Conflict and affiliative behavior frequency between cats in multi-cat households: a survey-based study

The objective of this study was to collect information from cat owners about the frequency of conflict and affiliative signs in their households in order to: (1) assess correlations with the owners’ ratings of household cat–cat harmony; and (2) determine if relationships exist between household variables, cat population variables and behavior frequencies.

Responses to an online survey of adult residents of the USA who were the primary caregiver of 2–4 indoor or indoor–outdoor cats were included in the analysis. Spearman’s correlations and χ² tests were used to compare behavior frequencies with household and cat population variables.

Of 2492 owners of multiple cats, 73.3% noted conflict signs from the very beginning when introducing the cats. The more cats in the house, the more frequent the conflict signs. Staring was the most frequently observed conflict sign, occurring at least daily in 44.9% of households, followed, in order of decreasing frequency, by chasing, stalking, fleeing, tail twitching, hissing and wailing/screaming. Hissing occurred at least daily in 18% of households. Affiliative signs were observed more frequently than conflict signs. Physical contact between cats was observed at least daily in around half of the multi-cat households. Higher harmony scores were correlated with less frequent conflict signs and more frequent affiliative signs. No household or cat population variable, including home size or numerically adequate resources provision, was strongly predictive of the frequency of conflict or affiliative signs.

This is the first large-scale online survey to obtain frequencies of conflict and affiliative behaviors and compare them with factors linked to the cats or the home settings. The study confirmed that feline relationships are correlated with the owner’s perceived impression of the initial introduction, but other household factors and cat population variables included in the study were not strongly predictive of the frequency of conflict or affiliative signs.