Research overview: inter-cat aggression in households

Aggression between cats sharing a home is a frequent and distressing problem, and this overview surveys its forms, causes and management. It examines types of inter-cat aggression including territorial, fear-based, redirected and status-related conflict, and how subtle, ongoing tension rather than overt fighting often characterizes troubled multi-cat households. The survey discusses contributing factors such as inadequate or contested resources, poor introductions, lack of escape routes and individual temperament, and evidence-based strategies including resource distribution, gradual reintroduction, environmental modification and, where appropriate, behavioural medication. It connects inter-cat aggression to the cat's facultative and resource-dependent social system, emphasizing that compatibility and environment, not simply cohabitation, determine harmony. By compiling this work, the survey frames managing feline aggression as central to the welfare of cats kept together and to preventing relinquishment.