In This Chapter
- Deciding whether your cat needs a companion
- Selecting cats that can live in harmony
- Providing enough litter boxes, hiding places, and food
- Understanding health concerns in multicat families
Cats have an instinct for locating humans with the kindest
of hearts, which is likely why so many cat lovers have more than one cat. Once
you know the special companionship of a cat and appreciate the special beauty of
a cat, wanting another seems only natural — especially with so many cats in
need of a home. Whose heart wouldn’t be moved?
The jump to owning more than one cat — even many more than
one cat — can seem quite effortless. In researching this chapter, Gina ran
across one cat lover who had gone from one cat to more than a dozen in just a
few years. Yes, caring for that many is a lot of work, the woman admitted, but she
didn’t regret her decision to adopt . . . and adopt . . . and adopt.
The difference between this woman and those who can’t
successfully handle a household with more than one cat is knowing what’s
involved in owning two cats, four cats, or even sixteen. Before you become the caretaker
to more than one cat, figure out what you can afford, what you can tolerate,
and what you can’t. Love at first sight may be a wonderful thing, but hard
work, patience, and understanding are what make a relationship last. That’s
true with people, and it’s true with pets, too. The difference is that your pet
isn’t capable of providing for himself after the break-up!
Remember
We’re not trying to discourage you from having more than one cat. We’re in favor of multicat households, which are good for both cats and cat lovers. But as with every other aspect of cat care we discuss throughout this book, you need to know what you’re getting into before you leap. Use your head, and follow your heart.
Cat Tracks
In this chapter, we talk about the challenge of living with more than one fully domesticated cat. Some people spend their time taking care of another kind of cat family — a colony of wild, or feral, cats. If you’ve started feeding wild cats, see our suggestions for helping them in Chapter Ferals: Special Cats, Special Considerations.
You’re in Good Company
Here’s a quiz for you: How is it that cats are the No. 1 pet
in the United States when more households own dogs? You’re probably ahead of
us. Dogs tend to be a one-to-a-household kind of pet — although you couldn’t prove
that by either Gina or Paul — while cats tend to be owned in multiples.
Cool Cat Facts
By how much do cats outnumber dogs as pets in the United States? The American Veterinary Medical Association estimates that 65 million cats are kept as pets, as opposed to 50 million dogs. Cats took over the top spot in the mid-’80s and have never looked back.
The changing demographics of our lives have made the cat a
more suitable pet in many households, and those same factors are among the
reasons why it’s so good to have more than one cat. For you, and for your cat,
the extra company can be very important.
Another cat, for your cat
For many households, the Leave
It to Beaver family is an historical artifact. The stay-at-home mom so
identified with post-World War II America isn’t all that common anymore. Today,
households can be made up of a single person, a single parent with one child or
more, two working adults without children, two working adults with children —
any way you slice it, a lot of homes are empty during the day.
Cool Cat Facts
Longer work hours, longer commutes, and organized activities outside the home also are factors in today’s lifestyle, leaving those homes empty even longer. This situation is especially bad for dogs, who as pack animals need companionship, as well as the exercise and training many people don’t have time for. Cats are far more adaptable, thriving in all manner of living situations. They don’t need to be walked, and they can handle time alone without as much risk of behavior problems.
But are they lonely? The answer to that question is key to
understanding why your cat may well benefit from the company of another of her
kind.
The loneliness of the indoor cat
In addition to the change in human lifestyles, many cats
live a life unimagined even a few decades ago: They spend their entire lives
inside. Although this change has resulted in cats who live longer, healthier
lives on average than their free-roaming relatives, it also leaves some cats
unhappy. And the stress of being unhappy can show up in different ways,
including illness and behavior problems.
You can’t keep a cat indoors without offering her an
environment that has been enriched to compensate for some of what she lost when
you closed the door to the outside. One of the best gifts you can give your
indoor cat is the companionship of another cat. Although not all cats seem
interested in sharing, and the introductory period may be rocky, if your cat is
alone for long stretches of time, chances are that she’ll benefit from having
another cat around.
Cat Tracks
Another cat isn’t the only thing we suggest to make your indoor cat happy. We include a whole slate of suggestions in Chapter Ten Ways to Make Your Indoor Cat Happier. From plants for nibbling to perches for enjoying the view, your cat will benefit from our suggestions.
