The Way of Cats

One hallmark of a functioning cat civilization is the appearance of one or more “spokescats.” The spokescat has the job of letting us know what the rest of the cats are thinking, and will carry back our message.

Like any elected official, the spokescat moves freely between two worlds. They are recognized for their communication abilities among the other cats, and we know them because they are always keeping tabs on their responsibilities through us.

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We never have to wonder who is the spokescat. They are the ones who remind us it’s dinnertime, or that the litter needs cleaning, or any other task that requires alerting the humans to what needs to be done.

One of the things that distinguishes the Spokescat is their hearty interest in the area in question. With many cats, there can be more than one, and they tend to specialize. There will be the cat who keeps track of the feeding stations, the cat who flags the field for a litter violation, and the cat who watches for visitors or our own arrival.

In our house, Mr. Bond is the Spokescat. (He knows there is no use in trying to get Puffy to do anything important.) If something is making a funny noise or there is something going on outside, Mr. Bond is the first to draw my attention to it.

How can we distinguish our own Spokescats? They will announce themselves. We don’t even have to know which cat is the right one to consult on a particular issue.

Showing great interest in, speaking aloud about, and making small changes to, the part of the house at question will attract the cat responsible.

As long as we are sincerely trying to figure out what they are trying to say, they will continue to say it. This is a training tool that gets sharper with practice, so any discussions with the cats where we try to explain their own issues is cumulative and will always improve matters.

The Spokescat not only gives us messages about what the cats are thinking. They can act as translators who let the other cats know what’s up. I may talk about “dinner” or “breakfast,” but the other cats won’t take it seriously until Mr. Bond announces that proceedings will begin.

With the help of a Spokescat, even matters complicated to convey become easier. If we are trying a new food, saying so when we unpack the groceries and when you feed it to them later will link the two incidents in the Spokescat’s mind and help them understand what we mean. This will help us down the road, when we tell them the grocery store is out of their favorite treats. The Spokescat will help explain that it’s not that we don’t love them.

Think of someone we know who hates surprises, and multiply it quite a bit for cat sensitivity. Cats prefer to keep in close touch with their routines, so if we anticipate and inform them, they will appreciate it.

Really.

So when we have to move furniture, change our schedule, or do anything else that will have a dislocating effect on our cat routine, we can involve the proper Spokescat into our process and streamline our communications.

The Spokescat is the cat’s union representative. We should treat them as an emissary from Catland with a diplomatic request. It’s another way of respecting their wishes and showing that we care.

And we do care, don’t we?

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Can cats change? Absolutely.

For example, we have been enjoying the New, Improved, Puffy. Now With More Social Ability!

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Getting a kitten is having a paradoxical effect on Puffy, which shouldn’t surprise me. Puffy has the ability to get around normal laws of time and space. Though, naturally, not in any way we can harness for the good of humankind.

Puffy’s been known to make his way from one room to another without being detected. He can materialize from nowhere when he hears the click of his dish being set on the counter. When he’s on my lap, he can tell when I’m thinking about getting up, and he jumps off even though I’m willing to sit a little longer, just for him.

He’s sleeping on the bed with the two other cats, and he’s on the arm of my chair as I type this. He is more visible many times of the day. We are always glad to see him.

What is responsible for this transformation? I can only guess; Puffy’s mental pathways are shady and obscure. But it seems the respect RJ shows him has piqued Puffy’s curiosity. Now that RJ is more grown up, Puffy can come out and study this interesting creature without worrying he is going to be pounced on and ritually disembowled.

This confidence has slopped over into other areas. Eating with the other cats twice a day is a happy time that helps him feel more social. The kitten is getting in less trouble, which lets him come out and play without feeling he’s going to get scolded. (Not that Puffy ever needs scolding. But he’s so sensitive our scolding the kitten gets him upset.) The kitten has gotten us to bring in lots of new toys and some of them appeal to Puffy after RJ demonstrates them.

This points up the importance of mirroring. Cats, like us, are highly dependent on what trained scientists call “monkey see, monkey do.” We are far more likely to perform a behavior we have seen someone else do. Puffy has been seeing RJ playing with toys and interacting with us. He is now more likely to do so.

Puffy did not pick up on Mr. Bond’s more sophisticated behaviors, perhaps because of a sense of futility in successfully pulling them off. There’s also the factor that Mr. Bond is disparaging towards Puffy, and has despaired of making any kind of cat companion out of him. But RJ’s simpler approach has sparked Puffy’s interest.

It’s common to speak of getting a kitten to “bring out the kitten in your cat.” And it’s certainly possible.

If the kitten and the cat get along, as I’m glad to say our three do, it’s happiness, cubed.

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Whenever we add a new cat to existing cats, the issue of compatibility can be a daunting one. I’ve known many people who would love to get another cat, but worry about acceptance. This is where understanding the cat types and choosing wisely will let us worry less.

I’m very happy about RJ; it seems I picked well. Of course, the Tale of Ordell indicates I don’t always.

The easiest match is Type to Type. Get an Alpha, another Alpha. If we are choosing kittens, we can use their youthful flexibility to move only one step different from our existing cats.

