📣My next Top Tip for multicat households: Reduce Stress!📣
Did you know its actually quite rare for cats to be truely socially bonded? Particularly if they were introduced as adults rather than kittens. (If yours are - share - I LOVE seeing bonded cats! ❤️)
This means the social relationships in a multicat household often depend on how tolerant the cats are. Tolerance levels (for us as well as cats) are not set in stone, they are influenced by the world around them and their physical and emotional state - their stress levels. 😓
Identifying and reducing stress for all cats in the household can make a huge difference to how tolerant they are to each other. Here are some things to consider:
🧑⚕️ See your vet regulalry to maintain good physical health. A poorly cat may be more irritable and reactive around other cats.
🩺 Keep your cats apart following a veterinary visit or cattery stay as they can smell unfamiliar and sometimes seems to reduce tolerance to zero.
🏚 If you have any signifcant changes to your home such as renovations or redecorating, protect your cats from the stress by keeping them away from the work where possible.
🫶 Always encourage cat friendly interactions between the people and cats in the household (as if I need to tell you guys that!).
🐈⬛ If your cats have beef with other cats outside your home. Block their view of them from the windows. If they can see another cat but are not able to get out and chase them off, this can be redirected on to another cat inside your home. Frosted window coverings work super well!
😻 Sometimes the harmony between cats is balanced on a knife edge - keeping each cat stress free can be the key to keeping them happy together. 😻
#toptips #catbehaviour #multicathousehold
