Fighting Brothers

I'm sorry I don't have any ideas for you, but I'll be following this thread because we've recently run into the exact same problem. We have 2 litter mates who have been in our house for 2 years now (they're almost 3 years old), and both of them get along really well with all of the other cats. Both were abused before we took them in, so they are both a little skittish, but up until a few weeks ago, they got along perfectly fine. Nothing has changed in our house, but suddenly Phantom has a need to attack Oscar every day. Oscar has always been kind of submissive to all of the cats, and thats what Phantom seems to be doing to him - trying to dominate him. They were both neutered at 4 months old, so we don't think its hormone related. None of the other cats are acting any differently to either of them. Phantom has just decided that he will do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, to Oscar and we can't figure out why. They've been together since they day they were born so this sudden change is confusing. I'm very interested in any advice anyone has for you.

Introducing a new cat to the household can and often will affect cats like this. Cats have intricate relationships where hirarchies are formed, sometimes in ways and structures we can't even appreciate.

How do you react when you see them fighting? Many cat owners instinctively respond to cat fights by shouting at the cats and trying to break the fight, in effect making things worse. The cats than associate their interactions with more fear and stress (which were introduced into the scene by the humans).

The most important thing to do is stay calm and not induce more anxiety into an already loaded situation. Never ever shout, raise your voice, or in any way inject more stressful elements when they fight (i.e. no hand clapping, thumping etc).

Keep in mind hirarchies can change. The formerly more submissive cat may be trying to get to the top of the heap there He may be doing this in ways you can't even tell, including chemical changes in his scent, which may trigger your other cat to respond. Let them be, as they're the only ones who can set the rules for this and decide.

Another thing to remember is that cats, even brothers, can have a fall out (not unlike us humans, I guess!). Cats that used to be best friends may drift away and even become hostile to each other. Kittens tend to stick together, sleep curled up together etc, but once they grow up, there's no telling if this will continue or not. It often does not.

There's a couple of articles here on the site, I think you may find helpful -
http://www.thecatsite.com/Care/19/Th...Household.html
http://www.thecatsite.com/Behavior/2...at-Fights.html

Nice Sharing .......
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