Cat vs. Cat: Keeping Peace When You Have More Than One Cat - Softcover

Johnson-Bennett, Pam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0142004758 ISBN 13: 9780142004753

Verlag: Penguin Books, 2004

Inhaltsangabe

From the author of Catwise and Think Like a Cat, the ultimate resource for managing a multi-pet household.

Pam Johnson-Bennett, the award-winning author and feline behaviorist, shows how adding another cat to your home does not have to be the start of a kitty apocalypse. Although cats are often misunderstood as natural loners, Johnson-Bennett shows how to plan, set up, and maintain a home environment that will help multiple cats—and their owners—live in peace. Cat vs. Cat will help readers understand the importance of territory, the specialized communication cats use to establish relationships and hierarchies, and how to interpret the so-called “bad behavior” that leads so many owners to needless frustration. Offering a wealth of information on how to diffuse tension, prevent squabbles and ambushes, blend two families, or help the elder kitty in your family, Cat vs. Cat is a welcome resource for both seasoned and prospective guardians of cat families large and small.

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Pam Johnson-Bennett is one of the most popular and sought-after cat behavior experts in the world. She has a private cat-consulting practice in Nashville, appears on Animal Planet UK and Canada, and lectures on cat behavior at veterinary and animal welfare conferences around the world. She's been featured on CNN, Fox News Channel, CBS, ABC, NBC, Fox & Friends, Animal Planet Radio, and many more shows. Print profiles include Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Real Simple, Better Homes & Gardens, Woman's World, Newsweek, Prevention, USA Today, Family Circle, Complete Woman, Newsday, Chicago Tribune, USA Weekend, Washington Post, and Parade. She was VP of the International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants and founded the IAABC Cat Division. Pam served on the American Humane Association's Advisory Board on Animal Behavior and Training. She lives in Nashville, TN.

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1

 

The Feline Social Structure

 

You may look at your multicat household as one happy family; you love your cats equally and feel there shouldn't be any reason for fighting or squabbling. In reality, though, your cats don't view each other as equals, nor should they. Whether you have two cats or twenty, there is a bit of a pecking order. It may bother you to think that a few cats might have higher status than others, but some form of a hierarchy is necessary in feline society. In a free-roaming environment, it prevents overcrowding of the colony and gives cats a sense of order and security.

 

It used to be that cats weren't thought of as being social animals, especially when compared to their canine counterparts. Even today, many people imagine that their cats are solitary, even antisocial, but they're misinterpreting what they see. Cats are solitary hunters, and they're looking out for themselves. They capture only prey large enough for one meal. Watching them on the prowl, many people incorrectly label them as solitary animals in all aspects of their lives.

 

Another behavior that adds to cats' mistakenly labeled reputation as asocial is their territorial instinct and their attitude toward newcomers. We recognize dogs as social creatures-pack animals-because existing canine households will often easily accept a new puppy. When cat parents think of adding another cat, visions of hissing, scratching, fights, and, in general, disaster come to mind. This hardly inspires one to label cats as social. But it can work, so long as you go about it in a way that makes sense to the cats involved. It's important to understand and then work out territorial issues before putting two cats together; if you do, they can become friends and develop a long-term relationship. Cats can readily adapt to living in groups, and although they may still maintain some preferred personal areas, many enjoy companionship and benefit from group living. It just takes a little finesse.

 

The social structure is complex and easy to misunderstand. It's built around resource availability. The need for food and other resources often outweighs the desire to fight. Cats will coexist in closer proximity to one another near a common food source or shelter. Even in those situations, most cats may avoid each other and "live alone" in a group. Between the independent ferals and the dependent indoor cats you'll find free-roaming cats: ferals who interact minimally, and owned cats who have access to the outdoors.

 

The most common social relationship is between a female cat and her kittens. With indoor cats, kittens are generally separated from the mother too early by people wanting to adopt them out (kittens should be kept with the mother and littermates for twelve weeks). In free-roaming environments, kittens usually stay with the mother longer. Female kittens, once they leave the mother, will generally stay within the same area, whereas males will travel farther.

