural first aid advice should extend to ensuring that owners understand the impact of stress on their cat's physical health and welfare. Only then can practices hope to provide a truly comprehensive health package for feline patients.
KEY POINTS
- The cat's successful predation and subsequent survival is dependent on a lack of competition from con-specifics.
- The need to maintain a distance between con-specifics has reduced the cat's capacity for close range social communication, sharing of resources and conflict resolution.
- Much of a cat's inter-cat communication occurs through olfactory marking behaviours, demarking areas associated with familiarity and control vs. potential challenge — this behaviour can be challenging for owners to cope with.
- Inability to remain in an environment in which the cat experiences a sense of control over essential resources results in distress, often resulting in behavioural change.
- Cats are susceptible to chronic stress/distress if they cannot control or resolve perceived threat (to themselves or to their access to resources) and danger.
- The chronically stressed cat is susceptible to a range of stress-related illnesses and related coping behaviours that may also become chronic conditions.
- Simple resource-related advice, such as ensuring that there are beds, food, water bowls, scratching posts and litter trays for each cat, plus one extra, and that they should be spaced around the house, can make a huge difference to the cat's capacity to cope.
- Basic feline behavioural first aid should involve the veterinary team educating owners to help them understand the environmental and management changes required to enhance their cat's emotional and behavioural welfare.
Useful information and contacts
- Association of Pet Behaviour Counsellors www.apbc.org.uk (including free to download advice sheets for clients)
- The ASAB register of certified clinical animal behaviourists www.asab.org/ccab-register
- The ABTC register of Trainers and Behaviourists can be found at http://www.abtcouncil.org.uk/index/abtc-members-by-region.html
- The Cat Protection Behaviour Team — 01825 741991 — behaviour@cats.org.uk — wwww.cats.org.uk/cat-behaviour
- Cat Protection — Kitten Socialisation - www.cats.org.uk/kitten-socialisation
- Feline Friends — advice for clients and free veterinary related webinars http://www.feline-friends.org.uk/
- International Cat Care — International Society for Feline Medicine icatcare.org/advice
- PDSA — client leaflet on how to help cats suffering from stress related bladder problems pdsa.org.uk/taking-care-of-your-pet/kittens-and-cats
Useful books for the practice
- Atkinson T. Practical Feline Behaviour: Understanding Cat Behaviour and Improving Welfare. 2018. CABI
- Bradshaw J. Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet. 2013. Basic Books
- Bradshaw J, Casey R, Brown S. Behaviour of the Domestic Cat. 2012. CABI
- Cat Protection. The Behaviour Guide. 2017
- Ellis S, Sparkes A, eds. ISFM Guide to Feline Stress and Health: Managing Negative Emotions to Improve Feline Health and Welfare. 2016. ISFM
- Horwitz DF, Mills DS, eds. BSAVA Manual of Canine and Feline Behaviour. Second edition. 2009. BSAVA Publishing, UK — includes a CD with handouts for distribution to owners.
- Landsberg G, Hunthausen W, Ackerman L. Behavior Problems of the Dog and Cat. 2011. Saunders Elsevier
- Mills D, Braem Dube M, Zulch H. Stress and Pheromonotherapy in Small Animal Clinical Behaviour. 2013. Wiley-Blackwell
- Overall K. Manual of Clinical Behavioural Medicine for Dogs and Cats. 2013. Elsevier
- Rodan I, Heath S, eds. Feline Behavioral Health and Welfare. 2016. Elsevier
- Yin S. Low Stress Handling, Restraint and Behaviour Modification of Cats and Dogs. 2009. Cattledog Publishing