Although the domestic cat evolved from the African wildcat,a largely solitary and therefore territorial species,it has evolved the ability to live in social groups,but only in specific circumstances.
‘Natural’groups of cats,as found in feral or farm colonies,are very friendly,cooperative societies where individuals spend a lot of time rubbing and grooming each other.
By rubbing against each other the cats swap their individual scents to produce a group scent profile;therefore the cats can recognise each member of their social group because of how they smell.
The cats do not have to compete for resources as they still hunt independently,consequently there is very little aggression within the group.However,if cats from outside the social group try to hunt on their territory, colony members (usually all related females) will show extreme aggression to get rid of these cats as they represent a threat to the group’s food and other resources.In the domestic situation,we provide our cats with enough food,but,as we have seen,cats are still highly motivated to protect their territory and this can include cats that live in the same household.
If two cats have not grown up together from a young age there is a high risk that they will never accept each other as part of the same social group and will therefore feel threatened by the other’s presence.
Do cats show their feelings?
Because our cats have only recently been domesticated,they still have this inability to show lots of visual signals.This means that they are not particularly good at reading each others’moods or dealing with situations of conflict.
Therefore,in the domestic situation where they cannot easily avoid other cats they get into aggressive encounters,or become stressed by other cats,relatively often.
This lack of ability to express subtle emotions will also affect interactions between cats and humans as owners may not realise that their cats are unhappy in certain situations.Cats can also be divided into two groups:
– those which will express their anxiety through behaviours such as aggression or spraying,and those that tend to seem not to respond.Indeed they may actually stop doing lots of things
– eating,sleeping or grooming,or even just playing.They may appear to be less stressed but are actually struggling hard to find ways to cope with the stressful situation.
Next: How to introduce a new cat
Introducing a new cat
Many of us like owning more than one cat but realising how stressful this can be;it means we need to be very careful in how we introduce unfamiliar cats,because of the cat’s evolutionary history.
The new cat should be settled into a room of its own with all the necessary resources like food,water,comfortable resting areas and a litter tray.Keeping the new cat in this room for several days will not only allow it to settle into its new surroundings more easily but will also give the owner the chance to introduce the scent of the existing cat to the new cat and vice versa before they come face to face;this is essential as scent is the most important aspect of group recognition in cats.
To do this the owner should start by:
-swapping over the cats food bowls, this way they will associate the pleasure of eating with the scent of the other cat.
-swap the cats bedding and toys; this can simulate the action of the two cats rubbing against each other and transferring their individual scents to produce a group scent profile by alternatively stroking each cat.
-The next stage is to introduce the cats visually,but at a distance to begin with, perhaps with each cat at opposite ends of a long corridor. Give each cat a bowl of food so that they associate the other with positive feelings then separate them again after they have finished eating.
This can be repeated at every meal time and the cats gradually left in the same room for longer periods while moving the bowls closer together.
The new cat should be settled into a room of its own with all the necessary resources like food,water,comfortable resting areas and a litter tray.Keeping the new cat in this room for several days will not only allow it to settle into its new surroundings more easily but will also give the owner the chance to introduce the scent of the existing cat to the new cat and vice versa before they come face to face;this is essential as scent is the most important aspect of group recognition in cats.
To do this the owner should start by:
-swapping over the cats food bowls, this way they will associate the pleasure of eating with the scent of the other cat.
-swap the cats bedding and toys; this can simulate the action of the two cats rubbing against each other and transferring their individual scents to produce a group scent profile by alternatively stroking each cat.
-The next stage is to introduce the cats visually,but at a distance to begin with, perhaps with each cat at opposite ends of a long corridor. Give each cat a bowl of food so that they associate the other with positive feelings then separate them again after they have finished eating.
This can be repeated at every meal time and the cats gradually left in the same room for longer periods while moving the bowls closer together.
To increase the duration of the visual contact the owners can give each cat a fuss after they have eaten but they need to ensure that the cats are enjoying themselves.
If at any point either cat looks anxious,eg,tensing or flattening ears,then the cats need to be separated and the process repeated again at the next meal time,but with the cats at a greater distance from each other.
Owners should gradually increase the length of time the two cats are in visual contact until they no longer need to be separated.Continuing to swap scent all the way through this programme will help the cats identify each other as members of the same social group.Not all cats will become the best of friends after following this programme but they will hopefully learn to accept each other and not feel threatened or stressed in each other’s presence.
If at any point either cat looks anxious,eg,tensing or flattening ears,then the cats need to be separated and the process repeated again at the next meal time,but with the cats at a greater distance from each other.
Owners should gradually increase the length of time the two cats are in visual contact until they no longer need to be separated.Continuing to swap scent all the way through this programme will help the cats identify each other as members of the same social group.Not all cats will become the best of friends after following this programme but they will hopefully learn to accept each other and not feel threatened or stressed in each other’s presence.
How cats feel about people
Although some cats will never accept living with another cat in the same household,most cats will enjoy human company.However,cats have to learn to enjoy interacting with people at a very young age if they are to accept people in later life.As has been said before,experiences that kittens have within their first two months of life are very important in influencing their behavior and expectations right into adulthood.As kittens do not have an inbuilt need to be with people,they need to experience interactions with people during this very important early learning period;if they do not,they are likely to be fearful of people as adult cats and may not settle in a human environment.
However,owners may not realize that their cats are only tolerating other household cats or the owners themselves as the domestic cat does not have the ability to express a wide range of emotions through body language like the more naturally social domestic dog.
