Feline behaviour problems—from house soiling and aggression to compulsive disorders—significantly affect both cat welfare and the human-animal bond. Understanding the welfare basis of behavioural problems enables more effective and humane management.
Inappropriate elimination—urination or defaecation outside the litter box—is the most common feline behaviour complaint. While it can reflect behavioural (marking, preference, substrate aversion) or medical causes (urinary disease, diabetes, hyperthyroidism), it frequently signals environmental stress or unmet needs. Thorough investigation distinguishing marking from inappropriate elimination, and ruling out medical causes, guides appropriate management. The behaviour is the cat's response to an inadequate environment—not deliberate misbehaviour.
Inter-cat aggression is the second most common feline behaviour problem, reflecting the fundamentally territorial nature of cats. Household conflicts arise when cats cannot achieve adequate resource access or spatial separation. Management includes: providing multiple resources (food, water, litter, resting sites) in separate locations; creating vertical space reducing territory competition; environmental enrichment reducing overall arousal; and in severe cases, careful reintroduction protocols or consideration of rehoming incompatible cats.
Compulsive behaviours in cats—excessive grooming (psychogenic alopecia), wool sucking, pica, and repetitive locomotion—reflect chronic stress, frustration, or underlying anxiety. These behaviours initially relieve stress but become repetitive and welfare-compromising. Management combines environmental enrichment, anxiety reduction, and pharmacological support (SSRIs, TCAs). Identifying and addressing underlying stressors is essential—medication without environmental improvement produces limited benefit.
Cats are obligate predators with strong hunting drives that require expression. Frustration of predatory behaviour through indoor-only lifestyles without appropriate outlets contributes to overactivity, redirected aggression, and psychological stress. Interactive play with wand toys, puzzle feeders, and enriched indoor environments provide acceptable predatory behaviour outlets. Outdoor access, while beneficial for behavioural welfare, creates risks from traffic, predation, and disease transmission.
Adequate enrichment is fundamental to feline behavioural welfare: vertical space (cat trees, shelving); hiding opportunities; scratching posts; window access; interactive play sessions; food enrichment (puzzle feeders, hunting games); and olfactory enrichment (catnip, silver vine, valerian). Cats require routine and predictability—environmental changes should be gradual. Multi-cat households need proportionally more resources and space to reduce competition and conflict.