At what point do you intervene when kitties scuffle?

If their wrestling with each other and theres no noise i just let them get on with it because their playing, but as soon as one of them cries out when the other ones bitten them that little bit too hard i say "Hey, hey, hey that's enough!", and they usually part then

AWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW, your siggy is SO adorable of the boys sleeping!

Originally Posted by lookingglass

When Scratch screams like a little girl.

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Im lucky. Mine don't fight. Tiger was here when the brats were born so he doesn't fight with them.
Tonka somehow has become the "Alpha" cat. We've never seen them fight so I have NO clue how he became Alpha

Originally Posted by Rosiemac

If their wrestling with each other and theres no noise i just let them get on with it because their playing, but as soon as one of them cries out when the other ones bitten them that little bit too hard i say "Hey, hey, hey that's enough!", and they usually part then

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I was just about to say if things get a little too rough I say hey hey hey that's enough, but didn't think I'd make sense if I posted that!

Indie always starts these things, trouble is he is so heavy and Minx is always the one underneath, they'll play for a while then he'll tread on her belly or she'll just get fed up and she'll cry out or growl, that's when I stop it as I know she's had enough, they always end up licking each other and all is fine, they have never got into a vicious fight.

Pipsqueek loves to torment Frantic. He will go over and bite Fran's shoulder just to get a chase. I usually leave these alone since they run up the stairs, trough all 3 bedrooms then come trotting down together.

In the morning however, Pip will invade Frantic's territory under the bed and an all out battle ensues complete with hisses and Frantic's low throated growling. Then I interfere.

My kitties are siblings. I don't know if that matters. They don't get into it too much, but like others have said, I will only intervene when it seems like someone will get hurt. Usually they just make noise.

When I hear Portia really screaming at Diesel to stop - Then I intervene - Otherwise I just let them chase each other round the house

when the screaming starts or at the very least when the growls become prolonged. JoJo and Jack don't get along that well and I've been using Feliway almost non-stop for over a year... I recently ran out and am trying an experiment. Of course, this falls on a Full Moon phase (just my luck). They've had some brutally noisy fights, hence the Feliway. Yes, it does subdue the fighting... to a point.

One of my methods of stopping them is verbal, but I don't use 'no' because they just ignore me... too long. I use a sharp sound, to write it down is odd, but it would probably look like 'DAT.' Emphasizing the T at the end. Short and sweet. Nothing else works, at least nothing else verbally.

A.

I don't think I've ever intervened with our girls, except when Smudge was a tiny kitten and would squeal during wrestling matches, and even then, Stumpy would come and whack Lily across the head, so we rarely had to do anything.

We're very lucky in that all 3 of our girls are friends, and they love to wrestle, but it has never gotten to the point where we've even thought about separating them.

The only time we really intervened was when the three younger ones were still kittens and they were play fighting with the Harley, who is the oldest but was only a little over 2 so had the kitten play mentality. He didn't realize how much bigger and stronger he was so I broke it up when I saw it getting too rough. Now, I just let it go, but most of my cats get along pretty well. Little One doesn't like the 3 youngest but a warning hiss is usually enough to keep them away. And, poor Monster is so stoned all of the time, the biggest thing she attacks are dust balls!

Ours only occasionally get vehement enough to attract attention. They never come close to injuring each other, but sometimes the vocalization gets a bit much, in which case I just raise my voice to tell them "Knock it off, you two!" or "I don't care who started it, EVERYONE stop -- NOW!" -- which tends to do the trick.

fortunately, Miagi and Tiger get along well. but I had to intervene when Tiger was getting a drink yesterday and Miagi went to bite his butt. and I just yelled stop and he stopped but he got all ticked that I yelled at him. I try not to yell at them or my dogs but when they get in scuffles I think yelling makes it worse.

Originally Posted by Miagi's_Mommy

fortunately, Miagi and Tiger get along well. but I had to intervene when Tiger was getting a drink yesterday and Miagi went to bite his butt.

and I just yelled stop and he stopped but he got all ticked that I yelled at him. I try not to yell at them or my dogs but when they get in scuffles I think yelling makes it worse.

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Yeah, there are 3 places where I'll stop even the stalking phase - in the litterbox, at the food bowl, and at the water bowl. I don't ever want them to think that is OK or use the places where they are vulnerable to ambush each other. Mojo is SO possessive of her litterboxes, it has proven to be a bit of a challenge but I think us non-furred cats have the upper paw on those spots not. For the most part anyway.

I intervene when there's growling, hissing, yowling, or poor Nabu just got tackled by Stimpy (Nabu is 9 lbs soaking wet, Stimpy is 17 lbs) and I hear the squeak as the air is knocked out of him.

I also used to intervene when Raven gave his signature air raid siren style yowl. It always meant he was about to open a can of whoop- on the other cat.

