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I never thought I would see this , but my two male cats ages 3 and 5 are at each other....let me explain what happened.
My two cats have always got along, never a problem as they would play together etc....best of pal's till this evening.
A stray cat came to the window ....and both of my cats were watching it from the window.....when all of a sudden my one cat starts taking a fit at the window clawing and hissing at the outside cat.....then my other cat thought the first cat was attacking HIM..... and a battle began between the two of my cats to the point I had to use a water bottle to break up the fighting.
Now both cats are hissing at each other , and the one cat even hissing at me since I sprayed it several times with water.....never thought I'd see this .....unreal. I had to seperate them.....one is locked up in a BR.
Is this friendship between the two cats over? Never to be the same ? Or must I get rid of one thats hissing at the other.....or is this just a passing thing.....I'm going crazy.
These two cats have been buddy buddy for 3 years.....now what should I do.....whats my options, if any.
I love them both and they loved each other till this happened.
BOB
Rest asure, I believe this will be eventually balanced. My suggestion is, give them both time away from each other and space. You may have to treat this as if you brought a new cat home and need to reintroduce them. Give them small amounts together AFTER the timeout of a few days or a week. When you are comfortable, start the reintro and carefully monitor them. Don't let them get too close if you sense there's still bitterness. You won't be able to seperate them other wise.
Any other thoughts on this? I'm interested in hearing it myself.
Had a similiar issue with two different cats. The first one bit my husband when in that frenzied state trying to get the other stray cat outside the door. Husband bend down and bit him on the ear and did not let go until Mouse let go of his thumb. Stand off. Cat never ever bit him again. Did not work for the rest of us. Guess he showed him who was alpha.
Second cat attacked me in the frenzied state. Totally scared me cause he is 22 pounds and has all his teeth and claws. Guess he thought the outside cat had somehow gotten in and was in my pant legs or behind me. Good thing I was wearing jeans and husband was home to be alpha and get some control.
Normally these cats were sweet and calm but even to a neutered male, the scent of an intact male spraying causes a hostile response.
It did go away and Harpo is back to his sweet self.
Its called redirected aggression. Cats get themselves worked up to such a state of fixation/anxiety, often when a strange cat/animal comes around, and then redirect the aggression to something else in the environment. This can happen in the form of your other cat, or in some cases the owner will pet their normally loving cat and get bitten. It has nothing to do with the owner/other cat, but misplaced aggression.
I'm sure that after the fixation/source of aggression leaves your cats will be back to normal given a little time, remove as much external stimulation as possible including yourself (isolating them for a time is great). If that doesn't work, try looking into Feliway which can be calming and reassuring until behavior returns to normal.
For future reference a great way to break up a fight without getting hurt is to throw a coat/blanket over the pair and then you can grab one of them while all wrapped up and move them to another location.
Its called redirected aggression. Cats get themselves worked up to such a state of fixation/anxiety, often when a strange cat/animal comes around, and then redirect the aggression to something else in the environment. This can happen in the form of your other cat, or in some cases the owner will pet their normally loving cat and get bitten. It has nothing to do with the owner/other cat, but misplaced aggression.
I'm sure that after the fixation/source of aggression leaves your cats will be back to normal. If not, try looking into Feliway which can be calming and reassuring until behavior returns to normal.
For future reference a great way to break up a fight without getting hurt is to throw a coat/blanket over the pair and then you can grab one of them while all wrapped up and move them to another location.
Great Suggestions Solarity! I'm learning every day about this stuff!
Well they are both seperated here for a few days.....just bought some feliway defuser from the vet....plugs into the wall....will re introduce later this evening after this gizmo is plugged in for a few hours.
The stray.....I just came back from the humane society as they gave me a trap to get it......beautiful cat ....betcha some one adopts it.
Hey u all , wish me luck for my crew....ok.
BOB
I had this happen a few times with some of my cats from long ago. One kitty was a more aggressive male, while the other was always sweet and subdued.
Cats would come near the window from outside, and the more aggressive kitty would end up attacking his buddy inside. I separated both for a few days. You have to make sure when you do this,you give love and attention to the aggressor too, or he/she will feel put out. And explain to the kitty not to do it again. I know, they don't always know what we are saying, but i like to think they do.
hi, something similar happened this morning. I have 2 cats. 1 female aged 4 and 1 male aged 2. My son accidentally trod on male cat's paw. male cat gave out a weird yelp. female cat came rushing and started attacking male cat. Hissing and fighting followed. we separated both cats to separate rooms with access to water/food/litter each. have returned home this evening to find that they are still hissing at each other when we opened the doors to the separate rooms. male cat seems to be scared of female cat and won't come out from under bed. female cat is walking around like she owns the place ! should I be worried ? will my male cat be ok?
I know, they don't always know what we are saying, but i like to think they do.
I think they do understand. Our cat gets into a frisky mood every now and then and she play bites but doesn't realize how hard she does it. But since I discipline her (I don't hit her, I just wave my finger and raise my voice and tell her no nipping) she doesn't do it to me, but she does it to my wife who doesn't follow my lead.
hi, something similar happened this morning. I have 2 cats. 1 female aged 4 and 1 male aged 2. My son accidentally trod on male cat's paw. male cat gave out a weird yelp. female cat came rushing and started attacking male cat. Hissing and fighting followed. we separated both cats to separate rooms with access to water/food/litter each. have returned home this evening to find that they are still hissing at each other when we opened the doors to the separate rooms. male cat seems to be scared of female cat and won't come out from under bed. female cat is walking around like she owns the place ! should I be
worried ? will my male cat be ok?
You need to check and make sure your male's foot is ok....His howl just alerted the female and problably upset her as well. If he is not coming out from under the bed, he maybe hurt and a vet visit may be in order.
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