by Nicole Cook

Created on: February 23, 2009

While having a multi-cat household can be extremely challenging, it can also be a very rewarding and have a positive impact on your life. When a multi-cat owner is asked the question, "why do you own so many cats", you will often hear answers such as, "I never planned on owning this many" or "after the second one came, I figured what's one more" or even, "I didn't seek them out, they were strays in need of a home, what could I do, turn them away?" There are so many scenarios that result in a new cat entering our homes and no matter how many you have, these cats all have issue of there own which can compound or present themselves more so in a home with other cats.

While cats are often thought to be solitary animals that don't care much for a feline friend, this could not be farther from the truth. Yes, there are exceptions in which a cat must live as a single cat in a home, more often then not multi-cat households will give birth to some very strong relationships and friendships between cats. Unfortunately, similar to high school there can be problematic cat cliques. Cat cliques can consist of just two cats with a third considered as an outsider or the clique can be quite large, forcing any number of "outsiders" to either live solitarily or attempt to strike up a friendship with the other outsiders.

The cat hierarchy that can exist in a multi-cat household can be extremely intricate and strict. While there can exist an alpha male and an alpha female within a household, it is no uncommon for two cats from either sex to share their alpha roles. For instance, two alpha males can coexist in one household, remain civil to one another and tolerate each other's presence but never really become close. One may take on the alpha role during the day, the other during the night. One may take on the alpha role during feeding time while the other has his choice of available resting spots. Many times this relationship will go unnoticed by cat owners because they perceive the lack of fighting or aggression as a friendship between the two when it is really just a display or respect for one another's space.

When the hierarchy is not clear among the cats in the household, or if there are cats that refuse to abide by it by stepping down, seemingly random aggressiveness' can present itself. Disputes over seemingly minor things such as crossing another cats path or using a certain litter box can result in all out brawls between some cats. Often this can be resolved by giving the

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