by The Paws and Effect Gang | May 24, 2009 | Cat Behavior, Cats and Other Pets | 32 comments
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
This question is urgent, because my roommate and I are going away on vacation soon and we really want to have things fixed before that because the cats will be fed by my mom but no one will be watching them full time.
I have two cats. One of them is an 8-year-old neutered female tortie named Sabrina. The other is Speck, a year-old female stray we adopted last year and had neutered, vaccinated and vet-checked.
When I lived with my parents, Sabrina had to stay in my room with the door closed all the time, because she had serious social problems with my mom’s cat. She’d cower and run, and my Mom’s cat would attack her. I was in my room constantly anyway, so she didn’t mind it and seemed quite content to only come out in the house at night when my mom’s cat was locked in her room. Since moving out a year ago, Sabrina has been much more comfortable, and last October we adopted Speck with no initial problems.
Sabrina and Speck usually get along just fine, but the last four days Sabrina has started acting bizarre towards her. She hides all the time, she’s avoiding the litter and doing her business elsewhere, and when we can get her out, all she does is look around like she’s terrified of Speck and looking for her. When she’s up on a perch that Speck can’t reach, all she does is stare at Speck with this FURIOUS face. Bu Speck doesn’t respond to her in any unusual way, most of the time she’s not even looking at her, during any of these incidents. This is a completely one-sided thing. Sabrina is acting like she did around my mom’s cat.
So we tried a little immersion therapy; my roommate and I put Speck and Sabrina together in the bathroom and stayed there to watch. Sure enough, Sabrina was snarling and hissing at Speck, but Speck completely ignored her and looked a little scared, lowering her tail and staying near the door. Neither one of them lifted a paw against the other. Sabrina seemed to think she had to defend herself against Speck, but I don’t know where she got the idea from. It’s so sudden! I don’t want to leave them alone when Sabrina is like this. She’s my princess and if she’s already scared, the last thing I want is her feeling like I’ve abandoned her. I don’t want her to feel threatened all the time, but Speck is very attached to us and I don’t want to give her up either, and that seems like a permanent solution to a temporary problem. This happened so suddenly, there must be some way to reconcile them. We’re making an appointment with the vet tomorrow to rule out it being a health issue with Sabrina, but in the meantime is there anything you can suggest?
~Dee
Siouxsie: You’ve made the right choice in taking Sabrina to the vet to rule out any health problems, because as you probably know, sometimes health problems can cause personality issues.
Thomas: If your Sabrina gets a clean bill of health, then the next step is to figure out the behavioral issue. And to us, this sounds like a classic case of redirected aggression.
Dahlia: Redirected aggression results from a cat being cut off from the main source of her agitation. A typical situation would be that the aggressor is looking out the window and sees an unfamiliar cat in the yard. The cat becomes extremely stressed and then, say, the aggressor’s cat companion jumps up to see what’s going on and the aggressor lashes out at the other cat because she’s in such a highly reactive state that she doesn’t recognize the other cat as her friend.
Siouxsie: We’d venture to say that Sabrina is pretty easily triggered into this behavior because of her years of having similar conflicts with your mother’s cat.
Thomas: Other things that can cause stress and the resultant redirected aggression include loud noises, the smell of another cat on your clothes, being in an unfamiliar environment, or an owner actively trying to break up a cat fight.
Dahlia: As you can see, this redirected aggression can cause serious damage to cats’ relationship, especially close companions.
Siouxsie: Usually the stress wears off within a few hours and the cats can “kiss and make up,” so to speak. But sometimes the stress continues because the victim, having been severely scared by her buddy’s outburst, takes on a defensive posture whenever she’s near the aggressor, which only stimulates the aggressor to continue her behavior.
Thomas: Unfortunately, the immersion therapy you describe may not have been the best idea. By forcing the two cats to be together in a small space, they became stressed enough that their aggression dynamic was reinforced.
Dahlia: But don’t fear, there is a way to restore harmony in your household. It may take some patience and diligent effort, though.
Siouxsie: What you’re going to need to do is separate the two cats at the first sign of an aggressive outburst. By separating Sabrina and Speck, you’ll give both cats a chance to calm down and begin feeling safe again. We’d recommend putting Sabrina in her own room–preferably a nice, comfortable room like your bedroom–with a litterbox and toys and food and water dishes. Make sure the room is dark and quiet, and leave her there until she begins acting calmer.
