It’s a fact of life – put two similar creatures together and fighting may ensue.  We get the phrase “when the fur is flying” from the propensity of cats to fight.  There are two kinds of rivalry you may be encountering as a cat owner.  One is fighting within the household – sibling rivalry.  The other is aggression from or towards other cats.  These behaviors can be upsetting, but there are ways of dealing with it to keep your cat safe and keep you sane!

Fighting within the family.  First, you need to decide whether your cats are fighting, or just playing.  Feline behavior can seem aggressive to humans, but often cats are just having fun when they engage in wrestling or nipping.  If one of the cats is yowling or screaming, that’s an indication that the fun has turned nasty.  Obviously any physical harm is a sign that there is some serious fighting going on.

The best way to break up two fighting cats is by distracting them.  A loud noise or sudden spray of water can quickly make them forget about each other and retreat to opposite corners.  So what can you do if this has become an ongoing problem in your house? 

Introduce cats to one another gradually.  Put the newcomer in her own room, with separate food, water and litter box.  Let your new cat spend time your other pets for limited periods while you are in attendance.  As they become accustomed to each other, move food and litter boxes closer together.  After a while you can feed them together – they’ll have forgotten that they ever fought over household territory! 

Get your pets fixed.  Spayed and neutered animals are less territorial, and therefore less prone to fighting.  An unaltered adult can even affect how the other cats in the house treat one another.  

Make sure everyone is healthy.  One reason cats attack is because they are feeling vulnerable.  Undiagnosed disease may be making one of your pets unusually aggressive.

Let each have his own “territory”.  If your cat feels that there is a part of the house that belongs to him alone, he may be more willing to share the rest it.  Most multi-cat families find that the cats eventually work out their differences.  Often they will form an unspoken truce, avoiding each other for the most part.  

Inside the home you have more control over cat interactions.  What should you do if your pet is coming home with cuts and scratches?  The best and safest option is to keep your cat inside.  Indoor cats have longer life expectancies than those of their outdoor counterparts.  You can chase neighboring cats out of your yard, but if your own pet is free to roam, there is not much you can do to keep it away from more aggressive cats.  If he does get out and comes home with obvious cuts and bruises, take him to the veterinarian right away.  Cat bites can become infected and cause abscesses, which are potentially dangerous infections. 

Copyright by Catpert