Cat Fight!!! Need Advice!

I have two cats. One is a big black tom named Jynx that is about 9 nearly 10 years old and a black and white female cat named Sirena that isn't quite 5 yet and she is smaller and leaner than Jynx.

We've never had any other male cats in the house since they have all been girls. Jynx was out first cat and we got him when he was a kitten that use to hand around outside. We took him in because there was a yellow cat outside that use to get into fights with him so we took him in so he wouldn't get hurt because he was so young. Then my older sister got a female Calico cat, she named her Cal, from her boyfriend then later on found a Silver-Gray cat that was also a female and soon after that my sister took them to live with her. I got Sirena sortly after that and she has never been around any other cats except for Jynx and Cal. Even most of are neighbors cats, that sometimes come by, are girls as well and Jynx got along with all of them.

The problem I have is that recently just a few days ago a big yellow cat, a different one then mentioned above, started hanging around on are front porch and Jynx goes mad. We have a big picture window that Jynx and Sirena watch out of all the time and when Jynx saw the cat he hissed and growled and his fur ruffled up. Sirena didn't see him as well as he did at first because she was standing on her tip-paws looking out the window but she knew something was out there. I think the yellow cat is a male because it is nearly as big as Jynx and it looks really muscular.

Then the next morning, it came back again and sat on top of the stand right in front of the window and both Jynx and the yellow cat where growling and hissing at each other. Sirena was up on the window ledge in front of Jynx and her fur bristled but she didn't hiss or growl like the other two. All of the sudden the yellow cat took a leap right into the window at the cats, then Jynx leaped back at it, and the yellow cat took off and knocked over the stand. Jynx continued to growl louder even after it was gone and Sirena was just tense.

Then this evening the yellow cat came back again and this time he was on the porch right in front of the front door, which is glass so they can see through it easily. Both Jynx and Sirena where watching it closely and Jynx started to growl and hiss at it again. Sirena just got realy tense and even ducked down, with her ears flat, like she was either hiding from it or wanting to leap at it. Then the yellow cat came alot closer, right in front of them, and Jynx howled louder. But it got weired because Sirena started to act like she wanted to got closer towards the yellow cat and just when she got closer to it, Jynx howled really really loud at both of them and Sirena attacked Jynx on his back and even pulled out a small clump of fur. Then Sirena started growling at Jynx and he kept growling at both of them. But then Sirena started acting really tense after Jynx wallked away. Jynx settled down a little aways from them but he was still growling at the yellow cat. Then quickly the yellow cat it took off again.

I can't understand why they were fighting like that and why Sirena had attacked Jynx. I don't think the yellow cat is a stray because it looks to well fed and I'm sure it belongs to one of the neighbors. I don't know if Jynx is jealous of the yellow cat or if the yellow cat is something of a threat to Jynx and I have no idea why Sirena got so mad at Jynx but never growled at the yellow cat. Is there a way to keep Jynx from getting so mad or to keep Sirena from getting so tense? Was the yellow cat wanting to hurt Sirena in some way? Need advice.

No, it's a territorial dispute. The yellow cat was in Jynx turf. Next time he comes around I suggest you shoo it away.
About Sirena, I can't tell you why she acted that way. It happens to me too. When a strange cat enters the property sometimes my female QT gets mad at my boy Wawa for chasing the stranger. Other times, she joins Wawa in the chase. Maybe QT is saying "Stop wasting your time Wawa. That one will beat you up" or "Lets get that one. He's a wuss"

It's normal for indoor cats to take out their frustrations with outdoor cats on whoever else is inside (including you). They can't attack the outdoor cat/dog, so they attack whatever is closest. It can 'go away' in a day or two, but not if the outside cat keeps returning, so maybe you can find out who it belongs to and talk to them about controlling the cat. If not, then spray "Bitter Apple" (from pet store) all around the front of your house, and/or anything citrusy smelling as cats don't like those. If you can even block your cats' view of the others temporarily somehow it would be a good idea.

Are your cats desexed? If not it could be that the yellow cat was trying to approach Sirena but Jynx considered her, his property and was defending her from the yellow cat. And perhaps Sirena was getting tense because of a mating thing. If I were you I would look up mating behaviour of cats because I may be wrong but that's what I think.

