So many domestic cats so close together saddens me

I have mixed emotions about this video. We don't know where this is or in fact what this is but it must be some kind of shelter somewhere. And some people say that the domestic cat is solitary!! I think that you can see that the domestic cat is no longer essentially solitary because they put up with or adapt to this kind of forced social behaviour where they are crammed together in a small space. But they appear to be safe and cared for which is an improvement on being street cats.

They seem to be getting on pretty well but I would expect there to be some stresses and some fights. They are probably fairly content to be there because the alternative is to be on the street where they wouldn't be looked after. 

Domestic and feral cats accept this kind of unnatural situation if there is a food source. The benefit of the food source outweighs or masks the unnaturalness and unpleasantness (at least potentially) of being so close together. Crammed together actually. It saddens me. It is a symptom of human failure in their relationship with the domestic cat.

Screenshot.

They have nowhere to go for a bit of peace and quiet and to claim their own territory. Domestic cats are essentially territorial and, in this situation, they have to put that territorial attitude aside completely despite the fact that it is deeply embedded in their psyche.

"Can cats fake being nice in order to get adopted?" asks cat owner on social media

Image supplied by the cat's owner.

The cat owner explained what was happening:

After it settles into a comfortable environment, it may show a different side. I once adopted a stray cat, and when I met him, he came up to me and suddenly laid down. He obviously wanted to be with me, and so did I. I thought that a weak cat that likes to lie under people's feet must be very obedient, right? He was very obedient at first, and a year after I raised him, he started pooping all over the house...under my refrigerator and in some boxes. I took him to the vet who said he was fine; he was probably living in a safe environment. Anyway, I don't regret raising him, but my cat is really different than when I first met him.

My response on social media

This has nothing to do with being nice to get adopted. Sorry. It is to do with the environment in which he lives which has become stressful for him and he is marking his territory with feces to make it feel more friendly. Either that or he is incontinent and ill. Find out what is causing the stress.

Some more

I noticed that the person took their cat to a veterinarian who said that "he was probably living in a safe environment." That indicates that they discussed the environment in which the cat lived and it was probably described by the owner which may have misled the veterinarian.

I am convinced that this problem is caused by the cat perceiving the environment as unsafe which is making him anxious which is why he is defecating inappropriately.

It brings very much to mind my ex-wife (!) who lived with one of our two cats when we divorced. And she, after divorce, went slightly mad and started drinking a lot and smoking and going out in the evening. She was rarely at home and her cat became very anxious because she was never there. And he defecated on her bed in the middle of the duvet. This was clearly very upsetting to her. The reason is the same as this person is experiencing: stress.

In lieu of defecating, anxious cats can sometimes spray urine onto objects around the home for the same reason. They are depositing their scent around the home to make the place feel more friendly; to make it feel like their place, their home.

This is a very common problem by which I mean anxiety in domestic cats is a very common issue. And not infrequently it is caused by the owner being absent. It can sometimes cause cystitis which also results in inappropriate elimination with small drops of bloody urine around the home. The urine is not sprayed but the cat has an uncontrollable desire to pee because of a bladder infection caused by the stress.

Do domestic cats have a hierarchy?

Within a social group of domestic cats there may be a single dominant male or female but there is little ranking below this individual (Linda P Case in The Cat, It's Behavior & Health). And, group-living cats "lack distinct dominance hierarchies" (Irene Rochlitz in The Welfare of Cats). On these two counts, domestic cats do not have a hierarchy. This is incomplete opposition to the article about domestic cat hierarchal structures on the catster.com website where they say that there is such a structure. I believe that they are incorrect. I have never read about such a genuine hierarchal structure in multi-cat homes and within cat colonies.

Domestic cats don't have hierarchies. Image: Pixabay.

