Two Cats Suddenly Fighting Aggressively

Domino and Mr. Poe are two indoors-only, 3 1/2 year old neutered male cats that have lived together since kittenhood. In the last few days Domino is aggressively chasing / attacking Mr. Poe. This is not the "let's tussle" play fighting, this is the screaming, growling, bottle brush tail serious attack. This morning was the worst yet - Mr Poe was running and peeing as he tried to get away.

Mr. Poe hid under our bed, grumbling to himself. Domino was strolling around with his tail up. Then Domino came after Mr. Poe as soon as he came out from under the bed. I easily picked up Domino - no struggle, not attacking me - and have him isolated in a bathroom. No sign of Mr. Poe, he's hiding somewhere well out of sight.

They're not fighting all the time. In fact, yesterday afternoon the two were curled up together with one licking the other's head.

Recent changes: in mid-May we were away for a week with house sitter coming in twice a day. The boys basically hid from her but there was no fighting.

Very end of May into first couple of days in June carpenter here changing kitchen windows for doors. Mr. Poe came up to carpenter, both cats ate their lunch in kitchen with carpenter around. No fighting.

Left June 6, back June 8. Cat sitter. No fighting.

June 12, away overnight. Cat sitter. No fighting.

Granted, these have been a number of disruptions. But there was no aggression at the time. Why suddenly a week after the last time away?

We live in a rural area. No outside cats - I take that back, there was a young adult gray and white cat on the deck but both Domino and Mr. Poe just stared at him, no hissing or fluffed up fur. My two watch the birds, baby rabbit, chipmunk at the feeder outside the kitchen with great delight for the live entertainment.

As you can imagine I am so upset but not as much, I imagine, as my poor Mr. Poe.

I'll call my vet later this morning, ask for suggestions, and see if she thinks I should bring Domino in for an exam tomorrow.

Meanwhile - any helpful suggestions would be very much appreciated.

UPDATE: Called vet who was out on farm calls. (BTW - I got the boys from her in December 2010 - she takes in barn and feral kittens, tests & treats them, adopts them out - 100 kittens in 2010.) Told her what happened and she said to stop by the vet hospital about an hour later, she'd leave a Feliway diffuser in the laboratory pickup box outside the door. She also said to perhaps spray a little Feliway on a cloth and rub both cats with it. Her note on the box said to set it up in a small room and put the aggressor there.

So I guess the bathroom will be Domino's "home" for a while. He is very lonesome, is calling, purrs and gives head butts when I visit him.

Mr. Poe is still no where in sight.

Is there no one out there is any comments or suggestions?

We went through an experience where one of our new cats, Jake, spied a cat outside, he seemed to be fine with it--he just walked away but then suddenly turned and attacked my leg.  

So I was wondering if the fighting started after the cat appeared on the deck?  It might be redirected aggression and poor Mr Poe's just an easy target.

Good idea to take Domino to the vet for a check up just in case it's medical, though.  And the Feliway may well help.  

Thanks for your reply and suggestion, betsygee.

The cat appeared on the deck maybe a week ago, so this sudden aggression seems peculiarly delayed, to say the least. And Domino, even right after he went for Mr. Poe, was strolling around tail up, ears up, let me grab him and take him to the bathroom, no problem.

Mr. Poe has finally come out from under our bed, came downstairs, and seems calmer and more comfortable.

Domino wants company.  Maybe I'll do some of the ironing that's piled up in the spare bedroom and let him out of that adjacent bathroom to keep me company.

Any and all advice / suggestions / sympathetic comments much appreciated. I could use a human version of Feliway - oh wait, that's a glass of wine, isn't it . . . .

Catapault said:

 
I could use a human version of Feliway - oh wait, that's a glass of wine, isn't it . . . .

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Yes, that's right!    

Perhaps there was some kind of trigger you didn't see--the strange cat coming back or something.  Is Domino okay otherwise--eating, peeing, etc. normally?  Did Mr. Poe have any changes, like a visit to the vet--perhaps he has a different scent and Domino can smell he's 'different'?  

Hopefully the Feliway will help.  There are also calming treats and collars--there are lots of things to try if things don't improve soon.

I believe the strange cat belongs to neighbors and they live down the hill and across the road. Never saw it here before that once. Only other time there was a cat outside (and if memory serves it was a different cat) was maybe ? 6 months ago. That time Domino was shrieking at it, wearing his "stranger / danger" fluffed up fur suit but never attacked Mr. Poe. This time he never yowled at it.

