Encourage Group Scent in Multi‐Cat Households

Scent plays a key role in cats’ social interactions, so encouraging a group scent can help your cats bond and prevent aggression. Some experts recommend grooming cats with the same brush to transfer scents; however, others advise that this can upset cats that aren't familiar with each other. If the brushing method seems to stress your cats, try placing scent objects from one cat in another’s area. To maintain the group scent, reintroduce a cat that's been away from home gradually, provide plenty of resources, and use fragrance-free litters and cleaning products.

Steps

Transferring Scents Between Your Cats

1. Groom your cats with the same brush. Owner-facilitated allogrooming, or grooming multiple cats with the same brush, can transfer scent particles between your cats. Brush each cat daily, and don’t clean or remove hair from the brush until after you’ve groomed each cat. When you brush your cat, give it calming verbal praise, and don't hold it down or force it to be brushed.
   • Grooming with one brush could make a cat feel like the scents of the other cats are being forced on it, especially when it's not already familiar with the other cats.
   • If your cats seem stressed, resist being brushed, or aren't already familiar with each other, avoid using the same brush to groom them all.
2. Place one cat’s scent objects in another cat’s area. Some cat behaviorists advise against the brushing method, especially if a group scent isn’t already established. If it gives you trouble, or if your cats aren't familiar with each other, rub a sock on one cat’s face, then place it near the bedding or food of another cat.
   • When your cats start to ignore or act calmly around each other's scent objects, pet them, offer lots of verbal praise, and give them small treats. Using rewards will help create positive scent associations.
3. Rub your cats’ faces with your own to become part of the group. Cats have scent glands on their mouth and head, and they rub faces in order to exchange scent particles. Get down on the same level as your cats to rub their faces and transfer scents between you and each cat.
   • Like grooming, transferring scents between you and the group will help encourage a group scent and establish your place within the group.
   • Be sure to spend equal amounts of time with each cat to avoid showing favoritism.
4. Avoid forcing two groups within your home to interact. Sometimes, two or more sub-groups of cats can form within one home. You can encourage them to coexist by providing each group with plenty of their own food, water, and other resources. Avoid trying to establish a common scent between the groups or forcing them to interact with each other.
   • To identify distinct social groups, look for which cats sleep and groom together. Take note if some cats stay in certain places and avoid spots that other cats frequent.
   • In addition to providing plenty of resources, prevent competition by dividing your attention equally between the social groups.

Reintroducing a Cat to the Group Scent

1. Try to schedule vet appointments for all your cats at once. Vet offices are full of strange smells, like antiseptics, medications, and other animals. You can prevent isolating one cat and disrupting the group scent by bringing your cats to the vet for routine check-ups and vaccinations at the same time.
   • If one cat gets sick or if you own too many cats to transport them together, you can still take steps to gradually reintroduce a cat back into the group.
2. Keep a cat that’s been hospitalized in a separate room. A cat that has been to the vet, been hospitalized overnight, or otherwise spent time away from home will smell different, and other cats might react aggressively. When you bring the cat back home, keep it a separate room with a door that closes. That way, it’ll groom itself and gradually pick up the group scent again.
   • Monitor your other cats during the reintroduction process. If they seem agitated or stressed, keep the cat you’re reintroducing to the group separated until the others start behaving normally.
3. Use bedding and toys to reestablish the separated cat’s scent. While keeping it in a separate room, provide the cat that's been away with the bedding of another cat in its social group. Pet it and rub faces so it picks up your scent. Saliva also carries scent particles, so give it toys that other cats in its social group have played with recently.
4. Try using a pheromone diffuser. Synthetic pheromone diffusers, such as Feliway, create a calming, familiar scent throughout your cats’ environment. Using one in your home when you reintroduce a cat that’s been away will help maintain the group scent and calm your cats during the reintroduction process.
   • You can use a pheromone diffuser even if you don’t have to reintroduce a cat to the group, as they help prevent aggression between cats in a multi-cat household.

Maintaining the Group Scent

1. Leave footwear, shopping bags, and other objects by the door. Objects like shoes and shopping bags bring strange smells into your home. These new scents can potentially disrupt your cats’ group scent, especially if you’re just beginning to encourage a common scent among newly introduced cats.
   • Rub furniture or other objects that you can’t just leave at the door with socks or other scent items so they smell like your cats. If possible, rub them before you bring them into your home.  
2. Wash your cats’ beddings on a rotating schedule. Try to avoid cleaning all of your cats’ beds and other washable items at the same time. Instead, wash one bed at a time so other bedding will preserve the group scent.
   • After washing a bed, try rubbing the cat that uses it most with a towel, then rub the bed with the towel to transfer the cat’s scent.
3. Avoid strong-smelling cleaning products and litters. Most people want to neutralize strong cat odors in their homes. However, completely eliminating a common scent with cleaning products can disorient your cats, making them uncomfortable with each other and their surroundings. Try to use fragrance-free products instead of scented litter and strong-smelling cleaning products like ammonia.
4. Provide your cats with plenty of resources. If there’s any competition for resources, your cats won’t want to groom each other or engage in other social behaviors that establish a group scent. Key resources include food and water bowls, litter boxes, beds, scratching posts, and high perches. If possible, provide one of these resources for each cat you own, plus one extra.
   • For example, if you have four cats, try to provide five of each resource.
   • Place each resource throughout your home. If your cats stay in two or more distinct social groups, make sure each group’s territory has plenty of each resource in equal proportions.

Sources and Citations

See also

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