Tigers reside as solitary hunters in jungles. Lions reside in prides in grasslands. However what about our home cats? Are they loners like tigers or social like lions? Sure and sure, and no and no — relying on the cat and the state of affairs, specialists say. We talked to a few of these execs to attempt to reply the age-old questions: Do cats get lonely? And do cats want different cats?
Do cats get lonely? Or are they happier in single-cat households?
Do cats get lonely or are they tremendous flying solo? Images by ivanolianto/Thinkstock.
Step one in answering, “Do cats get lonely?” is understanding that home cats are solitary in terms of searching and consuming. Canine might have a status for being extra social, however that’s solely as a result of they hunt in packs. Not so with cats, who don’t like consuming too shut to one another. Many dad and mom in multi-cat households put their kitties’ meals bowls subsequent to one another, however this can be a mistake, says Marilyn Krieger, a licensed cat-behavior guide within the San Francisco Bay space. “Cats should eat, so they are going to, however they’re not very blissful. It’s slightly irritating,” says Krieger, who’s often known as The Cat Coach.
Exterior of mealtime, although, most cats have social wants. Whereas some cats hate their very own variety and should be the family’s solely pet, feral cats type colonies, and plenty of pet cats befriend one another.
“They’ve a number of advanced social and cooperative behaviors reminiscent of caring for one another’s younger,” says Dr. Leticia M.S. Dantas, D.V.M., M.S., Ph.D., a college member on the Athens-based College of Georgia Veterinary Instructing Hospital’s Behavioral Medication Service, and a diplomate of the American School of Veterinary Behaviorists, says about feral cats. “The confusion comes from the truth that strangers are often not welcomed. The group is often shaped by a household line — a queen and a few of her litter that selected to not go away, not newcomers.”
And what about pet cats? Do cats get lonely once they’re the one cat within the family? “Home cats are a social species,” Dr. Dantas says. “Sure, you’ll be able to have cats which are buddies as a result of they actually like one another and never as a result of they should be,” Krieger says.
Nonetheless, cats are capable of survive as solo creatures, Krieger says, even when that isn’t their desire. And grownup kitties have a territorial nature.
The reply to “Do cats get lonely?” is probably going sure — in the event that they’re kittens.
That territorial nature doesn’t sometimes kick in till maturity. Kittens crave playmates, and so they particularly bond with their littermates. However even when you undertake kittens from separate litters, they are going to doubtless change into prompt besties.
“For many kittens, the way in which they be taught social abilities is by interacting and enjoying with one another,” Krieger says. “Most kittens do fairly nicely collectively.”
Nonetheless, although kittens are typically extra socially versatile, “simply with any species, some people are born not being snug round strangers,” Dantas cautions.
Matching your cat to a second cat
Do you have got a cat-hating cat who should be by herself (a state of affairs that may consequence from a kitty that received separated from her littermates at an early age) or a lonely cat who desires a buddy? It might be tough to inform, as your cat could be clingy and needy together with her human however not essentially do nicely with one other cat round her, Krieger says. It helps to know the historical past of each cats — the resident and the potential newcomer — if you wish to predict whether or not the 2 will get alongside.
“Having grown up with others is just not a recipe for fulfillment, since cats are people and a few of them merely don’t get alongside,” Dantas says. “Cats who’re playful with different cats, had been socialized to different cats as kittens and all through their lives and wouldn’t have scientific indicators of worry or anxiousness have extra probability of success.”
When selecting a feline companion on your cat, search for one that may be a comparable age, and due to this fact has an identical vitality stage. When you have an older cat, a kitten will torment and pester him with manic vitality. “The kitten’s job is to be playful and discover their world and assault issues,” Krieger says. “The older cat’s job is to take a nap.” When you have an older cat and wish to undertake a kitten, get two kittens in order that they will play with one another and let their older uncle calm down in peace. In any other case, search for an older greatest pal on your grownup cat.
Introducing cats
The following query you’ll have when asking, “Do cats get lonely?” is, “How do I introduce two cats?”
“Cats do … type very shut bonds with one another,” Kreiger explains. “Even grownup cats can change into shut companions if they’re launched appropriately.”
Introduce cats appropriately by holding them separate at first, Dantas says. This lets them get used to one another’s sounds and smells and provides their brains time to hopefully lower the neuroendocrine stress response. Every cat wants her personal meals dish and litter space, and constructive experiences ought to include introductions, like treats.
Getting a brand new companion for a grieving cat
Do cats get lonely — after their longtime feline companion passes on? When a cat dies, the loss leaves a void in each your life and your remaining cat’s life. The query is how quickly cat dad and mom — and their resident kitties — ought to search new companionship. Dantas and Krieger suggest giving your cat (and your self) time to grieve and stabilize. This may occasionally take a month or a number of months.
“Cats type bonds, however they solely crave the corporate of the cats they’re bonded with,” Dantas says. “A bond can’t be transferred from one particular person to a different.”
Krieger additionally discourages bringing in one other cat instantly. Though your bereaved cat is lonely; that is irritating on your pet, as the brand new cat is an alien. “They know this cat is just not their buddy,” she says. “They odor completely different, they appear completely different and every part about them is completely different.”
This piece was initially printed in 2017.
Learn extra recommendation to find out when you ought to get one other cat on Paws and Impact >>
Thumbnail: Images by AspenPhoto/Thinkstock.
