Providing sufficient resources in multi-cat households - litter boxes, food stations, water, resting areas and vertical space - is the single most important management intervention for reducing inter-cat stress.
Resource competition in multi-cat households causes chronic stress that most owners do not recognise. Cats that appear to coexist are often experiencing low-level tension that suppresses immune function and causes recurrent urinary, respiratory and skin disease. Adequate resources in the right locations - spread out, not clustered - is the foundation of welfare-positive multi-cat management.