Thomas: Signs that she’s feeling calm include sleeping in an open place like on top of your bed, not grooming constantly in an attempt to displace her anxiety, and body language that indicates a tranquil state of mind.
Dahlia: Be aware of Speck’s body language, too. Once the cats start feeling calmer, you can reintroduce them under pleasant circ*mstances like feeding time or play time. If you do play with the two cats, make sure each cat has her own toy to play with; if they’re competing for one “thing on a string,” for instance, that could bring back the stimulation to be aggressive.
Siouxsie: We recommend that when you’re not home, you leave Sabrina and Speck separated so that they can’t get at each other while you’re away. If you can’t change your vacation plans (for example, you’ve got nonrefundable airline tickets or you simply can’t change the timing for other external reasons), make sure your mother understands what’s going on and that she keeps the cats separated.
Thomas: If they’ve been able to have supervised time together without lashing out, your mother might be able to bring them together for a meal and some play time, but make sure she puts Sabrina back in your room before she leaves.
Dahlia: Another thing that could really help is a plug-in feline pheromone diffuser. This product is sold under the brand names of Feliway or Comfort Zone, and are available at most pet stores and online pet supply stores.
Siouxsie: Feliway/Comfort Zone mimics “happy cat” pheromones and helps cats to feel calmer. Mama’s used this for us when we’ve had some aggression issues and to help us deal with the stress of moving to a new home, and we’ve got to say it really works!
Thomas: If they’re still having trouble together, they’ll probably need to stay separated until you return from your vacation. At that point, you’ll want to really start working on reintroducing them and rebuilding their relationship.
Dahlia: Good luck, Dee. Please let us know how everything turns out!
Dee on May 24, 2009 at 1:25 pm
Thank you so much for your quick response! Sabrina has been acting better around Speck lately, thank goodness. They’ll even sit in the same windowsill together now. We’re still going to take her to the vet to be sure before we go, I’d hate leaving town not knowing for certain and the plane tickets are non-refundable so I can’t linger even though I’d like to.
What you said about smelling another cat on our clothes is an important clue I think… we had problems with Sabrina being terrified of a cat after we moved out too- we had adopted a young male named Lucius but could only keep him here for a few months due to major personality conflicts…he started chasing her constantly once he wasn’t a kitten anymore, and so he went to live at my parents’ house which is a lot bigger for an energetic boy like him. He’s very, very happy there and practically attached at the hip to one of my mom’s other cats so we feel it was the best decision, now he has someone to play with instead of Sabrina just running and hiding. But, that’s where we were the day she started acting weird. He is a black cat too, and while we were there we trimmed his nails which he can still be a little fidgety about sometimes. I wonder if she smelled him and that grumpiness, and maybe saw little black Speck more like Lucius! She was certainly afraid of him in the past.
I really hope I didn’t upset her too much putting the both of them together in the bathroom, I definitely know better than to do that in the future.
If things aren’t totally back to normal by the time we go, my mom will be thoroughly debriefed on the situation and we’ll follow your advice to keep both kitties comfortable during the already stressful time of owner-absence.
Thank you again so much for your help!
FredJouldd on May 28, 2009 at 8:04 pm
Thanks, good article.
Sanjee of Cat Blogosphere on May 29, 2009 at 11:03 am
We’re so happy we found your advice blog. Fanks for havin it and lettin us know.
I used to have to use the Feliway plugin cuz my fursiblings made me so nervous. After time, though, I didn’t have to use it any more. I’m still not crazy about them, but we don’t fight and hiss all the time any more. Those plugins can really help.
Purrrrrrrs,
Sanjee of CBKaren Jo on May 30, 2009 at 2:59 am
This is a very informative article. I hope that everything works out for Sabrina and Speck.
