My cats are out to kill each other - would be grateful for any advice!

1.7K Followers · 85 Items

Don't know what to do! my girlfriend is at the vets with the dog now after she had been to the groomers yesterday and this -

devee

Saved 12/25/10 to Pet Peeves

My cats are out to kill each other - would be grateful for any advice!

Hello: I have two female, spayed, indoor-only cats that have gotten along fine for the past 2.5 years. One is a 6 - 7 year old rescue and the other is a 2.5 year old that I've had from 5 weeks old. They have never gotten in a more serious fight than a quick swat over a toy, snack or napping spot.

For the last two weeks, the younger cat has been unusually aggressive and will attack (with very violent intent) the other one any time they are both loose in the house. I've been keeping them separated as much as possible but the younger cat is not cooling down - at all. I don't know what is causing this and I am going crazy trying to keep them from hurting each other. The only major change in our lives was a move about four months ago, but they were fine and seemed to have handled the transition well.

Has anyone experienced this before? Or can anyone offer any suggestions for how to make my girls besties again?

The Former BFFs

Saved to

Pet Peeves

Opinions: Pro/Anti Car Window Down with Your Pup in the Car?

My dog is a jumper... and weighs 90 lbs! OUCH! Any advice for a husky/shepherd mix that is now 1.5 years old?

Lynn3582712 22 weeks 4 days

Hi i have just got a 8 year old female 3 weeks ago and she is very violent to my 9 mth old female cat that ive had since she was 6 wks,she attacks her most of the time sometimes like a ragdoll,also she dosent let the kitten eat her food even though i feed them at the same time the older cat eats alot i feed them in seperate rooms but the older cat goes to the others and attacks the kitten also myself if i try to get her away,she dosent even let her in my room to sleep,my kitten is terrified even the dog,what do i do please help

cutelittlenemo1 1 year 21 weeks

Also, I am a member of the Animal Lovers Forum, you should try going there aswell they are very helpful.

cutelittlenemo1 1 year 21 weeks

They are so precious!! omg I think if you separate them and turn the lights off that will help. My family owned pet stores when I was younger so I have a lot of experience in this.

kamm 1 year 47 weeks

My son brought home a fixed female cat in December. She is extremely affectionate towards humans, but she constantly attacks my older female cat who is also fixed. I've tried spraying, seperating, and using crates to keek them seperated. However, the younger cat has escaped the crate, and got into the bathroom, just to get to the older cat. The new cat is not playing she has drawn blood, and attacks her while she using the litter. She sits outside doors like a guard while the older cat in safely locked up just to antagonize her. I have to get up in the middle of the night just to swap cats from the crate. How do I handle houdini?

devee 2 years 18 weeks

Thank you all so much for the feedback! I'm relieved that others have had this issue and have been able to work through it. I'm going to start letting them out together while I'm home so they can start to re-acclimate. I have noticed during the last several days that keeping them apart seems to ratchet up the tension (the aggressive one will sit outside the door to the room where the other is kept and intimidate her by making noise). I have been using the Feliway diffusers for a few months now and they were working really well to cut down on normal squabbling, but it doesn't seem to be strong enough for this situation. I'll keep my fingers crossed that no one gets injured. Again, thank you all for taking the time to share your advice and experiences!

juicebox07 2 years 19 weeks

"2) Younger cat coming of age - Some cats when they hit around the 3 yr old mark, give or take a year or two, they tend to want to become more dominant. Therefore, they start becoming more territorial and more aggressive to kinda show the older cat - HEY IM BOSS NOW." I have a 10 year old female cat, and a 10 month old male cat. He attacks my older cat a lot. Sometimes it's just to play, but sometimes it's very aggressively. I think your explanation is probably the reason why. Even though he's only approaching the 1 year mark, ever since I got him, he's tried to act dominant. (Probably because he's male). Sometimes he even jumps on the older cat just to make her get up from where she's resting so that he can take that spot.

