Research overview: social stress in multi-cat households

Many homes keep several cats, but because cats are facultatively social and territorial, cohabitation can generate chronic stress. This overview surveys research on the welfare challenges of multi-cat households, including competition over resources, blocked access to litter or feeding stations, and tension between cats that are not bonded. It examines indicators of inter-cat conflict, which is often subtle rather than overtly aggressive, and the consequences such as stress-related illness, house soiling and behaviour problems. The survey discusses mitigation through providing abundant, separated and distributed resources, vertical space and hiding places, and careful introductions, drawing on the feline environmental needs framework. It emphasizes that compatibility and adequate spatial and resource provision, not mere number, determine whether multiple cats can live together with good welfare.