Kathy French on June 28, 2009 at 6:06 pm
Our home is in caos, so I’ve been scouring the internet for help. This Sabrina and Speck article is very similar to our problem. Our cats started fighting out of nowhere. I immediately noticed a new cat in our new next-door neighbor’s yard (where they used to go). Now I’m convinced that our dominant cat saw that new cat and is taking her aggression out on our submissive cat. The mystery is pretty much solved now. Now we have to figure out what to do though. I’ve done every thing in this article so far. They now tolerate each other only when I’m around. My submissive cat is still quarantined to my bedroom and the balcony they share. I’m sure it’s getting old for the submissive cat. She seems pretty bored and lonely. I’m concerned about her, but she’s doing pretty well. We’ve noticed our dominant cat staring for long periods of time towards our new neighbor’s direction. She’s like a gargoyle waiting to defend her territory in case that new cat decides to come over the wall. I’m praying that time will heal this acute situation. It’s been 14 days. Does anyone have any idea what I can expect? That new cat isn’t going anywhere soon, so can I expect things to get better on their own? Or will there be this problem as long as that new cat lives next door? Ugh.
Kathy French on July 7, 2009 at 4:22 am
It’s me again. It’s been a rollercoaster! I’ve been supervising visits. And my dominant cat is obsessed with and staring at my submissive cat all the time, and my submissive cat is very uneasy still, obviously. Who wouldn’t be? The submissive cat is still in my bedroom and the balcony they share. I started leaving my bedroom door open, but now the dominant cat is holding my submissive cat hostage in my bedroom. My submissive cat won’t come out of my bedroom, poor thing. Whenever my submissive cat wants to come out of the bedroom, there’s my dominant cat to intimidate her. So tonight we put our dominant cat in the back bedroom to leave the rest of the apartment for our submissive cat. She started scratching violently and when we opened the door a pinch to tell her to be quiet, she busted out of the door and ran to the other bedroom across the apartment where our submissive cat was hiding under the bed. We had to grab her as she hissed and scratched and put her back in the back bedroom with litter, water and food. My submissive cat is resting comfortably for the first time in almost a month. But I don’t know what to do next. How, when to let her out. Please let me know how to proceed. We are clueless and alone and probably causing more harm than good. Thanks!
Kathy French on July 14, 2009 at 2:24 am
It’s a miracle!!
Peace in the valley.
I recalled the comment on your site from Dahlia about “redirected agression”. I decided to keep Sascha inside for 24 hours and away from the suspected source of the problem, the new neighbor’s cat. While not going over, Sascha was staring at the neighbor’s fence for hours a day I guess waiting for the new cat to come over or something. I decided to remove her from doing that as it might be re-igniting her aggression. She did seem to be even more aggitated toward Lily than usual after being outside in the afternoons.
Not having to be on gargoyle duty, Sascha got mellower and mellower and slept for 2 days straight. Lily, in the meantime, snuck out of the bedroom for the first time in 25 days!
That broke the cycle! And they are getting along better than EVER, eating together, sleeping side by side, happy! :)
We had also gotten the ComfortZone plug-in 10 days ago. So we don’t know if that helped or what.
But thank you to Sanjee, too, for recommending the pherimone product.
Wow, our home is happy again. Thank you so much for your Web site. It was a godsend!
Belinda on July 15, 2009 at 10:14 pm
Thank you so much for this article. Last night my other cat got locked outside of the house accidently. I have two cats and they have never been outside. Well, I woke up in the middle of the night hearing the cat that was in the house hissing at my other cat through the window. When I brought in my other cat, Chino (the one that didn’t go outside) started hissing and attacking Joey. Maybe this is a case of redirected agression. They can both be in the same room now.. but they stay far away from each other. It’s such a sad thing to see because they were best of friends.
laura on July 15, 2013 at 11:21 pm
This is same thing happened to my babies and I have been afraid I might have to give one up….so we think they will become friends again?
Kathy French on July 27, 2009 at 6:53 pm
Dear Belinda,
It’s such an easy thing to accidently lock cats outside. They are literally quicker than the eye! I’m very optimistic that this will pass and your kitties will be very close again soon. Cats are soooooo emotional. It just takes a little time to pass for them to get over stuff. It seems like your cat in the house didn’t recognize its friend out the window, probably thought it was a strange/new cat. As was my experience, “NEW CAT” is not a good thing in the world of cats. I would just let things get back to normal on their own. They just need a little time to get over it – such sensitive creatures! Good luck :)
Paul on August 4, 2009 at 4:31 pm
Thanks for this article and all the comments – it’s been very helpful in trying to understand what’s going on in my house!
We have 2 indoor cats – they both escaped for about an hour and when I got them both back in the house all hell broke loose. The fighting was crazy – extremely loud/violent and scary to watch. I just learned from comment above not to “break up” the fight as I had to visit the hospital for this one.
