# In general, are cats incredibly jealous?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-are-cats-incredibly-jealous/734291
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion
**Created:** [October 11, 2015, 3:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-are-cats-incredibly-jealous/734291 "2015-10-11T15:53:40Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2015, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-are-cats-incredibly-jealous/734291/21 "2015-10-12T23:09:32Z")
> [@TriPolar](#):
>
> That is correct. Cat’s shit on your stuff out of spite.
I had a cat that would jump up on a shelf and meow loudly to make sure you were watching him when he batted off vases and pictures. Spiteful lil SOB. I’ll miss him.
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### Author:  [@GrumpyBunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrumpyBunny)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2015, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-are-cats-incredibly-jealous/734291/22 "2015-10-13T01:23:05Z")
Cats can indeed be jealous. My dilute torbie drama queen is the most jealous thing on the planet.
> [@MichaelEmouse](#):
>
> I’m not sure it’s about territory so much as it’s about cleanliness. Cats are very particular about their litter boxes. I presume, so would you if you had to step into the box you piss & shit in.
>
> The conventional wisdom on the number of litters boxes is to have the same number of litter boxes as cats + 1 and to keep them clean.
I’ve heard that as well, and it’s not a bad rule if you have the space.
I had three cats who shared one box happily for years. (Note that this box was cleaned three times a day.)
Now that I have more room, I have two boxes (still cleaned three times a day). The current three feline overlords like this.
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### Author:  [@stillownedbysetters](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stillownedbysetters)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2015, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-are-cats-incredibly-jealous/734291/23 "2015-10-13T01:31:35Z")
I left my cat at the vet once when I was traveling, as he was having a minor medical issue and I didn’t want him left without someone to look in on him (he’s usually quite ok with being alone in the house for a day or two as long as there are sufficient food and water supplies and a spare litter box has been deployed). When I picked him up, the vet staff told me I should probably never bring another cat in the house as he was very cat aggressive. Shortly after that, my son needed me to watch his very dominant female cat for a few days while they were having some work done on the house. I was leery, thinking I’d have cat wars on my hands. I carefully separated territories with gates and separate dishes/boxes/toys, etc. Yet I came home from work the first day and found them together in the living room, curled up next to one another on the couch. I have no idea how they came to this detente, but they got along swell the entire time my son’s cat stayed with us.
Cats defy explanation as often as possible.
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### Author:  [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2015, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-general-are-cats-incredibly-jealous/734291/24 "2015-10-13T01:32:31Z")
I am the owner of a clingy, incredibly jealous cat. That’s actually how she came to me, because she’s so psycho that she couldn’t handle her previous owner’s other animals. She’s great as a solo pet, but I used to wish I could add another cat and have accepted that I simply cannot while I have her.
It really depends on the cat, though. My parents have had four cats during my lifetime and only one of them was the jealous type. The others have all been live and let live.
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