2 years 19 weeks

I had the same problem but with 2 of my male cats. It happened last year and one was around 5 yrs old, and the other was around 3.5 (both neutered). They used to get along fine for years and then one day I noticed bite wounds on the older cat. I got the bites treated at the vet only to have it happen again. I never saw the full on attacks that led to these bites (since I was at work), but when I was home I would notice certain areas where the younger cat would get fiesty and jump on top of the older cat. I also paid to consult a cat behaviorist b/c I wasn't sure how to handle the problem. Basically, it could be the following reasons. 1) As suggested above, cats can definitely deal with misdirected aggression. However, I knew this was not my case b/c my younger cat was never interested in looking out windows, and there were times he's seen animals outside and never really cared much about it. If you're not sure if this is the case, try and contain the cat who is directing the aggression in a room and cover the windows and make sure to keep him separated for a couple of days and only letting her out when you can supervise both cats. This will give her a cool-off period and b/c she can't see outside, she won't have to deal with misdirected aggression. If this does not work, it could be.. 2) Younger cat coming of age - Some cats when they hit around the 3 yr old mark, give or take a year or two, they tend to want to become more dominant. Therefore, they start becoming more territorial and more aggressive to kinda show the older cat - HEY IM BOSS NOW. The way to treat this is the same as reason # 3 3) Territorial aggression. This was the main problem for my cats. I bought these new cat pads they can lay on, and although there was one for each cat, they would get fiesty with each other when they would see one laying on it, even though there was another one right next to it unused! Also, because it's been about 4 mos, since you moved in, they might be still sorting out their new territories, who can use what place etc. and it might also be a coming of age factor too for your younger cat who wants to be in charge and let your older cat know~ 4) Have you taken the older cat to the vet recently? Sometimes when a cat comes back he has new smells from the vet and the younger cat may not recognize her. 5) Cats have prey instincts where they love to hunt etc. Perhaps your younger cat hasn't had any toys where she can become a hunter etc. where she can release her frustrations..and therefore has been preying on your older cat. Here are the solutions the cat behaviorist suggested: --Keep the cats separated when you are not home for about 3-4 weeks. Make sure each cat has their own litter box etc. and make sure it's a room where they can smell each other under the door. So perhaps you can keep one roaming in your house, and another in a spare room, so they can at least smell each other and remember. The behaviorist also insisted that every week I change which cat goes into what area. If you keep one cat in one area too long, that cat will start thinking that room/area is her own territory and may cause new problems. Therefore, switch btwn the two. - Keep you cats distracted by providing games where they can release their pent up prey aggression. The best toy is the one that looks like a fishing pole and there is a feather attached to the string that can mimic the movement of a bird. Everyday spend 15 minutes with each cat (while keeping the other cat in a diff room). Let the cat release her frustrations on the toy. - Keep cats occupied. The behaviorist also suggested this toy that looks like a large wooden box with holes. You can throw some dry pellets in there or treats and the cat would be occupied with trying to get the food out. Make sure you buy more than one so the cats don't fight over it. - Buy Feliway spray/plug-ins. Feliway mimics the smell of cat pheremones which they release when they rub against furniture, humans, each other etc. The smell calms them down and comforts them and keeps them relaxed. They have one u can plug into your rooms and also a spray that you can spray on your furniture/walls. It may take about a week or two for the smell to have an effect. Humans cannot smell it, so it won't bother you. The cats will smell it and relax them. Not all cats react to Feliway, but a majority of cats do respond to it. - Make sure there are enough areas for each of the cats to rest/hang out. I bought a cat condo, and I have around 4-5 separate cat beds that I keep in different areas around my apartment (try and not put everything in one area). This lets the cat find her own space and not feel like they have to compete with another cat for it. Therefore the territory area widens (amt of cat beds rather than how large your house is). Cats will be more at peace in a smaller area but have more beds/resting areas for them, than a large area with lets say only one or two cat beds for two cats. - Whenever you see your cats start to fight, immediately make a large sound to break it up. Make sure they don't see you do it, because you don't want the cats to associate you with something that scares them. Try spongy balls taht you can throw and the cats won't see it, or try something that makes a large sound to startle them. I used to stomp my foot on the floor, b/c they wouldn't see it coming. Or you can loudly clap your hands etc. Never let them just "quarrel it out". I did this villigently for a month and it came to an end. It's been a year and now they're back to normal. They only play fight and they like laying near each other even though there are many places for them to sleep. I hope this helps you out!!! = )

isahrangme 2 years 19 weeks

i have two female, spayed, indoor-only cats. i haven't had such a problem like this before. they're only about 15 months old (not the same litter though), so i guess i have a lot of time to see if this will eventually happen... :[ but i've read somewhere that you do NOT want to separate them. that will only make them MORE tense and so when you get them together again, they'll still fight basically, what i read was that you should let them fight? until a point where one gets injured... i think... bah sorry i am no help, but you should definitely search around online, or ask your vet! that'll help i'm sure! also, maybe the younger cat is starting to feel like "i want to be the more dominant cat" and so wants to fight to establish a new hierarchy? if it isn't already the dominant cat good luck! (sorry this was pretty useless)

fuzzles 2 years 19 weeks

OK, I'm only writing this because I have a new year's death wish that the Dog Whisperer will kick my ass in to January. Then again, my cats have trained me well, so he can sit and spin. *filing claws* You've got to catch them in the act. Calmly stay as far away as possible. Then, conjure up your best Pacino voice when you say...KNOCK. THAT. SHIT. OFF. NOW!!!!!! Trust me. They will listen. And if you are lucky, they will protect one another when at the evil vet's office. ;)

2 years 19 weeks

Don't worry. I have two males, both neutered, both indoor cats. They never had any serious fights and then a while back they saw a stray cat outside their window. The next day, they had a MASSIVE fight. I'm talking, fur flying everywhere. None of them got seriously injured, no blood or biting thankfully. I freaked out, separated them for 2 days. The next time they got together, same thing. I then checked online and asked around. It's normal for indoor cats to get into spats when they see another cat outside. They direct that aggression towards each other. Mine have never seriously injured each other, although they do have spats from time to time even now. I ignore them and never separate them, as that just increases the tension between them. They're cats, they'll sort it out.