Close to the house we get rabbits, chipmunks, voles, squirrels, woodchucks, and a diversity of birds. I've seen red fox but not right at the house. Have heard coyotes and great horned owls.

Domino is eating fine. Everybody gets 1/2  of a 3.5 oz can of FF Classic Beef or Turkey and Giblets 4X / day, plus the boys get a pinch of dry at each meal, sort of a lagniappe. Last time I looked he hadn't used the fresh litter box I put in his isolation bathroom but the boys have always seemed to use their litter pan more at night than during the day. Climbed into my lap when I was siting reading in the spare bedroom, purring and purring.

Mr. Poe was the one not eating / hiding. He did finally finish his lunch, came downstairs, napped on the bed in my study. I'm expecting that he'll eat his dinner just fine - my husband fed him a few pieces of kibble as a treat and Mr. Poe graciously accepted the largess. No vet visit that would have him smelling "off.".

It's sort of fortunate that it was Mr. Poe that Domino went after and not 19 year old Mist as I don't think she could run fast enough to evade him.

SECOND UPDATE: It's Not Working. Please find an answer for me. I'm so distraught.

Domino shut in bathroom with Feliway Plugin for 32 hours, until 7:00 p.m. today. I had bought a pheromone spray.

At 7:00 p.m. I sprayed a little on a piece of terrycloth and wiped the cheeks of Mr. Poe (who had been attacked.) Did the same with Domino (who was the aggressor.) Let Domino out. As soon as Mr. Poe saw Domino he ran and hid under my bed.

I fed Domino downstairs. Mr. Poe was out but next to the bed. Fed him there - he kept looking up periodically but did eat all his dinner.

Domino came upstairs, very quiet, tail up, just walking. As soon as Mr. Poe saw him he started shrieking and ran under the bed. Domino ran out of the room, my husband grabbed him and he's now back in the bathroom.

To complicate things even further we'll have house quests this weekend and they'll be in the guest room and its bathroom.

My husband says to keep the cats separated and board them both over the weekend.

It's obvious that Mr. Poe remembers what happened (why wouldn't he?) but cannot forgive / forget.

I'll call the vet tomorrow and ask for an appointment to discuss things with her and what to do to move forward. If she wants me to I can bring either or both cats along.

What can we do? I cannot envision 15 years keeping 2 cats separate. Please, can you offer any hope?

The feliway needs to be where both cats can benefit from it.  Have you taken either of them to see the vet?  They both need to be checked out as any sudden change in behavior could signal a medical condition.

I have 3 cats and 2 of them don't like each other.  I have 3 feliway diffusers running in my house 24/7.  I also give them 1 drop of Safe Spaces for Cats from Spirit Essences daily.  You can also work to reintroduce them.  http://www.thecatsite.com/a/introducing-cats-to-cats

Above all, you need to calm down as they will pick up on your stress and that will only exacerbate the situation.

Hi Stephanietx,

Feliway throughout the house won't work - open floor plan, 2-story great room. But we are going to swap over the cats tonight - Domino will have the run of the house while Mr. Poe (who is currently the more jittery of the two) will be in the bathroom with the Feliway plugin running. We'll keep him there for 24 to 30 hours, then swap them over. Like the commercial, Rinse and Repeat as necessary

I am planning to call the vet tomorrow, do want to go in and talk face to face with her, and could bring both cats if that's needed.

My husband thinks Mr. Poe remembers the attack and will never forget it.

I'd say that right now I'm more sad than anything else.

I have 2 males that had a very very very hard time adjusting to each other.  It was a nightmare for about 8 months.  I tried so many things.  As mentioned above you may need to reintroduce the cats.  It sounds as though one of your cats is reacting to redirected cat aggression.  Here is an article on it http://www.catster.com/lifestyle/cat-behavior-tips-redirected-aggression-in-cats  You can also do a search on this site for redirected cat aggression. 

I have used Feliway in an open floor plan house.  It just takes lots of them.  I also found the spray to work in hot spot areas. 

Composure feline treats or Composure liquid Max is very helpful.  http://www.vetriscience.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=900860008  You can find it reasonably on Amazon.  I started with the treats, but found the liquid much easier to work with.  Just mix it in their food.  I gave it to both my cats, the aggressor and the frightened one.  It helped to calm them both down.  I started using it back in November.  After a few weeks, the frightened cat no longer needed it.  I still have the aggressor on a low dose daily. 

