Tips for Having Multiple Pets at Home. Multi-pet households are becoming more and more popular every day
If having a cat or a dog already poses a lot of doubts for a person, having multiple pets at home can be a challenge. Many factors should be taken into account, such as that there are potentially incompatible species, usually those that in nature have a predator-prey relationship.
In this article we offer you 5 tips to have several pets at home and be able to avoid many of the problems arising from this situation.
Having multiple pets at home… how many?
Faced with this question we might think “all we want”, but it is not. In Spain, although there is no general law on animal protection that addresses this issue, there are municipal ordinances that regulate the number of pets a person can have in their home. These ordinances typically consider dogs, cats and birds pets and, in most cases, you cannot have more than five.
Therefore, our first tip is that you do not have more pets than those allowed by the municipality where you live, to avoid problems with the neighbors and the authorities
Try to choose compatible species
Theoretically, certain species will not be compatible with others because of their condition as a prey animal. This is the case of birds and rodents, who could live under chronic stress. However, there is evidence that these animals can live in harmony with their “predators”, especially if they have been raised together since they were young.
Many people think that cats and dogs can’t get along and, in fact, the opposite happens. It’s easier for a cat and a dog to happily live together to get two cats to do it. This is because its territorial meaning is different. Dogs live in family groups and usually accept new members. On the contrary, cats form matrilineal colonies and do not allow the incorporation of other cats, even more so if the cat already living in the home is female.
Make a correct presentation
It is very important to make a correct presentation according to the species that we want to live together. Future coexistence will depend to a large extent on how your relationship begins.
- In dogs it is desirable to choose a neutral space, quiet and with few stimuli. Dogs should know how to meet another dog; not all cans know how to do it and it can be a problem. Before we must inform ourselves about the signs of calm in dogs and make sure that our can performs them correctly.
- Presenting two cats can take us approximately one month. That’s why we need to make sure that we’re patient enough and have room in our home to conduct the presentation.
- For a dog and a cat to live in the same house it is only necessary to make sure that the dog does not want to eat it. It is interesting that the can has a curious attitude towards feral cats; here you will see that he does not look for them for hunting them, but for knowing what they are. The period of adaptation after the presentation between an adult dog and cat can be long, but they will eventually get along. Among puppies, they will most likely start playing almost immediately.
- It is not recommended that cats and birds coexist, by the predatory instinct of the first. Moreover, we cannot condemn birds to live in cages; they need to get out of them every day and relate to their environment. Despite this, each individual, whatever species he is, has his own way of behaving: it is unique, so there will be cats that take it perfectly with the birds, more if they are medium-sized, like some psittacids
Environmental enrichment adapted to each species
Environmental enrichment is critical to the psychological health of our pets. In many cases, this enrichment is intended to mimic the natural environment of the species or allow the individual to perform behaviors that are inherent in their species.
For dogs, the most interesting enrichment is olfactory. The work of smell will mentally exhaust our cans, which will make them happy and much more receptive to the coexistence with the rest of the pets of the house.
Cats must be exercised. It’s really interesting that they have places to hide when they don’t want to interact with other members of the house. In addition, if you have tall furniture from which to look at the rest, you will feel much safer. Tips for Having Multiple Pets at Home
Birds – especially parrots – and rodents must have toys and bites in their cages. However, they need the option of being able to get out of it every day.
It is very important that each animal has its own enrichment. If one of our pets begins to develop anomalous behaviors, coexistence may not be healthy and the balance created in the home is destroyed.
Economic stability
Having multiple pets at home is a high financial expense. Only the annual veterinary expenses of a healthy pet can exceed 200 euros. If, unfortunately, she becomes ill, these costs will rise. In addition, birds and rodents must be cared for by veterinarians specialized in exotic fauna, which is an extra in the bill.
To keep our pets healthy, their food must also be of quality. Cheap feed and snacks tend to cause liver and kidney level problems in all species, which will shorten their lives.
We must value our economic situation very well before having pets, because your whole life is up to us.
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