How Do Your Cats Get Along – Conflict Behaviors

Posted on November 27, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

If your cats get along well, they will share sleeping areas, engage in some allogrooming, and greet each other on occasion by touching noses. Well, you say, my cats aren’t very good friends but they aren’t trying to kill each other, either. What are the signs of conflict? What should we look for to avoid getting to the point “they want to kill each other”?

The 2020 survey referred to in last week’s post not only assessed affiliative behaviors, they also polled respondents on conflict behaviors. They chose seven behaviors associated with conflict. These are listed below with the frequency reported by the participants of the survey. (Elzerman AL, DePorter TL, Beck A, Collin JF. Conflict and affiliative behavior frequency between cats in multi-cat households: a survey-based study. J Feline Med Surg. 2020 Aug;22(8):705-717. doi: 10.1177/1098612X19877988)

Behavior	Frequency	Rank
Stare	daily	7 – Most frequent
Stalking	daily	6
Chasing	daily	5
Running away	weekly	4
Twitching Tail	weekly	3
Hissing	monthly to never	2
Wail/Scream	monthly to never	1 – Least frequent

How do your Cats Get Along?

Let’s take a closer look at these conflict behaviors.

THE STARE

A cat will stare without blinking:

at prey while hunting – he is aware of where that animal is and what it is doing, otherwise he may miss out on dinner!
during a cat fight. Fighting cats must be able to rapidly respond if the other launches an attack.
to discourage another cat from accessing a resource.

Cat blocking other cat — Zelda looks innocent but she is keeping another cat from going through the door.

If you see one of your cats fixing an unblinking stare on another, take note of the circumstances and see what happens if you intervene. For example, if one cat is staring at another cat and is sitting in a doorway, she may be blocking the other from resources through that doorway.

Interrupt the stare by opening the door wider, throwing a treat away from the doorway, or redirecting the “door-blocker” with a toy. Does this give the other cat a chance to get through the doorway? If this is successful, you may want to look more closely at how these two cats get along.

Avoid handling the cats in this situation in case they are more aroused than they appear.

Stalking, Chasing and Running Away

These behaviors may be associated with:

hunting
fighting
cats playing together

When hunting, the cat is targeting a toy or prey. It is object play. But how do we know whether two cats are fighting or playing? After all, many of the same moves in a cat fight are seen when cats play together.

Just like a football game, play between cats has distinct rules. And, like football, tempers may flare when a player challenges the rules. What starts as play can escalate into a cat fight.

invitation to play

play sequence

end of play

Are these cats playing?

Social play consists of an invitation to play, the play sequence, and the end of play. The rules are:

Claws are not extended
Biting is gentle without intent to injure
The invitation to play is often repeated by one or the other of the cats throughout the interaction.
If one cat declines play (there may be some hissing and growling here), the game ends.

If you see that the “rules” are not being followed, it is time to shake a bag of treats or can of coins and redirect or separate the participants. [see Managing the Indoor Cat Fight].

Check all your cats regularly for wounds from bites and scratches. If you notice your cats having a lot of wounds from scratches or bites and they “play” together, this may not be play. It may be conflict and it is time to observe the cats, assess their environment and social status.

Twitching Tail

A twitching tail indicates that a cat is focusing on something. The tail is for balance and changing direction – the tail often twitches before the cat pounces.

The twitching tail + stare > pounce: Is this play? conflict?
Are the rules of play being followed?
A map of the social groups in the house can help with deciding whether this is play or conflict.

Vocalizations – Hissing

The hiss is that snake-like sound. Cats may hiss when they are:

afraid
startled
frustrated
displeased
You will hear it in a cat fight, often from the cat on the defensive.

Vocalizations – Wailing/Screaming

Cats will wail or scream:

if they are fearful
if they are hurt and in pain
if they are fighting

You must decide from the circumstances and the body language of the cat or cats if these vocalizations are meaningful. If it is a cat fight, the combatants must be separated [managing the indoor cat fight]; if a cat is hurt, you must get the cat in a box or carrier for a trip to the vet.

Don’t wait for a fight to break out. Take a few moments to determine if your cats get along and if there is anything you can do to improve things.

Map social groups [Social Groups of Cats]
Draw a house map of resources (litter boxes, food stations, water, scratchers). Draw paths showing how cats reach these resources.
Move furniture if necessary to make accessing resources easier for all cats.
Make sure there sufficient resources for the number of cats.

Next week, we’ll take a look at describing individual cats’ personalities. How does this affect how cats get along?