I have also had great success with flower essences.  They take 7-14 days to work, but they work at a deeper level.  Spirit Essences are great.

I know how hard this can be. Try very hard to not let it stress you out as the cats pick up on your stress and will begin to react to it.  I found that when I was constantly on edge, the cats were scared, wound up or fighting more.  When I relaxed and calmly dealt with the situation,it was so much better.

Feliway is not a cure all and IMO, something set this whole aggression problem in motion. Most likely the outdoor visitor. The stray cat probably came around more than you know and Domino transferred his stress onto Mr. Poe. Setting this whole ball of stress in motion and which now needs redirecting immediately to calm Domino. My suggestion, at this point, would be to go to the vet and discuss giving Domino an antidepressant for about 10 days time. I know you are sad and this is VERY upsetting to have this going on between two past friends. Domino needs to have the edge taken off a bit and Mr. Poe needs to learn to trust Domino again. Natural calmatives do work but take time and are not always full-proof. I think Domino needs something more. I am sorry about whatever set him off, but my guess is for sure the cat visitor outside. I have had this problem myself with my Pipsqueak. I know have Elavil (Amitriptyline) on hand all the time and it can be used short term or long term. It really works well.

You want to solve this issue immediately and restore the peace before these confrontations become a pattern causing more damage between the boys. Good luck, hun, and hang in there AND keep us posted .

Some articles that may offer support:

http://www.thecatsite.com/a/six-surefire-strategies-to-reduce-stress-in-cats
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/potential-stressors-in-cats-the-ultimate-checklist
http://www.thecatsite.com/a/breaking-up-cat-fights

Feralvr, at this point it is not Domino. He's calm. It is Mr. Poe who clearly remembers what happened and is terrified it will happen to him again.

Yesterday evening both cats were separate and calm UNTIL I let Domino out of the guest room. Mr. Poe saw Domino who was just standing there, tail up, looking around. Whereupon Mr. Poe growled and ran to hide under my bed, caterwauling and screaming from hiding. Domino was looking around like "Geeze, what's going on?" No sign of aggression from Domino, none.

Currently Mr. Poe is sequestered in the guest room and bathroom (the Feliway is unplugged.) He ate his lunch, was in my lap purring happily away. When I was leaving the room he caught just a glimpse of Domino standing out in the hallway. And promptly ran to hide under that bed.

Would Domino attack again? I honestly don't know. But it is clear that Mr. Poe has no intention of offering him the opportunity.

My vet is jammed up full today. I could have gone in tomorrow morning but have a garden club lecture (Great Gardens to Visit in New Jersey) to give so will see her in late afternoon.

Think calming thoughts, especially for my poor sweet fraidy cat Mr. Poe, and that my vet and I can work something out for both cats. My husband doesn't think it can happen, but I have come up with a workable, if inconvenient way to keep going into the future - isolate one, the other roams the house. Switch who is at liberty and who is isolated.

More wine will be needed . . . .

Catapault said:

Would Domino attack again? I honestly don't know. But it is clear that Mr. Poe has no intention of offering him the opportunity.


More wine will be needed . . . .

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:lol3: on the wine part. But, agree, more may be needed.

I honestly think that it is possible that Domino could potentially go after Mr. Poe IF Mr. Poe continues to run and growl when he sees Domino. This could lead to a chase. I know I have one of those. Mr. Poe may bring out the "beast" in Domino over this whole thing again. SO - at this point - you still want to get this fixed asap so you don't have to live with two cats that need separating. I still think the antidepressant is the way to go. AND, honestly, it won't hurt both of them to be on it for a week. Really, that is not long at all and it truly does help in these sudden, shocking and upsetting disturbances amongst two house cats who have always gotten along before. It happens and the drugs can help if you so choose. It is the quickest way to peace and normalcy, I think.

Of course, IF Domino is regressing and will just ignore Mr. Poe's behavior, then let them be if you don't want to pursue medication. Mr. Poe will soon realize that Domino is not going to harm him again and that he can trust him once again. I hope for that to be the easy fix. But that takes time and worry on your part, especially when you are not home. Keep us posted !!!!!!!!!!!!!

