Cats are very territorial creatures. The reasons cats come together are usually either for mating, competition for prey, or territory. The narrow territory around the main sleeping place is primarily defended vigorously.
Due to the different habitats and conditions in which cats live, there has been an increase in the willingness to associate and socialize with other cats. Even if the cat lives well with other social partners, it needs space for itself. This retreat should be respected by others and the cat should not be forced to defend it.
Claiming a territory is part of a cat’s natural behavior (this also applies to indoor cats!). How large they choose their territory and how hard they defend it varies from person to person.
The territory is marked as a taboo zone for others by urinating and defecation in elevated places. This marking often leads to problems for the cat owner, especially in the case of tomcats that are not neutered in time.
There can easily be overlapping areas within different territories where the cats meet. Since tomcats claim much larger territories, there is also greater overlap here. In addition, their territory usually includes several territories of female cats. This enables the tomcat to explore which female is currently in heat during a foray through his territory. Overlapping territories is not a problem because cats have the ability to avoid each other or to visit neutral areas at different times. In the event of a chance encounter, there are usually only threatening gestures and the animals turn away, i.e. to avoid a serious confrontation. The animals observe each other’s signals very closely.
The animals only fight when two very confident cats meet and neither of them wants to give in. The hierarchy between the animals must then be determined in combat.