We have taken one of the cats who is usually the dominant one out of the house for a few days – this is killing me as I miss him. I want to bring him home after 3 days – is this a good idea? It will be supervised to make sure they are okay – I will try the advice of introducing them at meal times and play times.
How long is too long for them not to get along? I would hate to have to separate them forever..
Steve on July 28, 2010 at 8:25 pm
i have a female cat 3 years old, fixed and all the usual work weighs about 6-7 pounds, i also have a male going on 8 months old, hasnt been fixed yet weighs more than the female. Ive had the male since he was a kitten and the two cats have been great together so far up until today. I heard the cats fighting and “screaming” which was very out of the ordinary. I found my female cat had the male pinned in a corner and taking a beating. I seperated the two of them and she continued to hiss and growl at him which was the first time ive heard any of that from her since owning her. she continued to try and get at him so i locked her up so i could examine the damage of both cats. I finally brought them together again and she gave him a quick sniff and went right back to attacking him and beating him. I have to sit in the room with her or else she howls like crazy to get out, she is also pacing the room and looking at the door constantly. Is this possible that the male has tried to mount her? i didnt see any evidence of this besides the bizzare behaviour. Please help.
Barbara on August 9, 2010 at 1:49 am
Just looking on the computer for a reason one of my cat has suddenly turned on the other after living together for almost two year. As it turns out when this started we had a stray un-fixed male hanging around my house. It has been two weeks and that is when the trouble started. Last week my fixed mail just walked over to my female and clawed her face which just happened to leave her blind her in one eye. I just started using a spray bottle with water when I see it happen which does seperate them but this one little female is getting all beat up. Thanks for advice, I will try seperating the two for awhile.
Sam on September 13, 2010 at 2:40 am
Hi, just reading the above comments, and i need help, im so upset, my 2 cats , buffy a 9 year old tabby (f) and neutred and garfield 5 year old male , also neutred, have started to fight, it all happened so suddenly, my son was ushering buffy out of his room and accidently caught her tail in the door, she then bolted in to kitchen and i think strartled garfield, they were then fighting under the kitchen table, i seperated them and buffy the quieter of the 2 cats went and hid but garf was pacing, then garfield noticed buffing hiding and they started to fight again. Once again i seperated them, ive had to lock garfield in my kitchen and he meows constantly, its heartbreaking. I did let him out to see how they both got on with one another after a night apart, but garfield just hissed at buffy and puffed up like a ballon again, so hes back in the kitchen and buffy is hiding again, … i dont know what to do, they got on so well before this, please help me .
Jane on October 26, 2010 at 6:38 am
I’ve been reading these stories with great interest. I have 2 male cats, brothers, 4 years old. They are indoor cats and have always gotten along very well, sleeping with each other and grooming each other, etc. They tussle occasionally but only playfully. Suddenly they started really fighting with the hissing and growling and that horrible cat yowl. We often let them out into our garage because they think they’re “outside” and I think sometimes they might find a creature. Last night one of then actually came back into the house with a mouse in his mouth, alive and squealing. The other cat was close behind. I scooped up the mouser and took him back to the garage as I didn’t want the poor mouse loose in the house. Left them both there for a few minutes then went back out. I was able to get the mouse, who was loose again, and took him outside to release him. Well, last night all hell broke loose. Our cats were truly at each other, and I noticed that the mouser is just staring at our other cat and hissing. So I think there is definitely misplaced aggression going on. I stole the mouser’s prey and he was mad. Like another reader, we are going away for a weekend in a week or so and I’m nervous to leave them. I’ve been separating them and sort of scolding them when they are doing this fighting. Sounds like I shouldn’t do that but should I be trying to keep them apart for periods of times?
Eric on November 21, 2010 at 5:09 pm
These are interesting and informative remarks. My two neutered males, who have been very friendly for 2 years until just yesterday started going after each other last night and it has continued today. I am going to separate them so they can get a little more comfortable. Thanks for these comments.