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How Do Your Cats Get Along? Affiliative Behaviors

Posted on November 20, 2022June 16, 2023 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Affiliated cats — Gus and Zelda are not a bonded pair but do groom each other.

Have more than one cat? How do your cats get along? Are they “bonded” or affiliated?

If there is a reliable source of food, free-roaming cats will often form groups called colonies. Within the colony, there are smaller groups of 2 or more cats that prefer to spend time together. These cats are comfortable sharing resources such as food, water, latrine areas, sleeping and resting places. Some refer to these cats as “preferred associates”; others call them bonded or affiliated.

This post is the first in a 3 part series of “How do your cats get along?”: 1) signs of affiliation 2) signs of conflict 3) personalities in the multi-cat home.

“Preferred associates” show affiliative behaviors. You may find them:

snuggled up taking a nap
rubbing against each other when greeting
grooming each other
“play” fighting
twining their tails together

Not all cats have preferred associates. Within the cat colony may be “groups” of just one cat, who keeps to herself but shares the colony territory and resources. So, not only is there the strong bond of the preferred associates, there is also the looser affiliation of the members of the cat colony.

Multi-cat homes host ad hoc cat colonies. When I am taking a history for a veterinary exam, I usually ask guardians with more than one pet how their cats get along. The big three questions for multi-cat homes are:

Do your cats sleep touching each other?
Do they play together, with claws sheathed and taking turns?
Do they groom each other?

These 3 questions barely scrape the surface of how cats get along and whether or not there is potential for conflict or ongoing conflict in the home. Like human social relationships, relationships among cats can be complex.

A survey of 2492 multi-cat households published in 2020* set out to see if there was a relationship between household factors (type of house, number of litter boxes, feeding stations, scratching posts), and how often affiliative and conflict behaviors were seen.

*Elzerman AL, DePorter TL, Beck A, Collin JF. Conflict and affiliative behavior frequency between cats in multi-cat households: a survey-based study. J Feline Med Surg. 2020 Aug;22(8):705-717. doi: 10.1177/1098612X19877988.

Affiliative behaviors in cats – from most frequent to least frequent

sleeping in the same room

Cats don’t have to be “preferred associates” to choose a spot in the sun in the same room as a housemate cat. As long as there is plenty of space, peaceful coexistence should be possible.

Most frequently seen affiliative behavior – multiple times a day

allogrooming

Allogrooming refers to a cat grooming another cat by licking around the head or ears. It occurs most frequently among cats that are related…BUT … it is not restricted to family groups. It can be a way for cats to redirect potential aggression. A few quick licks to the head can soothe a would-be combatant, avoiding a fight. Sometimes, you will see cats who are not particularly chummy grooming each other’s head or neck.

Frequency – several times a day

Sleeping Touching each other

I view sleeping snuggled together something bonded cats do whereas the casual touch of cats napping next to each other indicates a weaker affiliation.

Frequency- several times a day

Touching noses

Kittens at Kndergarten — Kittens at “kitten kindergarten” session

Colony cats touch noses when returning from foraging or hunting. Each colony has its signature scent that helps the members of the colony identify each other. House cats being inside all the time may not need to engage in this identifying behavior as much as their outdoor counterparts. However, a cat who has been to the veterinary hospital may not smell quite right to his housemates and peaceful coexistence can be disrupted.

Frequency – once a day

Why isn’t play in the list of affiliative behaviors?
Play between cats incorporates more than one basic behavior. Because social play between cats is “play fighting” and can easily escalate into a fight, behaviors like chasing and stalking are often categorized as conflict behaviors. (See cats at play: a guide to mutual social play)

There are many other things that cats do that may be “affiliative” – tail-twining and rubbing up against each other – that were not included in the study above. However, this basic list can give you an idea of whether harmony reigns in your cat kingdom. Pay attention to how your cats get along and to their body language when interacting.

Next week, we will take a look at “conflict” behaviors and how frequent the survey found them to be.

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Giving Your Cat a Chance to Play

Posted on November 6, 2022 by felinepurrspective_u3q4o6

Cat with toy box — Gus investigates a cardboard box with cat toys. Holes cut in the box allow him to pull out the toys.

Giving your cat a chance to play is one of the essentials of a cat-friendly home. In this instance, we are not talking about the social play of affiliated cats – you know, where the cats wrestle and chase each other. This post is about allowing your cat some “hunting practice”.

