Having multiple cats can be a breeze or sometimes a nightmare. If your cats are not getting along there may be underlying causes like stress, illness, and pain. It is always difficult to determine exactly why a cat is suddenly not getting along with their housemate, but it is important to get them into your veterinarian if you are suddenly seeing signs of aggression from one cat to another.
Stressful situations are not always obvious on the cause. It may be that they think the other cat or cats in the household are encroaching on their territory, especially if they are sharing things like litterboxes, beds, and scratching posts. Cats mark their territory both by urinating and scratching or rubbing, so it is important that each cat has their “own” space.
Make sure that you have enough litterboxes for everyone- one per cat, plus an extra, spread throughout the house is a good rule.
You will probably have to get multiple scratching posts (vertical and horizontal) or cat trees for them to scratch and mark.
They also may need several different places to hide and feel safe. Having multiple beds and enough areas for each cat to curl up in (especially covered spaces) can help them feel more secure.
Feeding from different food bowls is also important so they don’t feel like they have to fight over food.
Even seeing other neighborhood cats coming up to the window they like to sit in can cause them to be stressed and territorial, so checking out the neighborhood cat hangouts might be helpful.
Not enough environmental enrichment can also cause stress. Bored cats may take it out on the other cats in the household or lead to other undesirable behaviors such as scratching inappropriate places and urinating or defecating outside the litterbox. Ways you can keep your cat or cats entertained is to provide activities for them to work through. You can provide things like puzzle food bowls, a safe way to view the outdoors and attracting things like birds to areas for them to watch like a bird feeder or bath, toys, catnip or cat grass, and things they can climb up and on.
Illnesses and pain are sometimes harder to distinguish from just a generally unhappy cat. This is why it is especially important to get your cat into your veterinarian if they are exhibiting any inappropriate behaviors. They could have something like a urinary tract infection, ear infection, or even arthritis that may be making them more irritable.
General nervousness or anxiety around other cats can spark fights, so if your cat or cats have been checked for underlying disease or pain, it may be time to try an antianxiety medication or pheromone diffuser. There are different types of pheromone diffusers for rooms, sprays for certain areas of the house like beds or carriers, and collars that will be on them all the time that you can try.
Sometimes, sadly, the cats just don’t get along. This is very rare since we all know cats are good at avoiding things they aren’t a fan of. That situation is much more difficult to deal with, but it is important to rule out anything that may be causing them to be uncomfortable enough to lash out at their fellow housemates.
As always, if you have any questions, feel free to call and make an appointment for you and your cat (or cats)!
The top photo is a great example of proper play between cats: ears are up on both (though sometimes the occasionally put their ears back during play), the bottom photo both cats are crouched with ears back and would probably be growling at each other.