My favorite cat behavior problem to work with is fighting cats. I love working on reintroducing cats and helping them get along after a fight because, while it is a slow process, the end results are extremely satisfying. Sometimes people have three, four, or more cats fighting. These situations can be especially tricky and are even more challenging than getting two cats to get along. Thankfully, if you find yourself with multiple cats fighting and need to reintroduce them, there are a few things you can do to get better results.
Start With The Environment
The first place to start is looking at the environment the cats are living in. Cat social structure is based availability of resources so my adding in more resources that are important to cats, you will help reduce tension.
What resources are important to cats? Litter boxes, food, water, places to scratch, places to climb, places to hide, and resting spots are a few of the big ones. You want to have resources for the cats in multiple different locations throughout any of their territory they have access to. A general rule of thumb is your cat should always be able to access a resource they need to use even if another cat is using it.
A few places to start:
- Make sure you have one litter box for each cat plus one extra in different locations.
- Adding in additional scratching posts in prominent locations can help greatly reduce tension.
- Strategically add vertical space so the cats can not only rest on perches, but get out of the way of each other in narrow spaces.
- Add in a few additional drinking locations by adding water bowls. You can also consider water fountains, especially stainless steel water fountains that can be easily washed in the dishwasher.
- Feed your cats separately. Despite the recommendation to help cats get along by feeding them near each other, cats are solitary hunters and prefer eating alone. This method also isn’t recommended by the American Association of Feline Practitioners in their most recent guidelines.
- Identify any bottlenecks that may block off all of a resource. Common problem areas include hallways or stairs where all of one resource is located on one side of a stairway.
Once you have a good environment set up, you’ll be more likely to see improvement in your cats’ relationships. Even if it doesn’t immediately solve everything, doing environmental modification first will set you up for success with other interventions.
Make Sure Your Cats Aren’t Bored
If you have cats that aren’t getting enough mental stimulation, you’ll be more likely to see trouble secondary to them trying to amuse themselves. This is especially problematic if you have a kitten and a senior cat. Kittens like to get into things and need more play time than older cats. If you aren’t providing the play time or there isn’t a second kitten, your senior kitty may be the best option of a playmate to the kitten.
Speaking of which, play is probably the most efficient way to provide mental stimulation to the cat. If you have younger cats, make sure you have plenty of fun solo play toys for them. For older cats, some solo play toys can be fun, you you’ll want to focus on wand style toys like the Cat Dancer or Fukumaru Cat Wand Toy so you can engage them in interactive play.
As you can’t provide stimulation constantly, food puzzles are a great option for cats when you need to be doing something else. You can try some electronic toys as well, but keep in mind not all cats like these styles of toys. If you have an especially fearful cat, go for something quieter.
Work In Pairs
When reintroducing multiple cats, it can be tempting to try to do as much work as possible as quickly as possible. This often leads to people trying to have all their cats meet all at once.
This can work in some cases and if you live in a small space, you may not have a choice. However, if you can work with the cats one on one, you’ll see better results. This prevents the cats from redirecting their frustration toward another cat and can be less threatening to the other cats. They won’t feel outnumbered by a group of cats they don’t necessarily like.
It’s Easier To Read Body Language
Thinking about it from your standpoint, it will also be easier to control the cats and keep an eye on each of their reactions to each of the other cats. You want to cut off interactions between cats before they become upset with each other so close monitoring of their body language is an important step in introducing cats. Eventually, you can work your way up to having the cats meet in groups, but start out with private meetings.
Side note: Being able to understand body language in cats is critical to doing an introduction or reintroduction between cats. If you get body language wrong, you’ll up with trouble. For a digestible but thorough guide to body language, check out Kitty Language by Lili Chin.
Use The Right Tools
One other quick tip from when I introduced my cats: Make sure you use the right tools. I don’t recommend just having the cats meet in the same room until later in the process. It’s helpful to have a barrier to prevent either cat from injuring the other cat and also for helping the cats feel a bit safer. During my introduction, I tried using a regular baby gate, but Poutine quickly jumped it.
To make my life easier, I got a Richell Cat Safety Gate that spans the entire length of the door. It essentially created a second door for the cats to get through. It’s not inexpensive, but it’s high quality and your life will be so much easier because of it. Introducing multiple cats takes a long time so it will be well worth your sanity to get it. If you want to read my full experience with it, I wrote a quick review because it’s such a helpful tool to have.
Thankfully, for those experiencing price shock when looking at the full door length gate I used, there are now less expensive options. Since I introduced my cats less than a year ago, other brands have begun producing less expensive but still effective gates. Shop around, but go with one that is at least 70 inches tall.
Tools Besides Gates
Beyond a good pet gate, make sure you have plenty of toys each cat loves and that you are prepared to break up a cat fight if needed. Accidents happen and sometimes when reintroducing multiple cats, one will slip past you. The best thing you can do in these situations is gently separate them, allow them time to cool down a bit, and go a bit backward with the reintroduction.
Of course, reintroducing cats is complex and reintroducing multiple cats is incredibly complex. While it is possible, it’s not a light undertaking. The majority of my work with clients is helping get cats to get along so if you need some individualized assistance, I’m available for a consultation. I even have a specialized reintroduction program specifically to help with fighting cats!
