Do we have room for another cat?

How much space do cats need?

We can have three cats in a studio apartment and they will be fine. Or we could have one cat who needs a whole house!

It all depends on their energy level.

Cats need far less space than a dog. It's not about size. It's about the different ways cats and dogs manage their energy.

Dogs are marathoners, bred for long hours of service. Without enough exercise, dogs become anxious, aggressive, and destructive.

Cats are sprinters. They store up energy while waiting patiently for their prey to give them an opening, and then explosively release it all at once.

We don't need a big space, but we do need the right kind. Kittens need a lot of exercise, but the fully mature cat, going all out, is actually the most demanding. Big-boned, sturdily built cats love the "ground game" and will need runways to race over. If we have lean, long-bodied cats, they are more likely to be over the couch, through the magazine rack, and up the drapes in less time than it takes for us to read this sentence.

We can increase our cat space by adding more vertical surfaces, or opening up carpeted areas for them. But there is another factor in our requirements, and that is how well our cats get along.

Those three cats in the studio apartment can get along fine if they are older cats who are friends. But any two cats who don't get along will find a whole house... isn't big enough.

To figure out how many cats in a given space, and more information on how the different types get along, see my Cat Space Calculator.

Cats do land on their feet: when they can

Do cats always land on their feet?

Yes, if they have enough height to get upright before landing. Science has determined that's about 1 meter, or three feet. As in this video:



This is known as the cat righting reflex. Their flexible spine and virtual lack of collarbone lets cats do it with such speed and ease.

Our Reverend Jim became fond of sleeping on top of a bookcase, five feet off the ground. He would keep putting his back to the edge; and we kept patiently flipping him over, because seeing his back droop further and further over the edge meant he would eventually fall. With the time it would take him to wake up from such a deep sleep, he wouldn't be able to use his ability.

It's more accurate to say that a cat can land on their feet.

But they don't have the superhero power to be unharmed by a drop from any height.

Why can't I pet my kitten?

It's hard to resist our new cute cuddly kitten!

But if we have trouble cuddling them, if they seem to bite and claw us instead of being snuggly and sweet, we might be making these classic mistakes:

Giving them our hand to play with. Our kitten needs to learn that our hands are not their toys. We are not teaching them this if we use our hand like a toy!

Always hold the toy with out hand far out of the "danger zone." We can even use a stuffed animal to play with them, but don't let them pounce on, scratch, or bite our hand.

They are just babies, and don't know they are hurting us.

Being too rough. A lot of people think cats want to rough-house. But let's be clear: they don't. They never do.

We can mistake our cat's refusal to back off or run away as a sign that "they like it." But what we've done is make our kitten feel that they have to defend themselves. This can make our kitten run away, or this can make our kitten feel like they can't back off, or we will get even rougher!

Either way, they won't be our friend. Don't teach our kitten to play rough with us; and we won't get scratched by our cat.

Trying to pet them when their energy is high. When our kitten is full of energy and wanting to play, anything that comes their way is going to get played with.

We should play with them until they get tired; then we want cuddling, and will welcome it.

Trying to pet them when they are distracted by something else. If our kitten is intent on wrestling something, our petting hand is remind them of something to wrestle. If they are stalking a toy mouse or chasing a ball, they can only think about one thing at a time; and if they are feeling like play, play is what they will think about.

Wait until our kitten starts slowing down, lying down, or finding places to sleep. Then gentle petting will make our kitten happy.

Then they will love us.

Raise the kitten right! See how to keep our kitten cuddly.

When the cat won't stop

Why won't our cat stop doing that? Whatever it is?

When our cat acts obsessive, we can think our cat is stubborn and untrainable. But we'd be wrong. Any time we think so, it probably one of two things: we either aren't telling them what we want them to do clearly enough, or we aren't giving them what they need.

Cats are used to taking care of themselves. To get their needs me, they can be driven by unthinking instinct. We can't argue with instinct. We can only give our cat what they need, and shut off their switch.

Here's what we can do:

They are trying to get our attention: We might have trained the cat, but in the wrong way.

If we jump up whenever they do that thing... they also know how to get us out of our chair, don't they? Cats aren't being mean; they just go with what works.

Try getting up and asking them "What do you want?" or "Show me." These are the words I used to let my cats know I want to follow them around; and find out what they need, so I can give it to them. This makes them behave better; and love me more. If our response is that the cat is only doing it for attention... then we should give them some.

They want it, or something like it: If we are always chasing our cats away from something, we should give them their own of whatever it is.

Lively, curious cats, the kind I call the Alpha cat type, are particularly impressed with how well we manipulate our environment. They want to be just like us; and do the same things.

So if our cat won't leave our computer mouse alone, give them an old one they can play with. If we worry that we are training them to play with our things; we're not. We're giving them their own, so they will leave ours alone. Understand how cats think of "yours and mine."

They might not feel well: Cats don't like to show weakness when they are sick. This would be dangerous in the wild, and they still follow their instincts.

So while our cat might not "act sick," they also can ask us for help, even if it means they are misbehaving. Get some help figuring this out with my article, How to Tell If the Cat is Sick.

I fix my cat's bad behaviors, once I do, because I know they are not "being bad."

They are asking for my help. When I give it to them, we are both happier.

Cats want to learn. Cats want to please us. Read all my posts about Positive Discipline.