Feline feng shui: Defusing tension in multi-cat houses

This month is all about feline feng shui and how to defuse tension in multi-cat households. We will be discussing International Cat Cares' new carer guidelines on encouraging cats to drink and AAFP’s Inter-cat Tension Guidelines. Please see the links below to read these guidelines.

Dr. Yaiza Gomez Mejias sits down with the winner of the RCVS Inspiration Award, Alex Taylor, to address the issues surrounding feline hydration and offer practical tips for encouraging water intake in cats. 

Dr. Kelly St. Denis then speaks with Drs Ilona Rodan and Daniela Ramos about the AAFP's new guidelines on managing inter-cat tension, debunking common myths about feline behaviour and offering strategies to ensure a peaceful multi-cat household.

 For further reading material please visit:

Encouraging your cat to drink: A guide for caregivers

2024 American Association of Feline Practitioners Inter-cat Tension Guidelines, Recognition, Prevention, and Management 

For ISFM members, full recordings of each episode of the podcast is available for you to listen to at portal.icatcare.org. To become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org


Host: 

Nathalie Dowgray, BVSc, MANZCVS, PgDip, MRCVS, PhD, Head of ISFM, International Society of Feline Medicine, International Cat Care, Tisbury, Wiltshire, UK 

Speakers:

Yaiza Gomez-Mejias, LdaVet MANZCVS (Medicine of Cats) CertAP (SAM-F) Acr AVEPA, ISFM Community Coordinator and Small Animal Clinician

Alex Taylor, RVN CertSAN ISFMDipFN & AdvCertFB, iCatCare Cat Wellbeing and Behaviour Advisor

Kelly St Denis, MSc, DVM, DABVP (Feline), Co-editor of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery and JFMS Open Reports, St Denis Veterinary Professional Corporation, Powassan, Ontario, Canada

Ilona Rodan, DVM, DABVP (Feline),  2024 AAFP Inter-cat Tension Guidelines, Co-Chair, Cat Behavior Solutions, Cat Care Clinic, Madison, WI, USA

Daniela Ramos, MV MSc PhD Diplomate (CLEVE), 2024 AAFP Inter-cat Tension Guidelines, Co-Chair, Veterinary behaviourist, speaker and researcher

Creators & Guests

Host

Nathalie Dowgray

What is Chattering With ISFM?

Welcome to Chattering With ISFM, the official monthly podcast of the International Society of Feline Medicine, hosted by Nathalie Dowgray (Head of ISFM). Each month, we chatter about cats and cat-friendly practices with industry experts and contributors to The Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery. Each episode contains highlights from our longer discussions and interviews, which are accessible to ISFM members at portal.icatcare.org. If you would like access to our full episodes, would like to become an ISFM member, or find out more about our Cat-Friendly schemes, visit icatcare.org.

Nathalie Dowgray: Hello, welcome to the
July episode of Chattering with ISFM.

I'm Nathalie Dowgray, Head of ISFM
and host of this month's podcast.

This month we have Dr Yaiza Gomez
Meijas speaking with iCatCare's own

Alex Taylor and they're discussing
one of our newer carer guides, How

to Increase Water Intake with Cats.

Then we have AAFP's Dr Kelly St Denis
and she's speaking with Drs Ilona

Rodin and Daniela Ramos on the new
AAFP Inter-cat Tension Guidelines.

Yaiza Gomez Meijas: Why does International
Cat Care consider necessary, a caregiver's

guide to encourage cats to drink?

Alex Taylor: Cats traditionally
aren't very good drinkers.

They obviously drink enough to
survive because they have to.

But their ancestry lies with the
Near Eastern wild cat, which tend

to get a lot of their fluid from the
prey that they capture and consume.

So they don't necessarily have a
really big kind of thirst drive.

This is okay for them to survive,
but not necessarily when they start

to get certain medical conditions or
even just older cats, we need to make

sure that they are drinking enough.

And that can be a little bit problematic
for cats that either can't access their

water due to mobility problems, maybe,
or for cats in multi cat households

as well, when they can't get to their
water bowl because there's other cats

preventing them from getting access.

It's important that we make sure
that they are drinking enough.

Yaiza Gomez Meijas: How can vets help to
address owners concerns when they worry

about their cats not drinking enough?

This is a common concern
I see in general practice.

Alex Taylor: It is, and I think
the main thing is to look for

any changes in drinking habits.

If they're fed on a wet diet or
predominantly wet diet, then owners

might not see them drinking that much.

If they're fed more on a dry diet,
they may see them drinking more

at the water bowl or at the water
stations a bit more frequently.

But really, what we're looking for
are changes in their behaviour.

So for instance, it may be that a
caregiver just sees the cat drinking

usually once a day and now they're
seeing them at that water station

much more frequently, or perhaps
they're starting to drink from the

dog's bowl and they weren't before.

Or I've had one owner that the cat
started to drink out of the toilet.

So, those kind of changes in the cat's
behaviour can indicate that they're

more thirsty, they need to drink more.