The free-roaming cat
The cat who comes and goes as he pleases may already have
cat companions, or at least a hard-won treaty outlining what territory belongs
to which neighborhood cat. An indoor-outdoor cat probably doesn’t need to share
you with another cat as much as the indoor-only cat might. The decision about
whether to get another cat in such a case depends more on what you want and how
easygoing your cat is toward other cats. Some cats are very aggressive toward
other cats on their turf, while some could hardly care less.
Cat Tracks
If you’re going to have more than one cat, you may want to consider making them all inside cats, for reasons of health and economy. Cats in the “closed” environment of your home aren’t exposed to the contagious problems of other cats in your neighborhood, such as parasites or viruses. Tips on how to convert an outdoor cat to an indoor one can be found in Chapter Getting the Relationship Started Right.
Another cat, for you
Face it: You really can’t be sure what your cat will or
won’t like if you decide to add to your feline family. Although you may think
of your cat’s needs first and foremost — especially if he’s an indoor cat with
some boredom issues — chances are, you’re considering primarily your own needs.
In short: You want another cat.
Remember
Before you trip on over to the shelter, call a reputable breeder, or say “yes” to the coworker who’s trying to give away an “oops litter,” take some time to consider what you’re getting into.
Knowing your limits
Love may be without limits, but you can’t say the same about
time and money. Nobody has an endless amount of both. Have you the time to
scoop litter boxes more frequently? What about grooming your cats, or taking
them to the veterinarian? Time is a valuable commodity these days, so don’t underestimate
the amount of it you’ll need to care for additional cats.
And what about money? Taking proper care of any pet can be
an expensive proposition, and it’s not much reduced by the economies of scale.
Sure, if you have a houseful of cats, you can buy food and litter in bulk and
not be short-changing your pets one bit. But when taking care of their health,
make sure every cat has the same level of care you would provide if you had
only one cat.
Technical Stuff
Consider flea control as an example of pet care that you can’t neglect just because you have more than one cat. Today’s spot-on remedies available from your veterinarian have virtually eliminated fleas in many households. But the monthly cost of application that may seem quite reasonable for one cat can seem like a big hit for a half-dozen. So what do you do? Live with fleas (and tapeworms, which are transmitted by fleas) and let your cats be miserable? When we put it that bluntly, we’re sure you’ll agree that those health hazards are not an appealing option.
We queried the veterinarians of the Veterinary Information
Network (www.vin.com) on what problems they
saw in their practices with multicat households. We were surprised to see the
cost issue pop up among all those that were strictly medical in nature. But it
underscores a very real problem.
Remember
Never have more cats than you have time and money to care for. If you can’t honestly say each of your cats is being cared for as well as he would be if he were your only cat, you’re not doing the best you can for your cats.
Full speed ahead
We discuss some factors that may make you realize you
shouldn’t get an additional cat, but this book doesn’t have enough space to
list all the reasons why you should add to your feline family. We’ll just sum
it up this way: Do you love cats? Can you care for additional cats? Then you’re
all set. It’s time to start looking for an additional cat — or two, or more.
Cat Tracks
Short hair, long hair, active, or sedate? Because you’ll want to consider these questions, we have the answers in Chapter Narrowing the Choices, with lots of suggestions for finding the right cat to fit your lifestyle.
Adding to the Family
Life doesn’t always work so neatly that you can plan every
aspect of it, and that’s certainly true when it comes to adding a cat.
Sometimes a stray adopts you, or you meet a cat or kitten you just can’t live
without — and for whom you may be the cat’s very last chance.
It’s still a good idea to be prepared as much as you can be.
And that means discovering how cats work together and what combinations may be
perfect for your living situation.
Understanding territoriality
Dogs have a built-in ability to live with one another, based
on the ancestral needs of wild dogs and wolves to cooperate in finding food.
That doesn’t mean, of course, that all dogs get along well with other dogs or
other people, but it does mean that the basic wiring for group living is in
every dog to some extent.
You don’t find that packlike tendency in cats, at least not
in the same way. Cats don’t hunt cooperatively, as dogs do — with the notable
exceptions of African lions, most cats are solitary hunters. When they’re not
hunting, they’re protecting their hunting space — their territory — from other
cats. There’s only so much game to go around, you see, and they don’t want another
cat cutting in on their action.