If this is the case then I'd keep Sirena inside until she is not in heat (If she was) and then let Jynx and the other cat sort things out between themselves. Even if you interfere when you can, the cats may end up fighting and if that's the case try and watch them and let them go unless it seems that one cat is getting hurt.

I had a big problem with Coco 3 years ago because this orange came around and tried to fight my Cats through the window. One day he launched at them and my Stormy who died last dec almost broke her paw. She was hanging from teh blinds by her back paw screaming. We had to cut the cord to get her out and her paw was huge and almost broken. Coco and Meeko were having a big fightand Coco was hurt also. After that I had to take Coco out of that room for 6 months because she would attack all the other Cats. Stormy was Cocos girl. My only Male who also died was so scared of Coco and the orange Cat. We did complain about him. Coco and Meeko are very good friends again and that orange cat is gone because the people moved. Coco is the first Cat to be friends with new Cats we have got. Other Cat have come by the window but this orange Cat was the only one they hated. They also had a pit bull that tried to attack my Cat through the window. My sister has a problem right now also. Her Cats are fighting because a strange cat goes outside the window. They get in big fights.

Originally Posted by Larke

It's normal for indoor cats to take out their frustrations with outdoor cats on whoever else is inside (including you). They can't attack the outdoor cat/dog, so they attack whatever is closest. It can 'go away' in a day or two, but not if the outside cat keeps returning, so maybe you can find out who it belongs to and talk to them about controlling the cat. If not, then spray "Bitter Apple" (from pet store) all around the front of your house, and/or anything citrusy smelling as cats don't like those. If you can even block your cats' view of the others temporarily somehow it would be a good idea.

Click to expand...

I have heard it suggested--and I most assuredly do NOT agree with this!--is that you just once turn your cats loose on the stranger.

I did see this work a couple of times at my old complex. One apartment had a very aggressive Siamese; actually, if someone told me that he was really a very small PUMA, I'd believe him. More than once I saw him carrying a dead rat; not a mouse, a RAT. He was the terror of all the other cats in the neighborhood. The only other cat he would tolerate was another Siamese, a female. (Both were neutered, but I think that they had enough sexuality left to be interested in one another, but not to quite remember why.)

The only time I ever saw him back down was against a Persian; this Persian wasn't a very aggressve cat, and was totally indoors, but one time he got out by accident and ran into the Siamese on the front stoop. The Persian put all his hair on end and hissed; a full-blooded Persian with all his hair on end is a sight to behold, and this Siamese decided that discretion was the better part of valor.

Another time I saw this big black shorthair come into the complex. He didn't belong to anyone there, but he was sleek and well-fed enough that he was no stray. The two Siamese ganged up on him and sent him running. I saw the Persian plastered to the inside of the sliding glass doors, all "Gimmie my Uzi! Gimmie my K-Bar! Gimmie my baseball bat! Let me at him! Let me at him!"

I do agree that the reason that your one cat attacked the other was that she was all worked up and had to attack someone, and he was handy. I'd suggest just letting them work it out between themselves unless you think that there is a chance of one seriously injuring the other. Which I doubt; cats generally can take care of themselves against other cats.

Hi, I need help in a similar problem with very friendly cats suddenly hating each other's guts, but before I get into the details I'd like to know if i should keep posting here or open a new thread, since:

Originally Posted by Zane's Pal

May I suggest that perhaps we were concentrating on the OP and that perhaps your problem merited a thread of its own?

Click to expand...

A new thread is best, because then we can concentrate on one issue at a time.

thanks.

Hi,

I'd be careful. I used to let my one cat who'd been outside all his life outside. He is fixed. There was a big tom stray around, who attacked my cat and almost killed him.

Your guy will be less aggressive if you have him neutered.

I believe the reason he attacked the other cat was something called "transferred aggression." My males will do this if they see a stray and cannot get at it. They are frustrated, and will attack another of my cats instead.

Have you tried to get of the yellow cat by going outside and shooing him, yelling at him -anything to make it clear he's not welcome? A spray bottle, maybe?

I won't let any of mine outside now, since my neighborhood always has big tom strays, and they are expert street fighters.

Good luck with this. Your cat is just acting the way he instinctively should when his territory is threatened.