What do you think?
Rate this book
ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems in Your Multi-Cat Household
The United States is home to 86.4 million owned cats, and 52 percent of owners own more than one cat. That means more furry love for owners, but also can put your cats’ tails in a twist over that (HISSS!) new feline friend. From conflicts over favorite sleep spots to sharing potty facilities, adding new pets rubs fur the wrong way and creates hairy situations for everyone—including you.
This new guide gives owners the ability to understand why cats act with cat-egorical aggravation, and learn how to soothe the growls and turn your household into a peaceable kingdom. You’ll find detailed prescriptive how-to advice focused in the most common problems found in the multi-cat household. Use these fun techniques to calm fears, explain cat body language, and strengthen the bond you share with your cats. Step by step tips from this award-winning author and certified animal behavior consultant explain how to:
• Recognize and diffuse cat-to-cat aggression
• Settle disputes over territory, potty problems and mealtime woes
• Choose an appropriate furry friend that resident cats welcome with open “paws”
• Introduce the new arrival (including babies and kids) to the current cats
• Solve common pet peeves: meowing, clawing, countertop cruising, door dashing and more!
• Understand weird behaviors: phone attraction, mirror fear, “elevator butt” and toilet pests
Fun, practical, and eminently informative, Competability helps owners devise strategies that enable multiple cats to live in harmony within the same household. Written by one of America's premier pet experts, the book explains everything the loving cat owner needs to know. Most important, Competability provides crucial tips on how to evaluate and match your pets' personalities, improve their relationships, and make your home a sanctuary for cat fun and peace.
This new guide gives owners the ability to understand why cats act with cat-egorical aggravation, and learn how to soothe the growls and turn your household into a peaceable kingdom. You’ll find detailed prescriptive how-to advice focused in the most common problems found in the multi-cat household. Use these fun techniques to calm fears, explain cat body language, and strengthen the bond you share with your cats. Step by step tips from this award-winning author and certified animal behavior consultant explain how to:
• Recognize and diffuse cat-to-cat aggression
• Settle disputes over territory, potty problems and mealtime woes
• Choose an appropriate furry friend that resident cats welcome with open “paws”
• Introduce the new arrival (including babies and kids) to the current cats
• Solve common pet peeves: meowing, clawing, countertop cruising, door dashing and more!
• Understand weird behaviors: phone attraction, mirror fear, “elevator butt” and toilet pests
Fun, practical, and eminently informative, Competability helps owners devise strategies that enable multiple cats to live in harmony within the same household. Written by one of America's premier pet experts, the book explains everything the loving cat owner needs to know. Most important, Competability provides crucial tips on how to evaluate and match your pets' personalities, improve their relationships, and make your home a sanctuary for cat fun and peace.
134 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 16, 2012
134 people are currently reading
275 people want to read
About the author
Amy Shojai
124 books304 followersAmy Shojai has been reinventing herself for years. She writes THRILLERS WITH BITE! in her debut thriller LOST AND FOUND that features a service dog, hero cat, an animal behaviorist named September Day, and assorted mayhem. The sequel HIDE AND SEEK continues the story with terror from the past revisiting the heroine. The next book in the series, SHOW AND TELL brings the story full circle. The 4th title FIGHT OR FLIGHT introduces some new characters and challenges. And book #5 HIT AND RUN answers many questions about September's past.
Amy's a certified animal behavior consultant, and the award-winning author of 35+ best-selling pet books that cover furry babies to old-fogies, first aid to natural healing, and behavior/training to Chicken Soup-icity. She created the puppies.about.com site and was the cat behavior expert at cats.About.com. Amy has been featured as an expert in hundreds of print venues including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Reader's Digest, and Family Circle, as well as national radio and television networks such as CNN, Animal Planet's DOGS 101 and CATS 101. She brings her unique pet-centric viewpoint to her Bling, Bitches & Blood Blog, public appearances.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
March 31, 2013
I would recommend this book to anyone who has a multi-cat household. I have had a multi-cat household for 40 years and thought I knew how to handle most of the problems that you encounter in these types of situations. I definitely was wrong. I needed desperately to read this book especially since I was for the first time bringing a young kitten from outside to live indoors with my two cats that were eight years old and very set in their ways. Amy Shojai explained everything in such terms that all can understand. She covers every topic you can think of. I appreciate her explaining in depth on how to handle problems and issues when they come up. She definitely made me and my cats lives easier by reading her great informative book.