Skimmed the thread, so I'm sorry if I'm repeating what's already been said.  Is your home "catified"?  It really helps ease tension in a house with a bully cat if there are plenty of elevated escape routes for the victim(s).  Shelving that leads up and away from hot zones to safety zones.  Cat trees, shelving that leads to and from cat trees.  The idea is to create a cat superhighway that can be used to navigate away from trouble areas so no one ever feels cornered.  

Getting both cats to play with a wand toy simultaneously can help strengthen their bond, as well as eating together (start at a safe distance that keeps them in each other's sight line, then keep inching their plates closer together).  

Comfort Zone spray on carpeting/furniture in hot zones and sleeping areas.  Another thought: sequestration is only a temporary solution.  If you're going to isolate, you have to side swap every day, alternating the areas of the house they have access to.  It allows them to get reacclimated to each other's scent in a non-threatening way.

Good luck to you!

Catapult,

Linked is the thread I started when my two girls (sisters) were fighting terribly due to redirected aggression.  If you have time, you may want to go through it and see if some of the things I did may be helpful.  After a couple of weeks of attacks, I made the decision to start from zero--separating my cats completely and reintroducing them very slowly and methodically.  It took 5 months but my cats have been able to live together since April. There have been some scuffling and they're never going to be best buds, but I haven't had to separate them.  

Aside from a very thorough separation and reintroduction process, I used Prozac and feliway.  As I wean them off Prozac (started in mid-April and will stop next week), I've used theanine, rescue remedy and chamomile tea to keep the aggressive behavior to a minimum.

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/268349/redirected-cat-aggression-separation-making-it-worse

ANOTHER UPDATE: Saw the veterinarian yesterday. She gave me a xerox from some book for vets - the chapter on Intercat Aggression, which was written by Debra F. Horowitz, pages 408 - 411 which is all of Chapter 179. We discussed what's going on. She has 2 cats in the practice on Prozac but she's not really happy with it, has never used Elavil for cats (which is not to say it isn't good, she said, just that she has no experience with it.) Gave me a prescription for Valium that I can take to a pharmacy. It would be only for Mr. Poe, who was attacked, and not for Domino, who was the aggressor.

I read the xerox and it says that Valium might cause liver problems and the cat should be tested before starting to use the Valium and again in a week or so to check for issues.

I'm reluctant for a couple of reasons. First, taking Mr. Poe to the vet will stress him (and that's the last thing he needs right now) and secondly, he'll smell strange and that might be a trigger for Domino.

So here's what we're going to do. Continue to keep one cat sequestered while the other has free run of the house. Swap over every 36 hours or so. Of course, this weekend when we have house guests I'll keep Mr. Poe in our bedroom / bathroom all the time since he likes to hide under our bed.

Feliway diffuser not suitable as spaces are too large. What about Feliway spray on a cloth, wiped on their cheeks? How often?

I am encouraged, and please tell me what you think - earlier this morning I sat on the stair landing holding Domino, the aggressor cat. Mr. Poe was at the bottom of the stairs. He stared, very intently for a couple of minutes, then ran off. Neither cat growled or hissed. Does this sound as promising as I am hoping it is?

Catapault said:

. What about Feliway spray on a cloth, wiped on their cheeks? How often?

I am encouraged, and please tell me what you think - earlier this morning I sat on the stair landing holding Domino, the aggressor cat. Mr. Poe was at the bottom of the stairs. He stared, very intently for a couple of minutes, then ran off. Neither cat growled or hissed. Does this sound as promising as I am hoping it is?

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First - for me - I would not worry too much about liver issues only because it would be short-term and temporary. I would not do the blood tests either. 7 - 10 days is probably all that is needed to get Mr. Poe feeling more confident.

YES - use the spray. I have the Feliway spray. Much easier to spot treat and I prefer it over the diffuser in my situation anyway. Spray specific areas every 12 hours. Plus the spray is more inexpensive and lasts longer.

AND yes - I think that is a positive sign and still a good idea then if you are not going to use the Valium for a few days to keep them separated.

An encouraging development! They ate dinner separated by less than 4 feet! Of course it then went downhill but I'm feeling more confident that we'll get through this.

Mr. Poe has been in our bedroom & bathroom since Thursday afternoon when I was getting ready for the weekend company. Twice a day I've been rubbing their cheeks / chin / head with a piece of terrycloth sprayed with Feliway. I bought some calming treats and fed one a day to each cat on Friday & Saturday. Today I upped it to 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. I prepared their two bowls, then carried Mr. Poe downstairs. My husband promptly put their dishes down and they both started gobbling their dinners. (I had set Mr. Poe so his back was to Domino, across on the other side of the doorway.)