Linda Hayman on December 23, 2010 at 2:42 pm
I have 4 wonderful burmeses cats, Mother and her 2 sons and her partner. Mother is 2 years old, partner is 2 and half yrs old and their sons 1 yrs old. they are very close families until yesterday my daughters brought her 2 burmeses cats to stay here for christmas. Her cats is other sons of our mother cat and brothers to my two cats which she not see them for year now. When mother cat saw 2 other cats in the house she turn to attack them, then toward her own sons and her partner too. I seperate my daughter’s cats other room which my mother cat cant see them, but she carry on attack her close families and draw them all apart please help me to solve the problem before it gone too far.It is really heart breaking for all of us.
Gisela on April 14, 2011 at 9:42 am
We have started having issues with our cats. We have six cats. Our Calico, Calypso, has started being mean to all of the cats but exceptionally mean to Charcoal who is about 7 years old. Calypso is about five. I have been kepping them apart this all started happening when my husband brought a kitten with one eye home. Both of our females will not let the kitten in the same room. But Charcoal and Calico used to be great friends, now he is scared stiff of being around her and cowers under the table or runs for an open door. THis morning he tried to get from the coffee table to the fridge so that she would not attack him and suddenly she went for him straight towards me. I was livid and placed her in a room all on her own. I have been using a calming oil that my vet suggested but it has done no good.. Charcoal I feel really sorry for as he seems very unhappy and he has to spend alot of time in the bedroom with the new kitten(who he gets along with). I have to switch the cats around some out during the day, some in the main area of the house at night. This is getting tiring. I am thinking about getting rid of Calypso since she is casuing so many issues but my husband is not happy with this and we have Calypso’s brother also.
Any ideas on how to cope with such a difficult cat I get so annoyed with her. I asked my vet this week and they suggested the plug in I am going to go and try and look for one today. I hope this works.
mzhdlady on May 10, 2011 at 8:28 pm
In the last week or so I have noticed a Strong urine odor in my living room. When my cats (both are fixed) were younger one of them had an accident and I did cut the carpet out and scrubbed the floor so the smell was gone. I have also notice a couple of strange things. My male cat is 3 yrs old and his sister is 2 1/2 yrs old, when I first got the female she thought she ruled the house and the male cat was submissive at first. Then they found out that they could be friends…great news to me!! Now over 2 yrs later the hissing and fighting has started. It just started all of a sudden. One will now stay in the cellar till the other one goes down there….then fighting starts……It seems the male is the one who starts it and then it seems that she is starting the fights. I just caught the 2 of them going at it my bedroom. The female on the window sill and the male on the floor trying to get at her. There was urine all over the window sill! What am I to do?!?!?!? Is one of them sick or both??
Adrienne on May 11, 2011 at 6:03 am
We have a 4 cat household, they have all lived together for at least 2 years. Our youngest female cat just freaked out and totally attacked our oldest male cat and is now still growling and hissing at all of us. We have seperated her by closing her off in the bathroom. What would cause this and will it last long?
greg Dougovito on June 14, 2011 at 4:47 pm
I see both my cats problems in all of the above great comments. AC & DC are 2 1/2 yesr old sisters, living in-doors. Perfectly content with each other since birth, doing everything together. All of a sudden hell broke lose with one after the other tooth and claw, fur flying, howling and hissing. The aggressive one wouldn’t even let me near for a day and a half. Now I have them separated up-stairs and down-stairs and can cuddle with each in turn …but when they see each other it is the hissing and low growling. If I have to read from the comments above, I think what caused the aggression to begin was a racoon feeding out on the deck being watched by AC, when DC came up behind her, although they had watched this racoon before on many occasions.
Hopefully the separation for a few days will help. I might try those Felwayh/Comfort Zone. plug ins. I would hate the thought of having to give one of them up. It would destroy my world.Cynthia on August 24, 2011 at 10:15 am
It has been helpful and somewhat comforting to read this thread of comments and advice — just knowing that other cat owners have experienced similar conflicts with their cats gives me some hope for a solution to my current –and very sudden– problem. Although none of the solutions I’ve gleaned here seem particularly ideal or even permanent (?)… :(
I have two cats, one female (small – 7 lbs) and one male (big – 18lbs). I adopted them together from a shelter (they shared living quarters at the shelter), and I’ve had them now for about 10 1/2 years. The three of us live together in my one-bedroom apartment and they are indoor-only cats. 95% of the time they are good friends and will sleep/cuddle together, and groom each other, eat together, etc.; occasionally they tussle but they’ve NEVER ever really hurt each other or drawn blood. I should note that the initial aggressor (when play fighting) has always been, surprising, the diminutive little female; she definitely ‘wears the pants’ and is the more dominant one personality-behavior-wise, and also asserts herself more in terms of being close to me/having my attention (the one exception: in situations of play with chase/catch toys, where the male cat is clearly more aggressive and a much more serious ‘hunter.’)