And yet the domestic cat is perfectly capable of forming
strong bonds with other cats. When the need to compete for food is removed,
cats can live in harmony and even happiness with one another, as many cat
lovers will attest.
Issues of territoriality still pop up, however. Although you
may not notice it, your cats will be constantly negotiating and renegotiating
territory. When there’s enough to go around, you’ll never notice the
bargaining. When there isn’t, you’ll know the signs — fighting, marking, and
avoiding litter boxes.
Remember
If you want your cats to live happily together, be patient in introducing them and make sure they’re not competing for space, for food, or for litter boxes.
Choosing compatible cats
Most cats learn to live together well enough if you set up
your house so each cat has what he or she needs to feel safe and secure. Still,
some combinations seem to work out more easily than others, or at least more quickly.
- A pair of kittens: Starting with two kittens is probably the easiest of all. They can be littermates or unrelated; it doesn’t matter. They come to your home at an age where they’re more interested in playing than in fighting over turf, and they usually grow up to be the best of friends.
- A pair of cats: If you haven’t any cats at all, adopting two adults cats at once isn’t that difficult. They’re not going to be so thrilled with one another at first as a pair of kittens are, but because neither is invading the previously claimed turf of the other, they should settle in soon enough.
- Established cat, new kitten: Unless your cat is too old and cranky to handle the high energy of a kitten, picking an immature cat as your second cat shouldn’t be too hard a transition. Most adult cats are fairly tolerant of immature cats — they may not like them, but they’re more inclined to leave the scene than attack. Give your older cat a break by wearing out your kitten with interactive games such as chasing a toy on a string.
- Established cat, new cat: Most pairings work out in time, but this combination is one of the more difficult. Bringing a mature challenger onto another mature cat’s home turf is guaranteed to make the fur fly until everyone can settle in with a corner of the world to call his own.
Cat Tracks
Cats are very much creatures of habit, and they become easily upset about changes in their environment. A move to a new home, a new baby, and certainly a new cat can trigger behavior problems. The best way to introduce change to a cat is slowly. For help with introductions, see Chapter Getting the Relationship Started Right. For strategies for working with behavior problems, see Chapters Solving Behavior Problems and Getting Good Litter Box Behavior.
 |
| Figure 17-1: Starting two kittens out together is one of the easiest ways to ensure domestic harmony. |
Best tip? Get 'em fixedAlthough some territory squabbles will always be going on
among your cats — negotiations are constant, even if you don’t notice them —
the best way to ensure domestic tranquility is to have all your cats altered. Cats who haven’t been spayed or neutered — what
veterinarians and breeders call intact
— are under increased pressure to establish territory, driven by hormones
that never give them a break. Intact males are inclined toward spraying to
mark territory, and in a multicat household, one or more intact males will
make you believe you’re living in a war zone, with urine marking as the
weapon of choice. Intact females are in a near-constant state of heat,
yowling and rolling in their desire to attract a mate. Take our word for
this: You do not want to be living in a household of intact cats! With
sexually mature, sexually driven cats, it’s not the more the merrier — it’s
the more the messier and the more the noisier, at best! |
Caring for More than One Cat
You can help prevent some conflicts that naturally arise
between cats by making sure they feel comfortable in their environment, and
seeing they’re not denied something they need by another cat. Each cat needs to
have a place where he feels comfortable and safe enough to relieve himself, to
get away from others, and to eat.
Litter box strategies
Cat territorial issues become big problems in the eyes of
the human members of the family when they take the form of litter box
avoidance. Setting up litter boxes in the multicat family involves some trial
and error, to be sure, but the bottom line is that if your cats aren’t happy,
they’re going to make you unhappy. Fortunately, cats don’t need much to make
them happy when it comes to litter boxes.
The first rule of litter boxes in the multicat household:
Don’t expect cats to share. The depositing of urine and feces isn’t just about
eliminating waste; it’s also about marking territory. The litter box that one
cat uses likely won’t be one that another cat will want to step into.
Tip
The basic guideline is to have one litter box for every cat, arranged in different locations throughout the house so every cat can have his own sandy piece of heaven.
Your placement of litter boxes can also help to encourage your
cats to use them. Cats do not want to
be ambushed when relieving themselves — really, who does? — so position the
litter box so your cat can keep an eye on what may be ready to jump him. For
some cats, the perfect box set-up is a location away from the wall with a
360-degree field of vision. For others, having two sides of the box against the
wall gives them a feeling of security. Try placing different litter boxes in
different ways, and let your cat sort out which appeals the most.
