Cat fights

hdizzy

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I tried to do a search to find a thread about cats fighting, but couldn't find one...

I have 2 male cats about 1 year and 4 years old. I foster for the Humane Society and we just had a 1 year old mom-cat and her 2 babies. The babies were already adopted and mom-cat is still here for awhile. The males were fine with the babies and the babies were fine with them. It's momma that's seems to be causing problems. As the kittens got older and eventually left, she has become more and more nasty to the boys. I'd say at least once a day she brawls with each of them and thru the day you'll hear hissing and running. At first I thought it was my older male starting the problem (he's a miserable cat...) but I think it might be the mom. But she fights with the other male too, but not as much.

Are these tiffs normal? Is there anything I can do? I'm afraid someone is going to get scratched in the eye (I've already had that happen to my older male and the vet bill was not nice and I'm sure it really hurt him, it wasn't this momma kitty that scratched him BTW...) Any ideas as to why they're fighting and what I can do to help?


Thanks!!!
 

kitytize

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Could be multiple reasons. I would keep the mom seperated from the other cats.
 
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hdizzy

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Well, that is possible. Mom and kittens were seperate while the kittens were young. I guess I'll go do some research to see what those many reasons may be. I'd like to know more.

Thanks!
 

kitytize

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It could be because the placement of the cats in the hierachy have changed. Depends if all are spayed/neutered or not. Has all 3 been for a health check up? Health can affect why cats act the way they do. Age also can come into play. Cats reach sexual maturity young but not social maturity until 2-4yrs old. Has anything else changed in your household? Any people move in or out? Any new furniture? Has your schedule changed?
 
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hdizzy

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Both of my cats are neutered. Momma was spayed in mid-November. Her kittens were both adopted, so they are gone, I'm sure that is a loss. The fighting got worse after the kittens were gone. She's been here since August and the main thing that changed was her babies grew up and got adopted.

Actually, both of my cats are due for their check ups in January. Momma is a foster from the shelter, so she gets check ups every few weeks. Momma and my younger cat are only about a year old, so under social maturity age.

I see what you mean, this is hard to figure out.


The fights with my older male have gotten worse, so they are seperate for most of the day. I only let Momma roam the house when I'm around and can keep a very close eye on everyone.

She's only here until after the holidays, then she'll go back to the shelter to find a forever home. I would just like her to not have to be confined to one room for the next few weeks, but when it comes to her well being, that may be what's best.

Thanks again for your help!
 

goldenkitty45

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Its a 50/50 chance on fights between mothers and kittens. Some will continue to accept them, some want them gone. Even if they are all neutered/spayed, a mother cat still may resent the offspring hanging around.

In the wild, the offspring are driven out and away - so in some ways its unnatural for a mother to be in the same house as the offspring. So you get more fights occuring from time to time.
 
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hdizzy

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These aren't her kittens she's fighting with... I guess because I'm calling her "Momma," you'd think that.
oops...
 

kitytize

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I think the momma is under a lot of stress. Having kittens. Kittens getting new homes. Being fostered. Recently being spayed. Going for check ups all the time. That poor cat has a lot going on. I would make sure you tell the shelter that she is not getting along with your cats. This way they can make sure she is adopted out as an only cat.
 
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hdizzy

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Fosters are always under a lot of stress...poor things. The kittens are usually oblivious, but the adults-not so much.

I noticed today that my older male, Domino, was chasing her, Alma/Momma today. So it might not be all her fault. I thought it was the other way around, but it might be my own cat all this time. Alma gets along with my other male, Monkey, about 95% of the time. I am trying to keep her in my home office (where she raised her babies), but she darts out every time you open the door...

I'm sure everything will be fine in the end!

She's dog-friendly, so that's an adoption-bonus even if she isn't cat-friendly.
 

sakura

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I would keep her seperated from the 2 boys for now except I would try to feed all of them together.

Hissing is very normal between cats that don't know each other. It's how they communicate to each other and they have to work out the hierarchy. Depending on how long you think the foster cat will be there, I would just keep her seperate as much as possible.

One product I swear by is a Feliway diffuser. They are a little expensive ($30-45) but are wonderful little things that can help ease the tension in the house.
 
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hdizzy

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Originally Posted by Sakura

I would keep her seperated from the 2 boys for now except I would try to feed all of them together.

Hissing is very normal between cats that don't know each other. It's how they communicate to each other and they have to work out the hierarchy. Depending on how long you think the foster cat will be there, I would just keep her seperate as much as possible.

One product I swear by is a Feliway diffuser. They are a little expensive ($30-45) but are wonderful little things that can help ease the tension in the house.
Thanks, I've told other people about the feliway diffuser, but never even thought to get one for here!

Alma will probably be here until mid January and keeping her seperate isn't a problem (though she woke the house up at 5 a.m. this morning b/c she wanted out of her room!
)

It's more than hissing. Did you ever see a fight in a cartoon where all you see is a blurr rolling around in circles? That's how Alma and Domino fight when they really get going. We're usually able to see the signs and step in before anything happens though.
 
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