Weird Cat Fight!

I have 4 female cats and one of them, Cactus, is afraid of people (except for me & my husband) and always hides under the bed when strangers are in the house. Today, a friend of mine (who has only been in the house once before) came over and we were in my "craft room" for about 20 minutes. My other cat, Chance, is very friendly, and was in the room with us (as usual). As I looked out of the door, I was surprised to see Cactus in the hallway and not hiding. Chance left the room and the next thing I knew there was the worst cat fight between Cactus & Chance that I have ever seen! This has never happend before, ever! The cats have never had a problem and they have lived together for 3 years now. Now, for the last 4 or 5 hours, Cactus growls, yowls and hisses at Chance like she has never seen her before. For the most part Chance will hiss back, but is totally freaked out and bewildered by the way Cactus is acting. Cactus doesn't seem to have a problem with the other 2 cats. I don't think my friend even touched Chance so what gives? She doesn't own any pets (although her son, who doesn't live with does). Cactus has never done this before when anyone else has come into the house. Any ideas on what is going on would be appreciated.

Is it possible that your friend had been around someone elses cat earlier. Maybe like her sons?

It is possible that Chance was smelling strange cat or even dog on your friend and when he saw Cactus all that went through his mind is there is a cat and I smell a new cat. That could trigger a territorial response and he then attacked Cactus like she was an intruder.

We have a similar problem with two of our cats. We have an unseen visitor who will come and spray near our front windows every once in a while. If our big boy catches a whiff he will sometimes attack our girl cat and a very scary fight will ensue. It's redirected aggression and will happen because his instinct is telling him to protect his territory.

I wouldn't worry too much about Cactus. My girl will usually hiss and growl and hide for a few hours after this happens.

Also never get in the middle of a cat fight. I found this out the hard way If your cats are fighting badly I was told to throw a blanket over the two and that is usually enough to distract them to make them stop.

Originally Posted by Mai_kitties

Also never get in the middle of a cat fight. I found this out the hard way

If your cats are fighting badly I was told to throw a blanket over the two and that is usually enough to distract them to make them stop.

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Another trick is to take a broom and 'sweep' them apart. Don't really hit them, of course!

Your friend probably brought in a strange scent (probably stepped on some poo outside) which triggered the reaction of Cactus and Chance.
Once you separate fighting cats, make sure you take control of the aggressor who will probably continue once you are not looking.

And the aggressor isn't necessarily the one who struck the first blow. Anyone with siblings knows how it is possible to push someone's buttons and provoke them into acting out while looking like the innocent victim.

Maybe your one cat was jealous of the other cat for being with the stranger.