Research overview: single versus group housing of shelter cats

Whether to house shelter cats singly or in groups involves trade-offs between social opportunity, stress, disease transmission and space efficiency. This overview surveys research comparing the two: group housing can offer space and social contact for sociable cats but risks stress and conflict among unfamiliar individuals and faster disease spread, while single housing offers control and biosecurity but can be barren and isolating. It examines how individual sociability, prior socialisation, group stability and density determine outcomes, and the importance of compatibility assessment, gradual introductions and adequate resources and hiding in any group setting. The synthesis concludes that neither system is universally superior, and that matching housing to the individual cat's social temperament is the key welfare principle.