And if that's the case, then there
could be an underlying medical

reason for that, such as diabetes
or hyperthyroidism or chronic kidney

disease, all those kinds of things
that we see in our cats quite commonly.

Yaiza Gomez Meijas: So what types
of water bowl do cats prefer?

And where in the house should they be?

Alex Taylor: That's such a good
question because I really think

it depends on the individual.

As a general rule, it's nice to offer
cats a nice wide water bowl so that

their whiskers don't touch the side
because their whiskers are obviously

very sensitive and if the whiskers
are touching the side then that can be

a little bit uncomfortable for them.

So we want a nice wide bowl, ideally
the bowl should be full to the top so

that the cat doesn't have to dip their
head too low so that they can still

keep an eye on their surroundings.

Remember cats are prey animals as,
as well as predators, they always

need to be on high alert really,
but it can depend on the individual.

For instance, an older cat might
prefer a raised bowl, so they don't

have to crouch down too much to access
that water if they've got a bit of

discomfort there from osteoarthritis.

And some cats, I used to have a cat that
used to like drinking out of a glass.

So it can depend on the individual,
but generally a wide bowl, ideally

something that's made of either
glass or ceramic, not a metal bowl.

They can be a bit noisy, a bit reflective,
and the plastic bowls can sometimes

harbour bacteria and also carry the smell
of things that have been in them before.

So we're really looking
at glass or ceramic bowls.

Water fountains as well for some
cats if they like running water, they

can be a really good option and just
making sure that these water stations

are spread out throughout the home,
especially in multi cat households.

So the access is easy without
having to encounter another cat.

And also making sure those bowls are
not in the corner of the room, not too

enclosed, because if a cat has its back
to the room and it's living, again in a

multi cat household, or perhaps there's
toddlers running around, or there's a

lively puppy in the room and they feel
a bit anxious when they're trying to

access that water, that's not ideal.

So we need to move those water bowls
away from the wall so that they've

got kind of 360 degree access.

Yaiza Gomez Meijas: So when water is
not enough to encourage the cat to

drink, especially in those cats that
you mentioned before with diseases

and dehydration, what can we do?

Alex Taylor: Yeah, there's
quite a lot of different things

we can do nowadays, actually.

So again, it's down to
the individual preference.

There might be a little bit of trial
and error, but it could just be a case

of introducing more wet food and less
of the dry food if you want to increase

a little bit more of that fluid intake.

Or it may be that we need to offer
different types of wet or fluid

food or complementary food as well,
which you can also get now for cats.

So sometimes with my cats, for
instance, in the summer, I will

offer them the liquid treats that
are frozen because they like to lick

those and it helps to keep them cool.

And it just, it increases their,
their fluid intake a little bit.

It may be that if a caregiver has the
time, they might want to cook something

nice and tasty, like some chicken or
some fish and let the water cool and

then offer that water to their cat
so it's got a bit of a flavour, if

you like, some sort of meaty flavour.

Just avoid using anything with obviously
spices or salt especially, we don't

want to be doing that with cats because
that's not going to be healthy for them.

Another thing we can try is to get,
say for instance, some tuna, a can

of tuna that's in spring water.

Make sure again it's not brine
because that's salty and offer them

the water from that because that
has that nice sort of fishy flavour.

Or I really like nowadays you can
just get like the soups or the

complementary hydration foods.

So these aren't a complete diet,
so we need to be mindful that the

cats getting other foods as well,
but they can be really useful.

They're mostly liquid.

They have that kind of meaty flavour
and they're already pre prepared.

So they're quite easy for owners to get
hold of and offer to their cats if they

want to increase their water intake.

Yaiza Gomez Meijas: Brilliant.

Brilliant.

Thank you very much.

Nathalie Dowgray: And now Dr Kelly St.

Denis is speaking with Drs Ilona Rodin
and Daniela Ramos on the latest guidelines

from AAFP on managing inter-cat tension.

Kelly St Denis: What was the drive
behind making a full guideline on

the topic of inter-cat tension?

What makes this such an
important topic to veterinarians?

Ilona Rodan: It's such an important topic
because most veterinary professionals do

not understand social behaviour in cats.

Or, how to address inter-cat tension,
which is such a common problem in cats.

The most common problems occur
when introducing a new cat.

The guidelines have, step by step, how
to set up the home beforehand, make good

decisions about adoptions, and then go
through the steps of introducing the cats.

Challenging cases will definitely
need to go to board certified

veterinary behaviourists.

Daniela Ramos: When we look at the
behaviour caseloads from behaviourists

around the globe, inter cat tension
and conflict is becoming the top one

main complaint by the caregivers.

It used to be house soiling.

The current caseloads are showing
that cat tension and conflict

is getting the first position.

So this means that caregivers are
starting not only to seek assistance

from veterinary behaviourists,
but also to general clinicians.

So veterinarians in general must
know more to understand this problem.

Kelly St Denis: Yes.

