Positive Catitude
At Blackwater Vets we endeavour to offer help and support to our clients throughout their pet companionship journey. This includes giving advice before a pet is welcomed into your home. Not only is it important to do your research on which pet could suit your environment, lifestyle, and financial commitments you must also ensure you can offer that pet everything they need to live a happy and fulfilled life.
There are so many things to research and understand when adding a pet to your family but one consideration we sometimes overlook is what company your pet needs.
The 2022 PDSA Animal Wellbeing [PAW] Report revealed that 44% of cats are showing behaviours that are indicative of stress and for many this was a product of living as a multi cat household.
As humans we like companionship and therefore, we assume that our cats feel the same, however, nothing could be further from the truth. Cats are independent and solitary creatures who do not enjoy sharing their space.
Of course, there are exceptions and situations where cats can live happily together and certainly siblings adopted together can often work well. Whilst we may think our cat wants a friend, for creatures that are instinctively territorial, asking them to share their home can be distressing for them.
Cats hide stress extremely well and sometimes the first sign for an owner of how unhappy their pet is feeling is when the cat has repeated bouts of urine infections. Whenever we see them suffering with this condition, we will always ask questions about their home environment.
If you already have a multi cat household there is so much you can do to help the cats live as comfortably as possible together and this includes…
- Providing numerous water bowls in different areas so that cats can drink away from others
- Providing numerous litter trays so cats can use them where they feel safe. Avoid positioning near to windows, mirrors or feeding and sleeping areas
- Providing numerous high resting places where cats can go when they feel threatened. This may help avoid conflict
- Providing private resting areas with bedding under beds, in cardboard boxes etc. Cats need places to go where they can hide and have time away from other cats and humans
- Providing enough beds so that cats do not feel they have to protect or defend a bed area
- Scratching posts help cats relieve stress. Ensure you have plenty of them available for your cats to use
- Entry/Exit points- Cats may guard these so it is important to provide at least two so that cats can access and enter freely. This may be especially important for cats that prefer to toilet outdoors
- Play is important for cats, but an insecure cat may not feel comfortable to play in front of a more confident cat. Think about allowing cats play time separately
If your cat is currently living a happy existence as a solitary cat, then we urge you to keep them as a single cat. The general advice and our experience is that your cat really does not want you to get them a friend!
For more information, please see; https://icatcare.org/advice/multi-cat-households/
Happy hoppy buns
Conversely the situation for rabbits is completely different; the 2022 PAW Report revealed that 46% of pet rabbits are still living alone.
If we look at how rabbits live in the wild this can give us a good indication on how to optimise their life in domesticity. They have lots of space, access to fresh grass and can burrow underground to keep warm as families. Ultimately, they are never living alone.
We have learned so much about rabbit welfare in recent years, but we still have a long way to go to optimise their happiness as pets. Some of the areas identified by the Rabbit Welfare Association that need addressing are…
- Housing- Many rabbits do not have the right housing or space they need to live a comfortable and enriched life
- Feeding- Rabbits diet should consist predominantly of grass/hay and not muesli
- Companionship- Rabbits should live with other rabbits
Rabbit bonding is a complex process and whilst we urge rabbit owners to recognize that a rabbit living alone without company will be lonely, it is important to understand that you must not get another rabbit and simply put them together. This can be incredibly dangerous and can result in potentially fatal injuries.
You need to enlist the support of a reputable national rescue who will help you with matching your rabbit with the right companion and support you through the bonding process.
This support is available from all the following rescues;
RSPCA Danaher near Braintree; www.danaheranimalhome.org.uk
Rabbit Residence in Royston, Hertfordshire; www.rabbitresidence.org.uk
We also urge people considering getting rabbits to ideally source their new family members from a reputable rescue like those above, who will be able to match you with a pre bonded pair.
For further information on rabbit welfare please also see the Rabbit Welfare Association website. www.rabbitwelfare.co.uk
Ultimately, we want pets and people to lead happy and fulfilled lives. Our website has lots of useful information and we invite clients to contact us for advice and support on their pet’s health and wellbeing.
