Changes

* Assess health status of all group members.

* Assess health status of all group members.

* [[Housesoiling - Cat#Using a House Plan|Map the location of resources and the progression of urine and faecal marks within the home]].

* [[Housesoiling - Cat#Using a House Plan|Map the location of resources and the progression of urine and faecal marks within the home]].

* Assess the [[Feline Social Structure|structure of the social group]] within the home, to identify potential conflict.

* Assess the [[Feline Social Behaviour#Social Structure|structure of the social group]] within the home, to identify potential conflict.

* Identify specific situations in which [[Feline Communication Behaviour#Marking|marking]] occurs.

* Identify specific situations in which [[Feline Communication Behaviour#Marking|marking]] occurs.

* Detail the cat’s behaviour before, during and after incidents.

* Detail the cat’s behaviour before, during and after incidents.

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 Behaviour#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).''