DAT! eh? I'll have to remember that next time Seesh, Rani, or Maryam take out after Suha (or Suha jumps Samuda!). Thanks, and keep up the good work -- I hear Portland is very weird indeed (LOL! JUST KIDDIN'!)

It's not often that we get involved - usually if there is ongoing crying or severe hissing. Generally raising our voices or standing up is enough to break them up. They're pretty good for the most part about not taking it too far.

Originally Posted by Tarasgirl06

DAT! eh? I'll have to remember that next time Seesh, Rani, or Maryam take out after Suha (or Suha jumps Samuda!). Thanks, and keep up the good work -- I hear Portland is very weird indeed (LOL! JUST KIDDIN'!)

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Very funny ... I'm a transplant here... Originally from Northern CA, by way of Syracuse, NY and Chicago, IL.

And yes, I DO have a 'Keep Portland Weird' bumper sticker on my Vehicular Unit... along with a few others... I love entertaining folks in stand-still commuter traffic!

Don't knock the DAT! until you see it working... JJ and Jack were going at it earlier... I said 'stop' first... yeah, right... like that's gonna work (at least not with my two). the fighting continued and I said DAT! they stopped. I think it's the sharp, quick sound. Dunno... but if it works in this house, I'll continue using it.

Amanda (going off to the couch to nurse my heel , which the IKEA bookcase decided to attack earlier, during assembly of said bookcase. Man, I need a workshop... heck, a bigger place would do. Ice cream... oh wait, had some already today... grr.)

Gosh,IKEA been very, very good to me! Almost all my furnishings have come from the Land of Blue and Yellow, and I don't recall a single one jumping out at me yet! D'ya think it's PERSONAL? Like, do you hate the Swedes or something???

Since when can one only have ice cream once in a given 24-hour period? I don't recall that being a commandment in anyone's religion, either! So I'd go for it! It's feel-better medicine, ain't it? Followed by a good cat-lick of the bowl, followed by a cuddle with said feline(s)!

Originally Posted by Tarasgirl06

Gosh,IKEA been very, very good to me!

Almost all my furnishings have come from the Land of Blue and Yellow, and I don't recall a single one jumping out at me yet!

D'ya think it's PERSONAL?

Like, do you hate the Swedes or something???

Since when can one only have ice cream once in a given 24-hour period? I don't recall that being a commandment in anyone's religion, either!

So I'd go for it!

It's feel-better medicine, ain't it?

Followed by a good cat-lick of the bowl, followed by a cuddle with said feline(s)!

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IKEA's been very good to me as well, they REALLY love me... but i was assembling the bookcase and the side panel (this is one of hte tall ones, too) wasn't leaning against the door jam as much as i thought it would... so, when I turned my back to get small metal stuff to assemble it... it flopped down to the floor, scraping/hitting my heel. tiny amount of blood, bruise, and the whole heel isn't very happy. I washed it, put neosporin on it and slapped (gently) a bandaid on it. Still throbs... but feeling better.

Mind you, this all is from the person who managed to get hurt working in a library... and no, it wasn't a paper cut. At least I didn't require stitches...

Yes, maybe more ice cream is in order. B&J's ... hmmm.... probably whatever 7-11 has in stock will do, but would prefer Chunky Monkey... been getting hooked on that stuff lately... BAD ME! See, technically I'm S'POSED to be on this thing called a D-I-E-T. My acupuncturist put me on an anti-inflammatory diet a week ago, due to my back spasms and the freakish shoulder pain... all that's gone now... and no, I haven't been behaving on the diet. Hey, they want me to stop eating chocolate... NEVER!! CAN'T MAKE ME!!!!!

If no Chunky Monkey, then a nice big old Slurpee will do me just fine... I'm a sick, sick puppy. Yes, I admit that in public. Shush.

Back to your regularly scheduled topic.

Hijack over.

Thank you all for listening... er... reading... err... unless you ignored this post, and then ... well ... whatever... I'm going to 7-11 before it gets dark... I don't like my neighborhood after dark.

Amanda

Never fear -- JoJo, The Evil Glowy-Eyed Kitty of Portland, will protect you from her safe vantage point within the domicile! And I hope they have brand-new stock of Chunky Monkey for your pleasure.

Yeowch! That WOULD hoit. I have one of those bookcases, too. My ex put it together for me. He labored, I gained. Just the way it should be, eh?

Oh yeah, it's entirely possible to get hurt in a library. Headaches from all that knowledge! Or, think about -- stacks of books! OH NO! My municipal library has the distinction of having a world-famous CAT ROOM devoted entirely to -- you guessed it! -- all things feline. You can't take 'em out, but you can read 'em there. I can't wait to see which ones I have and which ones I have to acquire. I love this place! It has TNR as a municipal policy, too!!! How wonderful is THAT!

Well, I've done the diet thang and actually I'm really glad I did. But in small controlled doses (!) ice cream can be a healing balm. Right? RIGHT!