If we have a bunch of quiet Gamma cats who love their routine, throwing a rowdy Alpha kitten into the mix will create more havoc than if we found a mellow, easy-going Beta kitten who loves to make friends. In this way, the new cat’s preferences will be like the other cats and there are points of compatibility for them to share.

Cats will gain confidence about their own lovableness if they see the new cat getting praise and attention for doing the same things they do. The Gamma cat is horrified when the Alpha gets laughter for their antics, because they know they can’t mess with things the way an Alpha can’t help but do. The Alpha cat is sad when the Gamma gets praise for not getting in trouble, because they know it’s hard for them not to play with things.

This creates cat conflict; the new cat’s way of looking at the world is so different our cat doesn’t know how to make overtures that will be accepted.

Cats are like us; they make friends with shared interests and shared outlooks.

Our attitude, expressed sincerely and with a lot of body language, will help this process along. We can be just as astonished as they are that this new cat appeared. “There’s a new cat in there! What will we do? I wonder what this new cat is like?”

We remind the established cats that they wanted a friend. “Will it be someone to play with? We need a new buddy. There isn’t enough cats to play with right now.”

And with a kitten, we can let them make a claim. “You have a kitten! Not many cats are lucky enough to get a kitten! They are so much fun, and they make you look so smart!”

Just like humans, cats want to know that there is no downside to this new relationship. We can help this along by paying even more attention to the established cats, and not being too effusive about the new cat, except in private. When with the other cats, a new cat has enough on their mind without being a focus of your attention, and the established cats want reassurance that the fun new cat does not mean they will be neglected.

The most important thing we humans can do is not rush this new relationship. If things are getting too tense, let the new cat retreat to their space, maybe with help. Do let the new cat be part of joyous cat occasions like extra dinnertime or new toys. Make it fun for everyone!

With proper choosing, and careful maintenance, the new cat will blend into the household and be a wonderful addition. Multiple cats have many advantages. They are playmates, model good behavior for each other, add to our communication efforts, and narrow the “cat gap”: those times when the humans want a cat around and there isn’t one available. Cats do enjoy having others of their own kind around.

Don’t deprive either of you.

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Some cats love fellow cat companionship. Some are indifferent to having other cats around. A few did not get the benefit of being exposed to or interacting with other cats, and must remain Only Cats, while some simply Don’t Get It. Like some people, they lack the social skills to understand other cats.

Puffy is the nerd in the gym. He annoys other cats, just by being there.

Most of it is his engagement style. He will sometimes clean the top of Mr. Bond’s head for him, and Mr. Bond returns the favor (top of the head being a tricky area where help is needed) and when there’s a crisis they will confer, but there isn’t any cat buddying going on.

Puffy doesn’t particularly care for mutual play, or wrestling, or sharing his windowsill. He finds cat relationships tend to ask too much of him, and he just wants to be left alone.

Puffy’s timid demeanor means other cats will see if he can be bullied away from his food dish or off the bed, and he always can be. So we have to stick up for him in such situations. It isn’t that cats are being mean to do this. Cats always want to know boundaries, and when they discover Puffy has none, they accommodate him.

As a kitten, RJ got hissed at by Puffy once a day, and did not bother him the rest of the time. Now that RJ is older, he is often content to sit near Puffy and observe him. RJ and Mr. Bond, being Beta types, are content to let Puffy do his Puffy things. When we had an Alpha kitten, it was a different story. They are highly assertive and love to manipulate objects. This “I’m going to build a super collider in the basement as soon as I get the parts” kind of cat would find Puffy an irresistible object to manipulate. And would.

So if you have a cat who:

• loves keeping the furniture, the routines, and the food always the same
• is very geographically oriented, caring more about the placement of objects than the different kinds of objects
• spends a lot of time hanging out observing, and very little in moving or manipulating objects
• has more caution than curiosity in their makeup, and doesn’t rush over to investigate the new

you probably have a Gamma cat. They are wonderful, easy keeping, affectionate cats, but they are the ones who find a new addition to be extremely stressful. When I had many cats, it was actually easier to accommodate the Gammas among them, because the Alphas and Betas had other Alphas and Betas to hang with, and the Gammas were left alone, the way they like it.

With fewer cats, each cat’s persona has increased impact. So adding a second cat to your Gamma is the trickiest and toughest cat introduction of them all.

An established Gamma will react best to another adult, opposite sex, Gamma. When getting the second Gamma, it is most important to set up a separate room for them, and let them explore it at their own pace. Too much too soon will overwhelm these gentle personalities, and they will react by withdrawal.

Let the situation simmer for a while, like a fine stew, and let the new Gamma out supervised for a while. Soon the new Gamma’s routine will mesh with the old, probably without touching, but in harmony.

Gamma cats like Puffy, unlike the other types, really don’t care if they have cat companions. But with proper care, they will share with like minded others. More than any other type, it’s essential that the others are truly like minded.

Got here from a Link or Search?
There’s more about multiple cats in The Way of Cats than the article you are reading now. See more posts on the MULTIPLE CAT ADVANTAGE.