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The average cat-owning household has at least two cats, some many more. And while most cats seem to get along fine, they can react quickly when they feel threatened. A more assertive cat might chase another cat from or silently block access to a food bowl or litter pan; a less assertive cat might spend hours hiding or even become sick. In fact, conflict is a common reason for health problems like stress cystitis, constipation, obesity, over grooming and weight loss in multiple-indoor-cat households. Cats are solitary by nature. They evolved as solitary hunters of small prey, competing with other cats for food in common hunting grounds. The social behaviours among cats that emerged in this environment include reducing conflict by avoiding contact with other cats. They evolved quite differently to humans and dogs who attempt to solve conflict with social interaction. Cats prefer to have their own separate food and water sources, litterboxes and resting areas to avoid competition and unwanted interactions with other cats. Interestingly, unrelated cats who live together in groups appear to spend even less time interacting with each other than related cats do. To achieve optimal household harmony you might consider adopting littermates. Conflict among cats develops when their status or resource access is challenged by other animals (including humans) in the home or by outside cats. Humans unknowingly contribute to conflict by yelling or throwing things, or by favouring one cat over another. Conflict between cats can be open or subtle, but with a little practice you can recognize the signs in your own cats. Signs of open conflict are easy to recognize. The cats may stalk each other, hiss, and turn sideways with legs straight and hair standing up to make themselves look larger. If neither cat backs down, these displays may increase to swatting, fighting and biting. Conflict can be so subtle that a human hardly notices it. The cat who moves away from a food dish whenever another cat approaches it may be the victim of cat-on-cat aggression. The more assertive cat blocks access to essential resources such as food, water or the litterbox. The less assertive cat may also spend more and more time away from the family, staying in areas of the house that others do not use or interacting with family members only when the other cat is elsewhere. Sometimes open conflict develops when (particularly unrelated) cats who got along wonderfully as kittens become adults and start to take some control of their territory. The cats involved in the conflict may never be “best friends” again, but we can usually help them to live together without showing signs of conflict or conflict-related sickness with appropriate environmental management. Conflict can be avoided by providing an enriched environment with an abundance of resources distributed throughout the house so there is no need for anyone to fight over anything. In many cases, conflict can be avoided by giving each cat a separate set of resources — water, food, litterbox, perch — in safe, quiet individual locations out of view of the other cats. Separate resources let the cats avoid each other while retaining access to everything they need. You can enrich the general home environment by adding three-dimensional structures, such as kitty condos or cardboard boxes to increase the cats’ sense of space, and providing enough toys, window seats and hiding spots to support the number of cats sharing your home. Be sure to spread your time and affection generously among your cats to avoid competition for this vital resource! If separating resources and making the environment more cat-friendly don’t work then book an appointment with Helen Purdam at Canberra Cat Vet. She will analyse the situation and help you find a solution for your warring felines. Of course, occasional conflict between housemates can occur regardless of species. Our goal is to reduce unhealthy conflict to a manageable level for the cats involved. The best way to avoid conflict in the first place is to provide an abundance of resources so that cats can interact on their terms to whatever extent they are comfortable with while retaining their independence.

Signs of kidney failure don’t appear until at least 70% of kidney function is lost. The kidneys remove waste products from the blood stream, regulate fluid and electrolyte balance, maintain the acid-base balance of the body and remove toxins and drugs. They also help maintain blood pressure and stimulate blood cell production. Kidney damage accumulates for years before we see any signs. Even then the early signs of kidney failure - increased thirst and urine production - are not easy to pinpoint in our feline friends. You may notice an increasingly wet litter tray if your cat is only indoors. However if you have other cats you may not pick up increased urine production in a particular cat. Cats often drink from multiple water sources making it difficult to recognise increased consumption. Other signs of kidney failure such as weight loss and poor coat quality are even more insidious. Sometimes the first thing we see is a cat off her food, vomiting, depressed and dehydrated. The kidneys are already badly affected by this stage. We diagnose and stage kidney failure with blood tests for the two waste products, urea and creatinine and a urine analysis to measure the kidneys ability to concentrate urine. We also check the urine for protein loss or a urinary tract infection. Tests for other substances like potassium, phosphorus and calcium as well as blood cell counts help us decide on the best course of treatment. Annual blood and urine tests, as well as regular body weight checks, help pick kidney failure up as early as possible. If urine concentrating ability is deteriorating, your cat is losing weight or the creatinine is trending up we slow the progression of the disease with a special kidney protective diet. Many cats in the early stages of kidney disease live for years on the right diet and with regular checks.

Stomach and intestinal disease is so common in cats that many people think vomiting and ‘furballs’ in an otherwise healthy cat are normal. Vomiting more than once a week, particularly if your cat is losing weight is NOT normal. Furballs are a sign of stomach or intestinal inflammation and should be investigated. There are many causes of vomiting. The easiest to diagnose and treat is an intolerance to a particular food, usually a protein like fish, lamb or beef. If the vomiting stops when your cat is switched to a hypoallergenic diet then a dietary intolerance is the most likely cause. Once the offending protein has been identified you just have to avoid feeding it to your cat. Cats that eat grass or other hard- to-digest plants frequently vomit. Preventing access to the grass may solve the problem but often they are driven to eat grass by an irritated stomach. If a hypoallergenic diet does not eliminate the vomiting we suspect a more serious disease like Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) or a gut cancer. IBD and low grade gastrointestinal lymphoma are quite responsive to treatment. Occasionally more serious cancers are found. An ultrasound may show increased thickness of the stomach or small intestinal wall indicating IBD or lymphoma. Occasionally another problem like a partial blockage or a solid cancer is found. Unfortunately ultrasound does not distinguish between inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and lymphoma. Biopsy samples of the stomach, small intestinal wall, abdominal lymph nodes, liver and pancreas obtained during abdominal surgery are the most accurate way of distinguishing them. A veterinary pathologist looks at the biopsy sample under the microscope and determines if IBD or lymphoma is present and then classifies them. This information helps us make a treatment plan and predict the response to treatment. Inflammatory bowel disease is caused by a chronically irritated stomach and intestinal lining. The inflammation is sometimes caused by an irritant in the food. Often the cat’s immune system overreacts to components of a normal diet. It is usually very difficult to identify the specific cause. The inflammation interferes with digestion of food and absorption of nutrients. Therefore cats with advanced disease lose weight and try to compensate with an increase in appetite. Treatment includes immunosuppressive drugs such as prednisolone, special diets and vitamin B12 injections. Often, cats get an initial short course of antiparasitic drugs and antibiotics to rule out other irritants of the intestine. IBD is not a curable disease but proper treatment controls it and stops or slows the vomiting and weight loss. Overall, the prognosis is very good. Low grade lymphoma is treated similarly but a low dose chemotherapy drug is added in. Many cats live for years with proper treatment. If dietary intolerance, IBD or low grade lymphoma are left untreated higher grade bowel cancers may develop.