Mr. Poe was relaxed enough that he was crouched down, only looked around once, very calm. Once they both finished I got some kibble out, and we started dropping 2 or 3 kibbles at a time in each bowl. Finally stopped feeding them. Domino got that "thousand yard stare" fixed on Mr. Poe, who grumbled / muttered and ran to hide behind a recliner. I grabbed Domino and put him upstairs in our bedroom & bathroom so Mr. Poe could have some free time around the house.

At bedtime we'll try feeding them together again, and have Mr. Poe in our bedroom for the night. Sound good?

As we were eating our dinner (cats eat first, then humans, in this house) an unknown gray cat appeared outside the kitchen doors! My husband knocked on the glass. It startled, and ran away. Fortunately Mr. Poe didn't see it. So maybe this was the cat that set off Domino, and not the gray and white cat that both of mine saw on the deck, but did not growl / shriek at.

But just one week and they ate together, in the places and way they've always eaten, heretofore. That's good, right?

Catapault said:

 
An encouraging development! They ate dinner separated by less than 4 feet! Of course it then went downhill but I'm feeling more confident that we'll get through this.

Mr. Poe has been in our bedroom & bathroom since Thursday afternoon when I was getting ready for the weekend company. Twice a day I've been rubbing their cheeks / chin / head with a piece of terrycloth sprayed with Feliway. I bought some calming treats and fed one a day to each cat on Friday & Saturday. Today I upped it to 2:00 p.m., 4:00 p.m., 6:00 p.m. At 7:00 p.m. I prepared their two bowls, then carried Mr. Poe downstairs. My husband promptly put their dishes down and they both started gobbling their dinners. (I had set Mr. Poe so his back was to Domino, across on the other side of the doorway.)

Mr. Poe was relaxed enough that he was crouched down, only looked around once, very calm. Once they both finished I got some kibble out, and we started dropping 2 or 3 kibbles at a time in each bowl. Finally stopped feeding them. Domino got that "thousand yard stare" fixed on Mr. Poe, who grumbled / muttered and ran to hide behind a recliner. I grabbed Domino and put him upstairs in our bedroom & bathroom so Mr. Poe could have some free time around the house.

At bedtime we'll try feeding them together again, and have Mr. Poe in our bedroom for the night. Sound good?

As we were eating our dinner (cats eat first, then humans, in this house) an unknown gray cat appeared outside the kitchen doors! My husband knocked on the glass. It startled, and ran away. Fortunately Mr. Poe didn't see it. So maybe this was the cat that set off Domino, and not the gray and white cat that both of mine saw on the deck, but did not growl / shriek at.

But just one week and they ate together, in the places and way they've always eaten, heretofore. That's good, right?

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Hooray for progress!  The only thing I would do differently is have some diversionary tactics ready to go whenever Domino begins to fixate on Mr. Poe.  In order to break their bully/victim cycle, Domino needs to be deprogrammed...which means he needs to forget that Mr. Poe is his "prey".  Having favorite toys handy and playing with him the second he visually locks onto Poe would be a big help.  Or favorite treats, which you'll show him near the corner of his eye.  The idea is to get him completely out of that predator mindset whenever Mr. Poe is around.

If stray cats are triggering the redirected aggression, you might want to look into various ways you can make your yard hostile to intruders (sprinklers, motion-sensing lights, etc.).  

Keep up the good work!

the3rdnae, motion sensor sprinkles would be a great idea except . . . . we're on a multiple acre site. These are either barn cats sauntering across the road OR a neighbor's pets, ditto.The latter is more likely. We'd have to stretch hoses across the lawn in three places and leave them there, something that's not good for either lawn nor hoses. Besides, there are all the deer, woodchucks, rabbits, birds, endless array of critters that come sauntering hither and thither across the grass.

We don't feed treats. The calming treats I just bought - both cats eat them but not with wild enthusiasm. I'll have to look next time I'm at Pet-Valu or Pet-smart or whatever.

But perhaps even a sheet of cardboard to quickly block the view might help.

However this is a great improvement and it's just been a week. Will try again tomorrow but tonight we're both too tired to stand sentry while the boys eat.

Stay tuned for future developments!