Giving your cat a chance to play

Object Play

Kittens start to become more interested in playing with objects around 10-14 weeks of age, although they will certainly continue to chase and wrestle with each other. Object play helps develop problem-solving skills they can use in getting food – if they are wild, it will help them hunt. Object play also helps them hone and practice the skills they need to catch prey.

Object play is what it says it is – the cat engages in exploring and manipulating an object. Even if you are holding the “Da Bird” wand, your cat is playing with an object – “Da Bird”. Most of the play that we engage in with our cats is not social play. It is “object play”.

We humans can easily mistake fluttering our fingers and wiggling our feet as invitations to social play with our cats – don’t be fooled: our cats see our hands and feet as objects, and will attack with unsheathed claws and sharp teeth.

Giving your cat a chance to play – toys

Cats are born hunters. In the wild, they spend most of their waking hours seeking food. The object play that they engaged in as kittens helps them pounce and trap mice with their paws.

Crinkly balls, catnip mice, plastic rings – these provide opportunities for exploration and manipulation. Try to arouse your cat’s predatory nature through textures, scents and sounds. Consider the tactile appeal of the toy – is it mouse-sized?

Change toys out regularly to keep kitty’s interest.
“Marinate” sets of toys in plastic boxes with some catnip, silver vine or tartarian honeysuckle sawdust to stimulate your cat’s sensitive sense of smell.
Bells and chirping toys can get your cat’s interest.
Some cats like pulling toys out of boxes.

Games we can play with cats

When giving your cat a chance to play, mimic how prey moves. Watch a video on the Internet of mice – they move in short spurts, zigzagging around.

How to Play the Game

If you are using a wand toy like “DaBird”, attach a mouse toy to the clip at the end.
Pull it past your cat in spurts; zigzag a little.
Avoid flicking the mouse toward the cat – a mouse runs away from a cat!
Once your cat grabs the mouse, stay still.
He should let up after a while – that’s when the “mouse” makes a run for it and the game is on again.

Giving Your Cat a Chance to Play – Food Games

Food puzzles elicit foraging behavior from cats. It may take your cat a while to engage in this if he is free-fed. You may want to consider meal- feeding and making puzzle time a meal.

There are many puzzles you can make or buy. Pick one that suits your cat’s personality.

Tossing treats or your cat’s dry food encourages him to use his sight, hearing, and smell to locate the food item. Be sure to include this in his daily calorie count.

If you have more than one cat playing treat toss, assign each cat a “runway”. This will avoid scuffles and ensures that everybody, from young active cats to seniors, successfully hunt down the food.

the emotions of play

Physical play is fun. Your cat enjoys her catnip mouse – it smells good and it is just the right shape and size for her to toss and dance around with. Food puzzles are more like us playing games – they are still fun but depend on some learning and memory. It is still satisfying to get the treat or pull the mouse out of the hole.

Frustration

Play should be challenging but not impossible to get the prize! If the task is too hard, cats, like people, become frustrated, give up, or may become obsessed with trying to get the unattainable prize.

A recent survey-based study looked at the use of laser light pointers for play and the occurrence of “abnormal repetitive behaviors” linked to feline compulsive disorders. The abnormal behaviors included:

chasing lights or shadows
staring “obsessively” at lights or reflections
spinning or tail chasing
fixating on a specific toy

The research team found significant links between frequency of Laser Light Play (LLP) and these behaviors. However, only half of the cat owners surveyed actually used a laser pointer to play with their cats and those that did, spent more time playing with their cats using other toys. (Kogan, L.R.; Grigg, E.K. Laser Light Pointers for Use in Companion Cat Play: Association with Guardian-Reported Abnormal Repetitive Behaviors. Animals 2021,11, 2178. https://doi.org/10.3390/ani11082178)

LLP is thought to be frustrating for cats as they can’t catch the light. In my experience, the laser light is interesting initially and then cats grow bored with it – after all, they can’t catch it.

If your cat enjoys playing with a laser pointer, be sure to end the session with the satisfaction of catching the prize – direct the light to target a favorite toy or treat.

Using a laser pointer to target a treat — The laser guides Gus to a treat at the end of the play session.

Computer games for cats and videos of mice and birds fall in the same category as LLP. The cat cannot physically catch the prey on the screen and finds this frustrating. Some comments on these videos often remark that the cat is obsessed with the video!

Giving your cat a chance to play is important for his mental and physical welfare. Engage your cat with toys at the end of a wand or give him the whole body experience of toys he can lick, kick, manipulate and smell. Ditch the computer games and videos – let your cat have the satisfaction of using his touch, scent, vision, and hearing to catch the prize!

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