Here’s the final rule of litter boxes in the multicat
household — or in the single-cat household for that matter: Scoop often. Daily
at a minimum, but even two or three times a day wouldn’t be too often.
Especially if you’re lucky enough to have cats who actually share a litter box,
don’t push your luck by letting the mess pile up. Your cats will find someplace
else to go if you do.
Cat Tracks
Everything you need to know about litter boxes, including how to choose one and what to put in it, can be found in Chapters All the Right Stuff and Getting Good Litter Box Behavior.
Cat trees, cubbies, and hiding places
Space is another factor in keeping a colony of cats happy.
The good news is that you don’t have to move into a mansion — unless you want
to, of course — to provide your cats with room to maneuver.
Cats love to make the most of high spaces, and by giving
your cats plenty of room up above to move about, you’re giving each cat a room
of her own. Tall furniture with flat tops — such as bookcases or entertainment
centers — are ideal, as long as you leave room enough for a cat or two among the
decorations. A more obvious solution is to invest in a couple extra cat trees, especially
those with platforms at the top and cubbyholes for hiding. Your cats will love
them!
Cool Cat Facts
One of Gina’s friends has five cats, and when Gina stays in that house, she loves to observe how each animal has carved out a bit of turf for himself or herself. Her favorite cat in that family, a longhaired old calico named Darlene, had claimed the top of a bookshelf in an upstairs bedroom for “her” space. She was pretty easygoing with her feline housemates — as long as each of them remembered that the only cat allowed to sleep on top of that bookcase was Queen Darlene.
Who’s doing what?Even in the most harmonious of households, a cat can stop
using the litter box. Remember that it’s not always about territory:
Sometimes a cat is sick. But which cat? In a multicat household, tracking
down the culprit can be very difficult. You can try to isolate the cat with problems by mixing
food coloring — blue or green — with canned food and offering it to one cat
at a time. You can tell which feces came from the “marked” cat, because the
food coloring will pass right through. Urine is a little harder to figure out, but your
veterinarian should be able to help — or refer you to a veterinary
behaviorist who can. You’ll end up with fluorescent dye and and a black
light. The dye shows up in the urine, and the black light reveals it. After you know which cat is spraying or not using the
litter box, review Chapter Getting
Good Litter Box Behavior to come up with a strategy for solving this
messy problem. |
Feeding time at the cat ranch
Cats are generally not as protective about their food as
dogs are. Most cats actually share pretty well, eating cheek by jowl quite
happily as long as they feel secure in knowing that plenty of food exists for
all.
 |
| Figure 17-2: Getting all your cats comfortable with being together will take planning and time on your part. |
Even given the easygoing nature of the cat at feeding time,
you may want to consider which way of feeding a multicat household works best
for your cats.
- Strategy No. 1 — all food, all the time: Keeping a bowl of dry food available at all times is probably the easiest way to keep your cats fed. And if your cats do well on this plan, that’s fine. But a lot of cats don’t. Some cats are bullies and keep others away from the food. And some cats are just pigs, eating themselves into obesity.
Tip
If you have a bully, maintain two bowls of dry food at all times, in different parts of the house. Your bully cat can’t be in two places at once, so your other cat or cats can eat. As long as everyone maintains a healthy weight — neither too fat nor too thin — you’re all set.
If you have one cat who isn’t capable of maintaining a normal weight with food constantly available, you must change the way you feed your cats.
- Strategy No. 2 — individual meals: If you have cats with different dietary needs — a cat who’s on a prescription diet, for example, or one who’s overweight — you may have to feed each cat individually. If your cats get fussy with one another — if one is afraid to eat in another’s presence, for example — feed them away from one another.
Tip
You may not have to feed your cats in different rooms. Different levels may be fine. Some cats feel most comfortable eating on a countertop or table — it gives them a feeling of security knowing they won’t be ambushed. (If you can’t stand the thought of cats on a kitchen counter or table, try the washing machine or dryer.)