 

In feral colonies, far from being antisocial, related females are often so closely bonded that they may nurse each other's kittens as well as help raise them. This benefits the mothers who are not as strong, so all the kittens have a better chance at survival. Females commonly move their kittens often if they fear attacks from males or outside predators. Females will also band together to help defend against aggressive males who pose a threat, or any other potential danger to their kittens. In free-roaming cats, long-term bonds aren't formed between mating partners. There's nothing romantic about sex in the feline world. It's all about survival.

 

In multicat homes you'll see a spectrum of different social behaviors; the cats may only tolerate one another, or some cats may form very close bonds. Much of this will depend on how well the cats were socialized as kittens, how they were introduced to each other, their distinct personalities, their allotted spaces and their understanding of the territorial divisions, and how the cat parent has set up resource availability and has handled squabbles.

 

In a cat colony, unfamiliar cats are typically driven away, but if a cat keeps returning, he may work his way in and eventually be accepted. This is a slow process and mirrors the way a new cat entering an established multicat household may be accepted. Just as in the outdoor cat colony, the introduction of a new cat into your home must be gradual in order to increase the odds of acceptance.

 

Avoiding conflict is a major concern in a feral colony and also in your multicat home. It's important to pay attention so you can minimize the fighting/aggression period and also make sure all your cats are safe and don't harm one another as they're being introduced. Cats are very sensitive to feeling threatened, which may not only result in an obvious display of aggression but may cause cats to withdraw and remain chronically stressed. Ongoing stress or conflict can lead to illness. The body isn't designed to stay in the stress response (fight/flight) long-term.

 

In a multicat home, just as in an outdoor colony, cats form unique relationships with each other. Certain cats may develop close bonds. They may frequently engage in allogrooming, rubbing, sleeping close together, tail-up greetings, and tail entwining. When cats are closely bonded, it's not unusual to see one act as a pillow for the other when sleeping. With other cats in the group, there may be friendly relationships but not as close.

 

Often, one cat may lick the head of another cat as an invitation to play. This might be welcomed and result in a game of chase or play wrestling, but sometimes it's ill timed and results in a swat to the nose of the initiator. This is how the cats begin to learn each other's play signals.

 

When two familiar cats approach each other in a friendly environment or in an area where there are no turf disputes, they will start with nose-to-nose sniffing, head rubbing, and possibly licking the face and ears. Anal sniffing follows. If the cats are not so friendly, then the exchange will end at nose sniffing.

 

When your cat jumps in your lap, goes nose-to-nose with you, and then turns to present his backside, you may have considered this distasteful, but it's very polite in terms of feline social etiquette, and you should feel complimented (though you don't have to respond in kind!). Another often misinterpreted behavior is when a cat lounges with his back toward you. What he's really saying in both situations is that he trusts you. Scratching is appreciated then.

 

Status and Hierarchy

 

Although there is a general hierarchy in your cat household, it's not a pecking order forever set in stone. The hierarchy is dynamic and subtly shifts and moves. When a hierarchy is well established, the security and familiarity of knowing where they stand allows the cats to coexist peacefully. But in some households the delicate hierarchy remains in balance only by a whisker. One or two cats may rule the roost, usually simultaneously but with turf areas worked out so they don't step on each other's paws, so to speak. Subtle shifts in status can occur, depending on who is in the room and what events are taking place.

 

Think of the hierarchy as the rungs on a ladder. The highest-ranking cat sits on top. In a perfect world, each new cat added to the household would take his place at the next highest available rung. Oh, if only it could be that simple, there wouldn't be so many battles. Unfortunately, though, a new cat may be more assertive and might attempt to knock another cat off an attractive rung. As you can imagine, that never sits well with the existing cat...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Penguin Books
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2004
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0142004758
• ISBN 13: 9780142004753
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 240
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: SC; https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/; ; CL MODESTO LAFUENTE 41; Madrid; Madrid; Spanien