And I love that you pointed out that
inter cat tensions are becoming more

of the issue than house soiling.

And I know even in my practice, when I
see cats, if there's more than one cat in

the household, in most of my appointments,
they're preventive care appointments.

I'm going to identify something
that's happening between those cats

that the caregivers didn't recognise.

And then the other aspect of the
house soiling versus cat tension is

that a lot of house soiling probably
falls back on inter-cat tension.

And maybe we're really starting to
see caregivers are more aware of

what's going on between their cats.

And now they're not just coming in and
saying, 'Oh, he's, he's peeing on my

stuff because he's mad at me.' They're
actually recognising that there's

something going on between the cats.

Ilona Rodan: And when they think,
Oh, we were gone for the weekend.

And now all of a sudden my cats
urinating out of the litter box.

It's probably because I
went away for the weekend.

But they don't recognise it
could be inter-cat tension.

It could be something else that
was causing distress for the cat.

Kelly St Denis: In the beginning of
your inter-cat tension guidelines

is this 10 myths that you guys talk
about for feline social behaviour.

And that's one of my
favourite ones, right?

Because I hear it all the time.

He did it on purpose.

He was mad at me.

Why are these important with
regards to inter-cat tension?

Daniela Ramos: Our clients, they believe
in so many myths and those myths, most

of the times make the clients think the
cats are all sorts of negative things.

And before they understand the reason why
cats behave in certain way, if we don't

break this myth then their action towards
managing the problem doesn't fit with the

management we need to provide to this cat.

So before any treatment plan, we
need to help clients to understand

what is cat interaction and why
they have tension and conflict.

Ilona Rodan: Veterinarian
professionals, as well as caregivers,

we need to stop thinking that
cats are behaving to spite them.

They're just in the moment, and
okay, I'm fearful, I'm anxious

because my caregivers are away.

There's all kinds of reasons.

And also to help veterinarians
understand, cats are social animals,

but they're socially flexible.

It really depends on their parents, their
genetics, their parents sociability, their

experiences, especially early in life.

Kelly St Denis: Yeah.

And that's just something that we
have to keep talking to people about

and getting them to understand.

There's no dominance hierarchy with cats.

How can we help cats that live in
the same household avoid competition?

Ilona Rodan: So we made a point of
talking about the five pillars and

that was an important section of the
guidelines to explain to clients,

what are the essential needs of a
cat, of a feline healthy environment.

And then when you put multiple
cats together in the household,

you need to think about resources.

So the core territory is where
cats want food, water, safe

places to rest, and also play.

At the same time, they need to be
separated so they don't have to be in the

same exact place if they don't choose to.

Daniela Ramos: People tend to think
that cats occupy their space randomly.

And then when we think about cats
living in groups, they may think that

it's a question of increasing the
amount of resources and that's all.

And it's not only about quantities.

We have to understand how cats follow
their feline rules when occupying

the space, cats are not random.

There are rules.

This will help them decide
about quantities and how

to spread all this stuff.

Ilona Rodan: Watch where blocking occurs,
or where staring occurs, so that you can

tell, oh no, I need to move the litter
box, or I need to move the food station.

Kelly St Denis: Do you have anything
else to add about how the five pillars

can be impacted by inter-cat tension?

Ilona Rodan: Introducing a new
cat can lead to the resident cats

feeling threatened by this cat
taking over some of their resources.

Food should always be fed separately
with the visual separation.

And even food preparation
should be done separately, in

a separate room from the cats.

Because often the cats are
distressed during food preparation.

Other things, a cat blocking a litter
box, or a cat blocking a cat bed, like

they'll push another cat out of a cat bed.

It's because they're
insufficient resources.

The five pillars are not just a checklist.

They need to be reassessed and changed
to meet the needs of every single cat.

Daniela Ramos: Yes.

One of the pillars that I think it's very
important, but in many occasions are not

so much discussed, is pillar four about
providing the with positive, consistent,

and predictable interactions with people.

It's very common caregivers use
verbal reprimands or water sprays.

They don't know what to do.

And sometimes they get very nervous
with the situation and they shout.

So the quality of the relationship
between human and cats in that household,

it deteriorates because not only the
cats that are involved in tension,

but all the others, all of a sudden is
they start to listen to loud voice and

the caregiver is not acting as before.

So this creates even more
tension for everyone.

So this is something that it's very
important to emphasise so the caregivers

start right at the beginning, talking
and acting in an appropriate way, at

least to prevent the tension to increase.

Kelly St Denis: That's an excellent point.

These things come up every day, and I'm
sure everyone also has lots of questions

that they're thinking of in their minds.

Please go and check out the 2024
AAFP Inter-cat Tension Guidelines on

Recognition, Prevention, and Management.

This is an amazing resource.

There's lots of
supplemental material also.

I want to thank Dr Ilona Rodan and Dr
Daniela Ramos for joining me today and

also for all of their hard work put into
being co chairs for these guidelines.

Nathalie Dowgray: Thank you for listening.

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