Well, I left the house for about an two hours yesterday afternoon and returned to find cat hair (mostly hers) and cat pee (his, I believe) all over the place; the male (black) cat still had a mouthful of the female’s (white) fur, and she was cowering under a chair and they were both low growling & hissing at each other and would hiss & growl at me if I tried to get near either of them. In the 10 1/2 years I’ve had them, neither of them has EVER hissed or growled at, or been aggressive toward me – and neither of them has ever done any ‘business’ outside of their (shared) litterbox. At one point they started actively fighting again and I thought for sure they were going to kill each other it was so loud and aggressive and violent. (My one bedroom apartment isn’t very big for a big, violent fight like that!) The little female finally ended up cowering under the bed and I finally managed to trap the hissing & growling male — but not before he’d peed all over again; I put him in a carrier with a blanket over it just to separate them and try to calm them down. The female continued to hiss & growl at me every time I attempted to get her out from under the bed.
I should note that she had been at the vet just the day before, for an ear infection (she gets them chronically, and has ever since I’ve had her) + possible UTI/bladder infection (a first). But when I’d come home from work she seemed to be doing/feeling fine, and I’d given her a dose of her ear medication before going out again to do a few errands. But all hell had broken loose during the short time I was out doing errands…
I was finally able to pull the female out from under the bed after several hours, although she continued to low-growl at me the entire time. She has a small wound on her front paw (which I did my best to clean) –so the male cat clearly hurt her during the fighting. By then I had taken the male cat out of the carrier and sequestered him in the bathroom, with his own litterbox, food, water, etc. He seems totally fine — uninjured, no longer hissing or growling at ME. I made a makeshift second litterbox for the female cat, and she has the run of the rest of the apartment. And while she eventually ate (heartily) and eventually slept on the bed with me (as per usual), she is still vigilant about the bathroom door and the whereabouts of the male cat. She seems totally scared of him now, whereas before –if anything– he was scared of (or deferential toward) her.
I’m terrified to let him out and let them near each other again; this whole experience has been so traumatic — for all of us!! What’s worse, I will be going away this weekend for two nights/3 days on a work-related trip… Normally I would leave them on their own, together, which is something I’ve done many times over the years without issue –with the exception of some occasional ‘anxiety barfing- since they’ve always gotten along well and are both ‘self-feeders’ or grazers.
I’m taking the female cat back to the vet today to have her wound treated. And I plan to buy one of those plug-in pheromone diffusers as well. But how, exactly, should I attempt to re-introduce the two cats to each other…?? Or should I even try?? And what if this aggressive behavior between them persists? I can’t very well keep one cat cooped up in a tiny bathroom 24/7 — and my apartment just isn’t designed/big enough to create other separate living spaces for them. Is it possible I might have to surrender one of them to another home or, worse, a shelter…?
I volunteer –working with cats– at my local SPCA, which is a no-kill shelter where the animals receive wonderful care & treatment; but still, I never imagined I would have to return one of my own cats to a shelter!
Help!! Are there any other comments or suggestions for my situation? I would be so grateful for any advice, suggestions, etc. Thank you.
kellie on November 4, 2011 at 5:01 pm
hi ive got 2 female cats 3 year old black and white and 1 of her daugthers that is 1 half now ive had them since they wore kittens they was getting on great and yesterday i tuck the 3 year old mother to the vets and had her neutered and since ive come back with her the daugther keeps fighting her but the mother will fight back but she has got stiches I would be so grateful for any advice, suggestions, etc. Thank you.
Sas on February 29, 2012 at 2:11 pm
I have two Abyssinian cats that have been friendly for at least eight years. Suddenly last month they started a war. It is so bad that I have to keep them in different parts of the house. I tried to reintroduce them about two weeks ago, and it lasted for about 2 days and then war started again. They do hurt each other. I don’t think either of them is ill, but then it’s hard to tell with cats. The situation is driving me crazy right now. We are all living on pins and needles. I wonder if putting them on kitty prozac would cure the problem.