July 5, 2025
3.5 solid tips.
A concise guide to dealing with more than one cat in your household. As more people own cats, there’s more instances of multi-cat/multi-pet homes. While the myth of cats as solitary predator persists, there are plentiful examples of cats living with many other cats successfully. Unfortunately, however, cats do often have issues integrating with other cats and I think this is an area that needs more investigation and certainly more helpful information available.
This book offers plenty of insight into how cats tick, why they may have issues integrating a newcomer into an existing setup and things you can do to stack the deck in your favor if you are considering bringing home another cat.
I’ve read a number of books on cat behavior and I was delightfully surprised to come across a number of facts, concepts and ideas that were new to me. Admittedly this book is on the older side (for instance most modern behaviorists frown on feeding cats together) but on the whole the information remains solid.
I knocked this down 1/2 a star because the actual chapter on cat-to-cat introductions was skimpy, to put it mildly. Also, this book is supposed to be focused on cat to cat issues but the author includes cat to dog intros. She has a separate book on this topic. I would have preferred the space spent better on more cat to cat suggestions.
A concise guide to dealing with more than one cat in your household. As more people own cats, there’s more instances of multi-cat/multi-pet homes. While the myth of cats as solitary predator persists, there are plentiful examples of cats living with many other cats successfully. Unfortunately, however, cats do often have issues integrating with other cats and I think this is an area that needs more investigation and certainly more helpful information available.
This book offers plenty of insight into how cats tick, why they may have issues integrating a newcomer into an existing setup and things you can do to stack the deck in your favor if you are considering bringing home another cat.
I’ve read a number of books on cat behavior and I was delightfully surprised to come across a number of facts, concepts and ideas that were new to me. Admittedly this book is on the older side (for instance most modern behaviorists frown on feeding cats together) but on the whole the information remains solid.
I knocked this down 1/2 a star because the actual chapter on cat-to-cat introductions was skimpy, to put it mildly. Also, this book is supposed to be focused on cat to cat issues but the author includes cat to dog intros. She has a separate book on this topic. I would have preferred the space spent better on more cat to cat suggestions.
May 13, 2013
“ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household”, by Amy Shojai
“ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household”, by Amy Shojai, is part of a series to help those who have multi-pet households. It was published by FurryMuse Publications in 2012. As the title suggests, this book is a resource for those who have more than one cat. As Ms. Shojai is a pet behaviorist, she is more than qualified in this area. Years ago she began her crusade for animals by becoming a veterinary technician. Almost naturally, she became a pet writer. She has won more than two dozen awards for her writing.
ComPETability for multi-cat homes is a great resource book for new cat owners, as well as those who have had cats all their lives. It is a book that can be read from cover to cover, or just by topic. The cover is very appropriate as it has two cats that look to be fighting over who is the dominant one. Amy goes into this problem extensively. The obvious play on words in the title shows Ms. Shojai’s delightful sense of humor. She uses her wit throughout the book to keep the reader enthralled. The book is in four parts. The first part is an overview of the book, cat specific details, and behavior and training. Part Two covers problems and solutions. Amy uses the P. E. T. Test to find out why cats are having behavior problems. “The acronym stands for Physical Health, Emotional Well – Being, and Traits of Instinct. Only by knowing what triggers a ‘bad’ behavior can you devise a plan to address the situation.” Part Three is my favorite part, “Common Multipet Frustrations”. This part covers the reasons why cats do the things they do. The last parts of this book are the Appendixes.
We all know how mysterious cats can be. This book helped me to think like a cat. Even though my house has been a multi-cat home for close to 20 years, this book has taught me quite a lot. For instance, years ago I had two cats, Tiffany and BoBo. They became like sister and brother; cuddling when they could and even grooming each other. Tiffany became sick and eventually had to be put down. Bobo grieved for months, and began to become very needy. I found that this is quite common and I probably would have made the grieving process a little easier for him had I let him see Tiffany’s body before burying it.
I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover and I am sure that it will be my go-to book in the future. As usual, Amy Shojai entertained me with her “ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household”. You, too, can be entertained by this book. I bought the Kindle version on Amazon.com for $5.99.
“ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household”, by Amy Shojai, is part of a series to help those who have multi-pet households. It was published by FurryMuse Publications in 2012. As the title suggests, this book is a resource for those who have more than one cat. As Ms. Shojai is a pet behaviorist, she is more than qualified in this area. Years ago she began her crusade for animals by becoming a veterinary technician. Almost naturally, she became a pet writer. She has won more than two dozen awards for her writing.
ComPETability for multi-cat homes is a great resource book for new cat owners, as well as those who have had cats all their lives. It is a book that can be read from cover to cover, or just by topic. The cover is very appropriate as it has two cats that look to be fighting over who is the dominant one. Amy goes into this problem extensively. The obvious play on words in the title shows Ms. Shojai’s delightful sense of humor. She uses her wit throughout the book to keep the reader enthralled. The book is in four parts. The first part is an overview of the book, cat specific details, and behavior and training. Part Two covers problems and solutions. Amy uses the P. E. T. Test to find out why cats are having behavior problems. “The acronym stands for Physical Health, Emotional Well – Being, and Traits of Instinct. Only by knowing what triggers a ‘bad’ behavior can you devise a plan to address the situation.” Part Three is my favorite part, “Common Multipet Frustrations”. This part covers the reasons why cats do the things they do. The last parts of this book are the Appendixes.
We all know how mysterious cats can be. This book helped me to think like a cat. Even though my house has been a multi-cat home for close to 20 years, this book has taught me quite a lot. For instance, years ago I had two cats, Tiffany and BoBo. They became like sister and brother; cuddling when they could and even grooming each other. Tiffany became sick and eventually had to be put down. Bobo grieved for months, and began to become very needy. I found that this is quite common and I probably would have made the grieving process a little easier for him had I let him see Tiffany’s body before burying it.
I enjoyed reading this book from cover to cover and I am sure that it will be my go-to book in the future. As usual, Amy Shojai entertained me with her “ComPETability: Solving Behavior Problems In Your Multi-Cat Household”. You, too, can be entertained by this book. I bought the Kindle version on Amazon.com for $5.99.
December 4, 2013
I'm now recommending this book to everyone I know with a multiple-cat household. I've lived with cats for most of my life, and yet I still learned many things I didn't know about my feline creatures.
Amy does a great job of breaking down the challenges of having multiple cats, addressing behaviors, and even recommending products that can help resolve problems. Her writing is expert and practical at the same time. I'm now armed with better information and a specific plan for dealing with my home's particular issues and creating a calm and happy environment for cats and humans alike.
Amy does a great job of breaking down the challenges of having multiple cats, addressing behaviors, and even recommending products that can help resolve problems. Her writing is expert and practical at the same time. I'm now armed with better information and a specific plan for dealing with my home's particular issues and creating a calm and happy environment for cats and humans alike.
February 27, 2014
We have a multi-pet household, including both dogs and cats. I've watchedf or years some of the interactions between the pets, without understanding them. Amy's book gives you the information you need to understand why cats and dogs act like they do, and to be able to introduce a new fur-friend into the house with the least disruption.
October 26, 2012
Very nice information. Some is a repeat of other books but there are many original questions and creative answers based on very up to date information that isn't available in other books on the interactions in multicat households. Definitely worth the time and money to read.
March 5, 2019
Great advice
It’s not always easy to figure out what’s wrong and how to interfere when cats don’t get along. This. Book helps with good advise. Recommend it to everyone with multiple cats or wanting to add a a second or third cat to thee household
It’s not always easy to figure out what’s wrong and how to interfere when cats don’t get along. This. Book helps with good advise. Recommend it to everyone with multiple cats or wanting to add a a second or third cat to thee household
July 10, 2017
Good practical approaches for diffusing aggression (and other behavioral issues) in multicat households.
July 23, 2020
Seems like good advice but my cats still want to kill each other....
September 14, 2020
Short and sweet!
Great issues presented related to multiple cats and kittens. Specific problems and reasonable solutions discussed. A short read, but an informative one.
Great issues presented related to multiple cats and kittens. Specific problems and reasonable solutions discussed. A short read, but an informative one.
Read
May 8, 2018Excellent book. Lots of good info on getting 2 cats to get along.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews