We live in a multi-cat household. It’s a Brady-Bunch-esque feline situation – some were mine, some were his. The transition to combining our beloved kitties into one household involved a lot of work and patience but we are now living in relative harmony. Granted, they don’t snuggle up together. There’s more of a tolerance and acceptance among the kitties.

If you’re wondering how we do it, here are some must-haves to keep our kitties harmonious.

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Pheromones

When looking at combining our kitties when we got married, we sought advice from our vet. One recommendation was an abundance of diffusers that kick out feel good cat pheromones. We invested in enough plugs and refills to get us through those first few months of combining homes Each diffuser has a square footage coverage area and believe me – we got enough to cover all the ground. These babies are a lot pricier than the plug-ins that purely scent the air (plus, they have no perceptible scent to me so you can’t but wonder – do they really do anything?), but in order to set ourselves up for the best transition possible and a goal of keeping all the cats, we did what we could to get started on the right foot.

When initially combining households, we used the Comfort Zone – Multi-cat formula. Now, we are loading up on the purely Comfort Zone mix to discourage scratching on our new sofa. Both require a diffuser plug, which starting out comes in a kit and is the easiest way to go to get started.

Scratching Spots

A variety of acceptable scratching areas is a must. Although not all our cats have their front claws, even though those without enjoy scratching. We have vertical and horizontal varieties of scratching devices. Some are well-worn and others go largely ignored for months but then suddenly become popular again. I’ve given up trying to make sense of how they choose scratching posts and just try to encourage their use. The types our kitties like the best are: cat trees that have sisal rope around the base, flat surface horizontal type scratchers and door knob hangers.

Vertical

All our cats, including those without front claws, love to scratch vertically. They stretch out tall or lean up from a crouched position. Their favorite vertical surface to scratch on are sisal rope type materials. These days, there are so many options out there – from practical to super cute.

A few ideas from around the web.

 

Horizontal

Our cats love this cardboard cat scratchers that you can put cat nip in. One kitty can often be found lounging on these scratchers.

Litter Boxes

I have heard that you should have at least one litter box per cat, plus one. We have one per cat, plus two. Here are my biggest tips for litter boxes:

1. Placement is also important, somewhere that works for you (trust me, no litter box in the kitchen or dining room – nobody wants to be eating while another being is taking care of business).
2. Size and Shape: We have tried a variety of boxes, pans, domes and even an end table that has a secret compartment for a litter box. In our household, big square plastic containers that are see through (used in a pinch!) have turned out to be the most appealing location to the cats. Despite that, we do have two domes and three covered boxes in that are options.
3. Litter is a never ending purchase in our household. I have tried everything from eco friendly, store brand, flushing and crystals. Each kitty is different, so by all means try to find a product that is effective and works for you. For us, it is clumping litter from Fresh Step. Basically any variety of their litter, our cats like. While I love the idea of more eco friendly options, our cats are very particular about their litter.

Hiding Places

Baby Gates

Our secret weapon when it comes to cat introductions, and cat-dog living, are baby gates! We have at least four, two which we have cut kitty sized holes in (more on that in another post). Since they don’t need to be fancy, we opt for sturdy yet inexpensive. Ours are all this variety.

Treats

Pills

Cats are not good patients. They can wiggle and spit out medicine like a pro. It was pretty traumatic for us and them when we have to give them medicine.  For a while, we were able to use pill pockets – but our kitty who gets a daily pill caught on to that. We finally found a pill product that works – not just for the daily pill but for the occasional pill for other kitties. Bacon flavored pill paste – a great invention!