- Strategy No. 3 — kitty buffet, with special service: Some people like to keep dry food constantly available and also treat their cats to a couple tablespoons of more palatable canned food once a day. The cats love the wet stuff! The advantage to this feeding strategy is that you know your cats always have food — and you also see that each of them eats every day. Because loss of appetite can be a sign of illness, this information can be of value in spotting a health problem early.
Tip
One of Gina’s reader’s once pointed out another benefit of feeding a couple tablespoons of canned food every night: It brings in the wanderers for the evening. Nighttime is arguably the riskiest time for a free-roaming cat, and if you can keep yours inside at night, you’re making his life safer. Once cats know they’ll be treated to a delicious meal just before dusk, they’ll show up at the appointed hour no matter where they’ve been playing.
Multicat Medical Concerns
Cats in a multicat setting get sick with the same kinds of
things a single cat does. The difference is that many health problems never
seem to go away unless you’re really dedicated to getting them settled — they
just seem to pass from one cat to another and back again.
Remember
The best way to keep cats healthy is to keep them inside, and that’s doubly true in a multicat household. After you establish a “closed” colony of healthy cats, you have little to fear from parasites or infectious diseases. When cats come and go, however, they often return with health problems that can be easily passed along to other cats in the household.
Tip
As mentioned earlier, shared but separate food bowls and litter boxes are some of the real challenges of the multicat household. This concern multiplies with respect to medical issues. Be sure to remind your veterinarian that yours is a multicat household, and he will help you with tricks and strategies for maintaining optimal health for all your pets.
Parasite problems
Some of the most difficult health challenges to get a handle
on in a multicat household involve parasites. By their very nature, parasites
are extremely good at jumping from one host to another. Too often, if one cat
is infested with a parasite, they all are.
Fleas and ticks
Fleas are a bigger problem for cats than ticks are, generally.
Cats are so diligent about grooming that they usually keep themselves free of
ticks (unless the pests lodge somewhere they cannot reach easily). Fleas are quite
another issue, however. Flea control is relatively easy these days with spot-on
medications available from veterinarians, but some people find the monthly
costs for these medications a little steep if they have more than a couple of
cats. (We address the issue of cost earlier in this chapter.) If all your cats
are inside, you may be able to control fleas by removing the cats from the
premises and treating your home with a pesticide — or having a pest-control
company do it for you. If you introduce flea-free cats to a flea-free
environment, you shouldn’t have any further problems. That’s a mighty big “if,”
though, and if you can’t get a handle on fleas — or if your cats come and go —
you’ll likely have to pony up the money for preventive medications.
Ear mites
These small pests feed off the inside lining of the ears.
They can be highly contagious, and many cat lovers have a hard time getting rid
of them. If one cat in the household has ear mites, chances are they all do.
Discuss treatment options with your veterinarian.
Tip
The biggest problem with treating ear mites is follow-through. Medicating cats is no picnic. And because it’s so difficult — especially in a multicat household — many people stop treatment when they first notice the ear mites seem to be disappearing. However, the problem is, they’re not gone; they’re just regrouping. If you don’t continue the medication for as long as your veterinarian recommends, a new generation of pests will hatch, and you’ll be right back where you started.
Intestinal worms
Other parasites that can be passed from cat to cat include
worms such as the tapeworm, which is a pest that gets help from fleas. As with
any other pest, if you have one cat with fleas, you probably have more than one
cat with them. See your veterinarian for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Technical Stuff
One “worm” that isn’t is ringworm, which is really a fungus — and which can be transmitted from cat to human as well as from cat to cat. Although only your veterinarian can make a certain diagnosis of this condition, some signs to look out for on your cat include circular areas of hair loss and sometimes scaly or crusty skin. After you talk to your veterinarian, you may need to talk to your own doctor as well because the problem can be passed on to human family members.
Infectious viral diseases
Although parasites can give you and your cats fits, contagious
viral diseases such as feline leukemia (FeLV) or feline immunodeficiency virus
(FIV) can pose grave health risks to your cats. So, too, can feline infectious peritonitis,
which is a disease the owners of a single cat don’t need to be concerned with
as much as those people who share their homes with many cats.
Cat Tracks
We discuss these serious infectious diseases — and what steps you can take to protect your cats — in Chapters Preventive Health Care for Your Cat and Common Cat Health Problems. The most important advice we can give is to work with your veterinarian on the most appropriate preventive health program for your cats.
by Gina Spadafori and Paul D. Pion
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