I see that many other people have had issues much like mine. I have tried the plug ins (other cats) and didn’t think they did anything to improve the situation.
I am at a complete loss at this point.
I hesitate taking both to the vet. I don’t want to spend hundreds of dollars testing when it could be that one or both cats are getting old and cranky.
I did talk to the breeder who sold me the cats and she said it was rather common behavior for older, female cats. I surely hope she is wrong.
Should I try to find a new home for one of them? I can’t imagine living like this for years to come. They are not happy and I am not happy.
Ugh!
gary on April 1, 2012 at 4:29 pm
We have two females (siblings) that we got from the shelter last August. They were about 6 mos old at the time. After we had them for a few months we let them go out with us in the yard, and they were fine.
This spring we let them out on a warm sunny day two weeks ago. When they came back in Slinky was hissing at Snow. Neither had ever hissed before. We left them both alone. Slinky was in a bad mood all night, you could tell just by her body language. The next day they were fine, even laying on the sofa together, licking each other. We took them both to the vet to make sure they were okay (they are). The vet suggested that Snow may have picked up a strange smell while out, and Slinky not recognizing it, hissed at Snow when they came back in.
We thought this was a once-off, but it happened again today. We let the girls out in the garden with us this afternoon. This time Slinky started hissing at Snow while they were still outside and they chased each other around, and Slinky took a swipe at Snow and nicked her nose.
We have them separated inside in different rooms. Snow (the one who got the cut) seems fine, but Slinky (the one that hisses) is staying to herself. I think we’ll move their litter boxes to different places and put each in separate rooms tonight.
Too weird. :(
Gary
Deb on February 4, 2013 at 10:17 am
I have four cats, 2 males and 2 females. Owen has always acted like an alpha male displaying displaced aggression and dominance. However, he does have cat skittishness. This morning I was awaken by Owen growling and hissing very loudly under my bed. Olivia, was laying on the floor staring under the bed, but not making a sound. Jasper was in the hall way staring under the bed but not making a sound. I do not know what happened but now Owen hisses and growls every time he sees either one and does not want to come out around them. Olivia just lays and stares but does not go to the door where I have Owen closed off. Jasper and Phoebe keep trying to get in to see Owen, so I suspect the problem is with Olivia.
What would cause this and any suggestions? My fear is that owen is diabetic and I am afraid this will upset him.
I have always said Owen and Olivia have behaved like sibling rivals but it has been nothing more that smacking with front paws. Usually Owen captures Olivia they bopped each other and then that is it. I have never had this before
sabrina tarkan on August 30, 2014 at 9:42 pm
I’m having the same problem with my female cat and male cat. My female afeara is already a aggressive cat. And my male choca is so sweet. Idk what happened during the day they were fine. They were getting along and once night fell bam a huge fight curtain ripped out of the wall afeara peed all over the floor. They won’t stop fighting. My daughter who’s almost 5 months old has almost ended up in the middle of 2 of their fights. I need this to end for my daughter elicia sake. Afeara is 7 years old n if fixed. Choca is 4 n is fixed. Afeara has been with him since birth and took 2 years for her to get along with him but they never fought like this. Afeara has cuts on her face and is missing hair choca doesn’t even look like he got in a fight. Choca loves to play but afeara doesnt. Choca learned her limit n he wud stop messing with her after a while. But they won’t stop I don’t know wat to do they use to cuddle and now afeara can’t even see him or she flips out. So now she lives in my room while choca romes the house. I have a baby gate and blanket separating them hoping maybe they will get over this
Linda Szymkowiak-Swaim on October 13, 2015 at 4:25 am
I have 4 rescue cats the oldest is a 3 1/2 year old spayed female the next is a 2 1/2 year old nuetered male whom the 1st one pretty much raised next is a 1 1/2 spayed female and then the 1 and 3 month old spayed female the 2 youngest I got about 2 months apart and they were inseparable about 2 months ago I took both of them to be spayed at the same time, since then the older of the 2 xhases the younger one away she won’t let her eat and attacks her every chance she gets she will even force herself to eat up all the food so the younger one doesn’t get any. It’s sad because they were the best of friends. HELP PLEASE WHAT CAN I DO?
emmi on October 23, 2015 at 6:35 am
I am having the exact same problem with an older 9year old neutered male and a one-year-old unneutered male. I’m going to get the younger neutered soon and I hope that will help but I am going to try the pheromone defuser as well. they got along for the longest when we first got the one year old and just the past week or so the 9year old has been picking fights with him. I think he might be territorial over him now that he’s starting to produce testosterone and is spraying occasionally.