To be clear, a hierarchy is a system in which members of an organisation or society are ranked according to relative status and authority. One dominant individual does not create a hierarchy. And a dominant cat is one which is typically the most aggressive in a social group. The simple quality of aggressiveness does not necessarily mean that the cat is dominant within the context of a hierarchy. The top individual in a hierarchy controls the group such as access to resources, resting places and opportunities to make. This type of "resource guarding" is not seen in cat social groups.

The wolf has a hierarchal system and social rankings which are functional and in which they cooperate during hunting and protection of their territory but this does not apply to cat groups.

Further, cats living in groups do not have signals for reducing conflict and neither do they have mechanisms for reconciliation. Although domestic cats have become quite sociable through adaptation, they are not naturally adapted to living in close proximity to each other. In multi-cat homes cats don't have an option and therefore they adapt but it is argued that if they were able to, they would live further apart.

For the domestic cat, a discussion on hierarchal structures or their absence touches upon harmony in multi-cat households. Studies indicate that the reasons for the development of feline behavioural problems (such as avoidance-related behaviours) are due to their relationships with other cats and humans.

The fact that there are stresses and sometimes antagonism within multi-cat households between cats supports the analysis that domestic cats do not have hierarchal structures because these structures are meant to avoid such incidents.

Cat Stress And Welfare

The degree of stress suffered by a cat can be a measure of the welfare of that cat. As it is cat caretakers who create the environment that dictates a cat's level of stress or relaxation, the amount of stress in a cat could also be a measure of our cat caretaking skills.

Just moved! Photo debcha (Flickr)

However,  cat stress is an individual thing and dependent on cat personality. There are bold, dominant cats and shy subordinate cats. The former is less likely to be stressed. There are a wide range of potential stressors in the domestic cat environment such as lack of socialisation and confinement in an area that is too small for the cat to express innate drives.

Stressed cats will tend to hide (see picture). We see this when we move home. A house move puts our cat into a strange environment. We get stressed too.

Purring is not a an accurate measure of stress or relaxation as it occurs under a wide range of circumstances.

A cat that is very vigilant and who sleeps poorly as a consequence could be said to be under stress probably due to cats being forced together and/or one cat being a dominant aggressor. Overgrooming and cystitis are two examples of behavior and health that can be caused by stress.

A cat's behavior and posture signals his or her level of stress at any given time. Below is a picture that shows the two extremes and below that is a "composite behavioral scale for quantifying stress". My thanks to the book The Welfare of Cats for this.

Here is a summarized description of behavior, posture and appearance of the cat set against a score (1-10). This test was devised with caged cats so there is reference to a cage.

1. Completely relaxed, cat laid out on back sometimes, pupils normal, ears pricked forward, possibly purring. You might see the slow blink that a visitor described. Tail extended and held upwards with whiskers forward or normal. Chin may be resting on a surface.
2. More aware than at level 1 but relaxed with ears forward and normal (midway position between forward and back), purring, meowing possibly, slow blink and whiskers forward or normal.
3. Belly may be exposed. Ears forward or pricked. Legs may be stretched out and paws turned in.
4. Cat may sit away from the direction of the front of the cage. Whiskers and ears normal or forward.
5. Eyes slightly dilated. Cat may meow and look around. Head moves around. Body a little tense.
6. Eyes dilated. Ears flattened slightly and back or forward on cat's head. Posture is tense. Plaintive meows. Actively exploring and trying to escape cage.
7. Posture is stiff. Cat focuses on observing person. Plaintive meows. Ears back. Pupils dilated and cat may try to escape.
8. Pupils dilated or very dilated. Prowling or motionless. Yowl. Ears flattened a bit and back on head. Body crouched. Tail close to body.
9. Pupils very dilated. Body crouched and close to ground. Breathing fast. Shaking perhaps. Cat at rear of cage. Quiet or very vocal. Hiss perhaps. Whiskers back.
10. Full-on defence. Hair, body and head flattened. Pupils very dilated. Warning hiss or and spit. Back in cage. Sits on all fours. Rage. Fast breathing.

Associated: Cat personality questionnaire (PDF file will download)