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→Diagnosis
==Diagnosis==
==Diagnosis==
[[File:Cat relationships example.jpg|350px|thumb|right|Example of a diagram illustrating the relationships between cats within the same household]]
Diagnosis involves several steps:
Diagnosis involves several steps:
* [[Housesoiling - Cat#Identifying the Culprit|Identify culprits]].
* [[Housesoiling - Cat#Identifying the Culprit|Identify culprits]].
So several scenarios emerge. If the [[Feline Territorial Behaviour#Core Territory|core territory]] is threatened by being overlooked or invaded by cats that are not part of the [[Feline Social Behaviour|group]], then the boundary of the core territory can retreat into the house and the resident cat(s) will use spray or claw marks to delineate a boundary at the edge of the core territory which happens to be within the home. These cats may end up inhabiting the upper rooms of a house as core territory and then spray marking or middening on the ground floor, but the situation often starts when urine marks appear at windows or external doors, or around the cat flap.
So several scenarios emerge. If the [[Feline Territorial Behaviour#Core Territory|core territory]] is threatened by being overlooked or invaded by cats that are not part of the [[Feline Social Behaviour|group]], then the boundary of the core territory can retreat into the house and the resident cat(s) will use spray or claw marks to delineate a boundary at the edge of the core territory which happens to be within the home. These cats may end up inhabiting the upper rooms of a house as core territory and then spray marking or middening on the ground floor, but the situation often starts when urine marks appear at windows or external doors, or around the cat flap.
If the relationship between cats within the home is flawed, then, rather than one group, there may be two or more [[Feline Social Structure|factions]] coexisting within the home. They may have little tolerance for each other. Most domestic cat groups are of mixed gender and are not actively engaged in mutual kitten rearing, so that there is no positive reason for the cats to coexist other than their own individual social preferences and affiliations. The continued function of the group is highly dependent on whether present resources are plentiful enough to maintain the whole group without competition. Within domestic cat groups sharing a home, it is possible to identify patterns of interaction by analysing greeting, affiliative and aggressive behaviour between cats ''[see example diagram].''
If the relationship between cats within the home is flawed, then, rather than one group, there may be two or more [[Feline Social Structure|factions]] coexisting within the home. They may have little tolerance for each other. Most domestic cat groups are of mixed gender and are not actively engaged in mutual kitten rearing, so that there is no positive reason for the cats to coexist other than their own individual social preferences and affiliations. The continued function of the group is highly dependent on whether present resources are plentiful enough to maintain the whole group without competition. Within domestic cat groups sharing a home, it is possible to identify patterns of interaction by analysing greeting, affiliative and aggressive behaviour between cats ''(see example diagram).''
Identifying the social structure of the group may give insights into why the relationship between resident cats has broken down. For example, the loss of a social facilitator cat may cause aggression to begin between factions because no other individual is maintaining the group odour. The same situation can occur when the owner goes away on holiday or when a social facilitator becomes ill or infirm. The role of a particular individual may change according to its health status. A pair or faction may break up if one cat suffers from pain, hyperaesthesia or some other condition that changes its acceptance of grooming or affiliative behaviour. It may change to become a satellite individual. A polyphagic hyperthyroid or diabetic cat may consume more food or despotically control access to it, leaving the rest of the group resource
Identifying the social structure of the group may give insights into why the relationship between resident cats has broken down. For example, the loss of a social facilitator cat may cause aggression to begin between factions because no other individual is maintaining the group odour. The same situation can occur when the owner goes away on holiday or when a social facilitator becomes ill or infirm. The role of a particular individual may change according to its health status. A pair or faction may break up if one cat suffers from pain, hyperaesthesia or some other condition that changes its acceptance of grooming or affiliative behaviour. It may change to become a satellite individual. A polyphagic hyperthyroid or diabetic cat may consume more food or despotically control access to it, leaving the rest of the group resource