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Are your cats not getting along well or are they fighting?
Tension between cats is a very stressful situation in your household, both for you as an owner and for your cats.
It's important to know that cats are not social animals by nature; they are solitary hunters. This doesn't mean they are completely solitary, but rather that they prefer to do everything alone: eating, hunting, sleeping, going out, scent marking, using the litter box, etc. We prefer to describe the social behaviour of our cats as: solitary by necessity, social by opportunity.
If your cats are fighting, separate them immediately and seek help. Cats do not have reconciliation behaviour; they cannot say sorry, and every conflict makes their negative association with each other worse and worse. So, there is no such thing as 'Let them fight it out' – that is the worst advice ever!
Also, please never just put two cats together. In the wild, cats are enemies, equipped with sharp teeth and claws that can inflict fatal wounds. That's why a cat won't just fight; its first instinct will always be to try and hide or flee. By the time cats resort to fighting, they have already passed several levels of the 'cat game' and are forced to resolve their tensions through conflict, usually because they cannot get away from each other.
If we look at wild colonies that form naturally in the wild, they look very different from how we keep cats together. They are colonies consisting of female cats who are related to each other, not spayed, who den together for the common care of the kittens. Occasionally, a male cat may be part of the group, but that does not mean he is the father of the kittens. The condition for the formation and maintenance of these natural wild colonies is the presence of sufficient feeding locations and sufficient shelters.
So, if you have several spayed/neutered cats in your home that are not related, a mix of males and females, and they are simply put together, the chance of tension and aggression is very high.
But don't worry, we are here to help you turn over a new leaf and improve and relieve the tension!
Anneleen ♡
Read the chapter on cat tension in the Happy Cats Revolution book
This book consists of three chapters. The Cat Wheel discusses all the reasons and causes of undesirable behaviour. The Cat Matrix covers a generic therapy plan that you can apply (especially for inappropriate elimination). The third chapter delves deeper into behavioural problems, including aggression between cats. Follow the therapy plan to the letter and you will see that inappropriate elimination can quickly be brought under control.
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This book reveals all the secrets to understanding and changing cat behavior through training, management, and behavior modification, and is intended for advanced cat owners and professionals.
In this book, Anneleen gathers all her knowledge as a behavioral therapist into a unique model, the Cat Matrix®, a 50-step plan she developed to (re)balance a cat's behavior.
Using the Cat Matrix®, any unwanted feline behavior can be addressed in a structured manner, based on scientific information and ten years of experience.
The book provides a clear overview of the most common feline behavioral problems and how to resolve them.
Seek professional help for your situation
Let us guide you to a permanent and positive result
Not all behavioral problems can be solved without the professional guidance of a cat professional. Has a medical problem been ruled out and have you got the basics in order for your cat, but the problem persists? Then make an appointment with a fellow behavior professional.
The Association of Animal Behavior Professionals unites behavior therapists, behavioral veterinarians and behavior coaches whom you can contact for behavioral advice and behavioral consultations.
Take a look at the site for more information and for colleagues in your area who can help you with your cat's behavioral problem.
