Faulty reasoning signals

• Confirmation Bias - 9.6% (89 hits)
• Anchoring Bias - 0%
• Availability Heuristic - 2.5% (23 hits)
• Representativeness Heuristic - 5.7% (53 hits)
• Hindsight Bias - 0%
• Overconfidence Bias - 0%
• Framing Effect - 4% (37 hits)
• Loss Aversion - 8.6% (80 hits)
• Status Quo Bias - 3.9% (36 hits)
• Sunk Cost Effect - 0%
• Optimism Bias - 9.5% (88 hits)
• Pessimism Bias - 1.7% (16 hits)

Article text

Outdoor Access May Benefit Cats, Study Shows

A sizeable minority of pet cats share their home with another cat.

They have no say in the matter, and while some cats get along, others would really prefer to be the only cat.

A new study in *Applied Animal Behaviour Science* looks at whether having outdoors access is good for the welfare of cats in a multi-cat home (Sandøe et al 2026).

The results suggest that it is, and also shed light on some cat personality characteristics that may be associated with poorer welfare.

The study involved a survey of a representative sample of cat guardians in Denmark.

Peter Sandøe, senior author of the paper, told me:

> Companion cats are, like us humans, individuals with varying levels of social skills: some get along with conspecifics, some have difficulties.

However, viewed as a species, unlike us, and our beloved dogs, cats are solitary, or at least not obligate social, animals.

When we as caretakers forget or ignore this fact, we risk the welfare of our cherished feline companions.

Particularly if you have an indoor cat, you should think twice before getting a second one.

This well-intended move may likely end up causing problems for at least one of the cats.

The survey asked how many cats were in the home, whether they had outdoors access, and also about several measures of cat welfare and personality.

Poorer welfare was assessed by several aspects including increased aggression towards other pets in the home, overgrooming, house soiling, and spraying.

Half (51%) of the cats lived in a household with just one cat, while the remainder had two (39%) or more (9%) cats.

Senior cats more often were singleton cats, while multi-cat homes more often included kittens or young cats.

## Multi-cat homes and good welfare

The results showed that when there were more cats in the home, there was an increased risk of health issues and of house soiling and spraying.

The fact that the researchers distinguished between 2-cat homes and 3-or-more-cat homes turned out to be important.

There was an increased risk of cystitis in homes with 3 or more cats compared to homes with 1 or 2 cats.

If cats had unrestricted access to the outdoors, their welfare tended to be better.

This was especially the case for multi-cat homes, where it seems that outdoors access can counteract the effects of having multiple cats in the home.

This is an interesting finding because it shows that being outdoors isn’t just a risk for cats but can also have benefits for them.

One possibility is that in a home with more than one cat, outdoors access simply gives them space to have time away from the other cats, and in turn this reduces stress.

## Cat personality and welfare

The study found that some cat personality traits are linked to poorer welfare, and this varies depending on how many cats are in the home.

In a multi-cat home, if someone described their cat as inactive, not playful, and indifferent, this was associated with poorer welfare.

In contrast, if a cat in a multi-cat home was described as playful, active, and curious, that was linked to fewer welfare concerns.

For a single-cat home, if the cat was described as fearful, reserved, or nervous, that was associated with poorer welfare.

But these aren’t necessarily fixed personality characteristics; rather, they may reflect the fact that the cat is feeling stressed.

And fortunately, there is a lot that can be done to reduce stress in cats.

If you want to improve your cat’s welfare, a good place to start is with the five pillars of a healthy feline environment, which describe what your cat’s environment should be like (Ellis et al 2013).

This is especially important for indoors-only cats because they only have what you provide for them and cannot go outdoors to find enrichment or good spots to perch and relax.

## What kind of outdoors access is best?

It’s important to remember that outdoors access does not have to mean freedom to roam; a patio or an enclosed yard that the cat cannot escape from may be the sweet spot in terms of protecting cats.

While outdoors access seemed beneficial for the cats in this study, it has to be balanced against the increased risks of road traffic accidents, predation, and fights with other cats.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that there are cultural differences in how people care for cats, with cats in Europe—including Denmark, where this study took place—being more likely to have some outdoors access than those in North America.

If you’re not able to provide safe outdoors access for your cat(s), then it becomes even more important to pay attention to their indoors environment and see what you can do to improve it.

If you would describe your cat as nervous or fearful, there is a lot that can be done to help them feel more comfortable in your home.

This includes giving your cat choices, protecting your cat from things they are afraid of, providing more hiding spaces (and respecting them!), and using training techniques (counter-conditioning) to help teach them that they don’t need to be scared.

If you are concerned about your cat’s behavior, see your veterinarian.

Because this study is correlational, it does not prove a causal link.

But the results are a reminder that many factors go into good cat welfare—and that perhaps just having one cat, or a bonded pair (such as two kittens from the same litter) is the best approach.