Aggression between cats

silverpawz

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I've been having some issues with four of my kitties and thought I'd run it by you guys and see if anyone had some advice on how to resolve this.

I have three sister cats that I've had since birth. (they were courtesy of a pregnant foster cat). The Triplets as I call them are very affectionate toward each other, they always snuggle and have mutual baths and were quite friendly to all my other kitties up until a last week.

Then they began attacking my black cat(who they grew up with). It seems to be totally unprovoked as the black cat can be minding her own business, even sleeping sometimes and the triplets will stalk her and quickly gang up on her. They have also attacked her individually, and not as part of the group.

So far there hasn't been any blood shed except for some scratches on one of the triplets. Black kitty is unharmed but very shaken now. She is always on alert and has stopped eating as regularly as she used to.

Th fights between these cats are very loud and sound very violent, and I always expect them to be bloody when I finally break it up.

I've been separating them for most of the day and when I leave the house, but my house is not really big enough to keep them separate permently.

I'm hoping someone can give me some suggestions on how to curb this behavior in the Triplets. They used to be friendly toward the black kitty and I honestly haven't a clue why they have suddenly started targeting her.

If they were dogs then I'd know what to do, but I haven't had to deal with aggressive cats before and I'm really at a loss. My pack has always gotten along so well until now.
 

icklemiss21

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Has anything changed in your household that could be upsetting them? Did you have a lot of people over for Christmas, the change in the number of people can scare them and they lash out etc

Do you feed them together and free feed / let them share bowls, the only source of aggression between mine occurs if someone is eating more than their share of food.

Do they have enough litterboxes, they can get territorial about sharing them and if the black cat is stopping them use 'her' box it can cause problems.
 

graciecat

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Something else I'd like to add to the great post by Icklemiss is...have you taken the black cat to the Vet for a check-up lately?

My Gracie and Lizzie were Sisters, and they were the best of friends.
Before I had any clue that Lizzie was sick, Gracie knew...she started to ignore Lizzie at first, then the hissing and spiting started.

I'm not saying that your cat is sick, but if I knew then what I know now the first thing I would have done when Gracie started to act differently towards Lizzie would have been to take Lizzie to the Vet.

I hope and Pray with all my heart that your girl isn't ill, but if it were me I'd take her to the Vet just to be on the safe side.
 

momofmany

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If you look at how cat colonies naturally form in the wild, they usually consist of related females (your 3 sisters), their offspring and a few bonded males. Colonies will accept cats that are not related to them, but will tend to limit the number they allow. When a cat becomes old or ill, the colony will start driving the cat out as it is no longer helpful to them as a colony.

Applying this to your situation, I totally agree with Graciecat. Take your black cat to the vet and have a thorough exam, including blood work. Cats are so notorious for hiding their illnesses, simply to prevent what is happening in your household right now. I'm not saying she is sick, but something is out of kilter in your household.

The other thought I have is this: do you have any new cats hanging around outside your home that the others are noticing? Sometimes they will redirect aggression towards one of their own.

You might want to try some of the techniques in the introducing new cats to old cats thread. The one that a lot of people have success with is dabbing vanilla extract under their chins and at the base of their tails. It restores a common scent between all of them.
 
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