Need help with boy and girl cat fighting

Need help with cat problems. I am at my wits end and being home for the entire week I think I am about to lose it.

We have 2 cats: both 2 years old and both fixed, one boy and one girl.

Little Baby, the girl cat, has always been aggressive and dominate and Barney, the boy is a fat, sweet, purring machine. Well, for the last week we have been waking up around 5-6 am and really late at night with the girl cat crying/growling/howling real loudly in a defensive mode and then we see him around the corner or even up to 25 ft away.

From what we watch, he doesnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t appear to be "stalking" or intimidating her, just walking towards her general direction or even just sitting under a table seemingly minding his own business.

I woke up screaming the other morning because I heard it in the other room and thought something happened to them. It sounded like they were actually fighting but they were on opposite sides of the room. After my episode David wanted to hit me! This is taking its toll on me after about a week with 3-4 episodes a day, many of which have woken me up.

I usually go in the room and thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s enough to diffuse it. I throw something towards her or pick the boy up or stand between them and she will usually continue screaming and rolling over on her back very submissively. I leave with the boy cat and reintroduce them an hour or so later and everything is fine. Earlier this week, his reaction was to just walk away from her or sit down and look at her but the last 2 days (about the 15th time) he started walking towards her with his tail all puffed, which in turn made her roll over on her back with all 4 feet in the air still screaming and howling.

I can't take this anymore-it scares the crap out of me every time and looks like he isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t going to take it anymore either. Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m not sure if I need to watch from another room and see if it will escalate into a full out fight. He is 14 lbs and she is around 9 lbs and both have pretty vicious looking nails. Not to mention I got him at a shelter this past May and he was supposedly a stray cat, so he might have good fighting skills from his days outside. She on the other hand would probably not fair well in a fight, I think sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s all bark and no bite (well no bite on other cats, sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s certainly left some scars on me). They are both fixed.

We canâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t figure out what has started this or how to stop it. Itâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s been consistent now and something we havenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t ever observed in the 8 months weâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had them living together. We have tried to wait to intervene to see if we could tell what he was doing but nothing is obvious to us. The only thing we can think of is this: Is he giving off a scent or behavior that indicates he wants to mate with her and it is scaring her? Heâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s fixed so I thought that meant he didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t have that desire anymore or the natural ability to do that type of thing. Any ideas?

One of them could be sick, they can sense that in each other.

Or, they could be seeing a cat outside through the windows and redirecting the agression towards each other.

BTW, you can clip their claws so they don't do any damage to each other. There's websites with directions you can google, or ask your vet to show you how.

This does sound like it could get worse..... There could be an outside stimulus causing the aggression that is misdirected toward the other cat. I don't know what to suggest with the info so far, but I would suggest seperating them at night when your sleeping and when your not home to ensure it does not go further.........could there be an outside animal prowling around, possibly she has a physical discomfort, look for any behavior changes individually.....

I would also suggest taking both of them to the vet, just as a precaution. After 8 months of peace, the sudden change could be from an illness.

An outside cat could also be a likely trigger...as mentioned above.

My girls are mostly 'drama queens' and will scream and assume the 'four paws up' position when they feel threatened by the boys. Mine are all fixed too. Fortunately, for me it's more of an occasional 'game' than a real fight. I hope you can get to the bottom of it.

If the vet says it's purely behavioral, there may be medication that could help one of them...probably the aggressive one.