Anonymous on February 2, 2017 at 5:26 am
Noone seems to be replying to these but…
My 2 female cats have recently started fighting. Reading this, I believe it is from the “cat tree” we built them. There is ONE thing on a string LOL. Guess we gotta get more and make it more even for them.
Thanks for that suggestion!Kayla Bautch on July 31, 2017 at 12:48 am
Hi we looking different ideas cause our two girl kittens got in a fight last night at four a.m and we where awake then the cats went up stairs batted and hit and hiss at each other and then one of them was hissing and meowing like crazy then other ran down stairs was hiding under dresser and the other cat was still up stairs and I had brought that cat in my bed room with water and food and liter box out in hall way okay then cat down stairs under the dresser. Well she came out after hour and half cause being afraid and intense cat and hissing and meowing like she was pissed off but she claim down finally came out I picked her up and brought her in my moms bedroom while the other cat was in our bathroom. Mia is the one that was under dresser is in my moms room she tried to come out today . the other cat Zoey that attacked her last night well she gets to go in living room and my room and bathroom she likes being out of my moms room but Mia loves to be inside my moms room so stayed in there and she comfortable she don’t want to come out . Zoey she saw earlier Mia came down stairs then had hunting eyes on her and then crouched down to pounce on Mia but Mia came down stairs started smelling the floor and then she hissed and then she could smell her sister on other side of the couch well Zoey runs and takes off to attack Mia then Zoey comes down stairs like she okay go up stairs to check on Mia she was scared to death meowing seemed confused and staring all over can’t stay in one place and then after noticed trying to pet her and keep knowing she okay after shuting door after Zoey ran down stairs … Well Mia had pooped and peed cause she got scared and Zoey attacking her and she had fluffy fluffed up tail like a raccoon tail but we now are watching tv Zoey is laying on table she never did that before it ideally was always Mia but now she is on coffee table she usually lays or jumps on but she seems claim and she is smelling the air for Mia but I think she knows Mia is in my moms room but see I worked on farm for four years I know a lot about cats and tom cats but these two cats are my moms and live with her now I can’t do farm work cause pregnancy for 6 months so far but you know also that people live with cats all there life I lived cats since I was baby I had some cats. Ideas help neighbors but back to these two sister Mia and Zoey. They always where okay and they would play fight usually some time bat at each other then take off but now its like they switch places on what they do and feel or taste about each other. People please don’t hit your cats… They just need a break apart from each other cats have anxiety just like human cats can sense that you are pregnant and stressed and claim and intense and they know your home or not to by smell and they can sense it too but all cats are different tho I wish if any body has questions please ask but use wisely thoughts please !!!!!! That’s all I have so far ….!!!!!
Cari S. on September 12, 2017 at 2:49 am
Question: About a month ago, we had to have our dog euthanized. Since then, our cats are…not so happy with each other. Cali (female) and Flea (male) were not litter mates but were adopted at the same time, raised together as kittens and now four years old. They have NEVER had fights, no jealousy, no aggravation of any kind, until the dog passed away. While Cali was very calm and friendly with the dog, Flea could care less about his presence. Our cats are indoor/outdoor, have always been peaceful together inside and outside, playing, hunting and when younger, slept together. Now we have this aggression coming from Flea (our male) towards Cali. If she catches a mouse and sets it down while outside, he takes it. She’s not phased by it but I think he is a brat for doing it ;) … but it’s getting a bit more serious. He sleeps in the doorway to our bedroom, a place our female normally sleeps is IN our bedroom so she won’t come in if he’s there. Just now, he attacked her for no reason at all and before that, while out on their walk with my husband Flea didn’t want Cali to come at all. (the walks became a tradition with the dog, they’d follow my husband and dog on their walks and even with the dog gone, they insist on their “walks”.
Anyone experienced this?
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- Crazy cats and a baby on the way. Help! : Cat Advice | Paws and Effect - [...] Siouxsie: If the aggression and acting out started when you and your cat moved in, you may need to…
