Vicious cat fight - redirected aggression episode

This is my first post, but I’ve visited this site and the forums many times for answers. Yesterday was a horrible, horrible day and my heart is broken.

I apologize if this post is a little long…

First, I have 3 cats: 2 males, 1 female, all neutered/spayed with front declaw. They are indoor kitties only. The oldest male, Chaz, is 9 yrs. and a rescue that we got 6 years ago; he is a sweetheart. The female, Lucy, is 6 yrs. and a rescue we got as a kitten 6 years ago; she is very smart and alpha. The other male, Leo, is still a kitten at 10 months and a cutie-patootie.

Yesterday, as I came back from my afternoon walk, my neighbor’s dog was following me. We live in a rural area and most dogs around here are not leashed. The neighbor’s dog is friendly, and I usually don’t mind. The dog followed me all the way up to the front door of the house and I was concerned about opening the door and the dog possibly seeing a cat…then chaos.

Well, what happened was I carefully opened the door and before I could even blink, Chaz ran out the door and onto the front porch! He saw the dog and froze. The dog didn’t do a thing, so I left the door open and tried to persuade Chaz to go inside; it didn’t work. I then tried to pick him up and he freaked out. I immediately took him inside and as soon as he set foot on the floor, my female, Lucy was in full-on attack mode.

Both of them were then at each other in a 10-alarm, vicious cat fight, going from room-to-room. Blood and cat pee everywhere. I tried to break them up a few times and got bit in several places. They were both truly set on killing each other! The fight continued for what it seemed 10 minutes and proceeded down to the basement, where I was able to grab one of the cat carriers and put Chaz in it.

By this time, I was bleeding very heavily and in shock. I called my husband to come home, we segregated all 3 kitties (Leo was hiding the whole time terrified), and then went to the emergency room. I had to get several shots, I’m now on oral antibiotics, painkillers, and if one particular bite wound on my hand doesn’t improve in 48 hours, I will be hospitalized and put on IV antibiotics. If I am hospitalized, Chaz and Lucy will be quarantined, as the doctor has to report it to animal control, even though they are indoor, healthy cats.

I know perfectly well what happened and it was a true case of redirected aggression. This has never happened before. I know that a very slow introduction process is in store; however, I am very strongly leaning towards rehoming the female, Lucy, as she has always had low-key aggression/alpha issues with the other two. We've had to reintroduce her before when Chaz went to the vet to get his teeth cleaned, and that took a month of therapy because she saw him as a strange cat after the vet. She has always tried to initiate things with the other two cats if they are playing and she interprets it as aggression. She is even a little strange with me or my husband if one of us is reading something out loud or talking loud on the phone, she will come over and try to bite us. However, she is extremely smart and can do tricks like sit-up-and-beg, high-five, and hand-shakes. She is definitely Alpha.

I know that a process of reintroduction after a redirected aggression episode is very, very difficult and not guaranteed, and I’m terrified this will happen again. With her "enforcer" alpha personality, I would be walking on eggshells.

I guess I am not really asking for advice, but really just wanted to talk about it with a group of people who would understand. Thank you so much for listening and being a shoulder to cry on. 

Well it looks to me like Lucy is a quite insecure cat based on your general description as much as on yesterday's incident.

Please don't declaw cats as it leaves them with nothing in the way of defence - yes, I mean nothing. All they have is their teeth which, if they are used, have to be used basically in offensive mode. Imagine all the countries of the world had all their conventional weapons confiscated, but all the countries were left with some nuclear weapons. The result would not be peace, it would be nuclear war. And that to my mind is equivalent to the fallacy of declawing.

So a tiff which might not even have started if all the cats had their claws has become a full on murderous biting fight rather than a substantially less harmful episode of posturing and swiping. If she had not been conditioned by her lack of claws, her habit of trying to bite you for talking too loudly or being on the phone would more likely have been expressed as swipes with the paws, very possibly with claws retracted.

As for Lucy being 'Alpha', I do not see it that way at all. She is frightfully insecure and in a human way, she is trying to resolve this by exerting control. She is not accepted as Alpha by the others, otherwise there would be no fighting. Rather she has frustrated pretensions on being Alpha.

What to do? Jackson Galaxy may have some useful insights for you to try, along the lines of making Lucy more secure - play sessions oriented  to  fulfilling the hunt catch kill eat cycle and perhaps on getting all the cats to get on. But overall, I think that Lucy should be homed as an only cat, where her issues and her propensity to bite are well understood and accepted. Plainly, you need to get a grip on the latest behavioural developments and get Lucy put back in her box so as to speak, otherwise you may be faced with having to have her put down

I have just gone through a very devastating case of redirected aggression between my two cat siblings that I've had for 5 years. A feral cat came to my window while my male was looking outside. My male started to growl and hiss, and his sister came over to see what the commotion was. He immediately attacked her in the most vicious way. I managed to separate them, and put him in another room to calm down. His sister was terrified and I tried to comfort her. After about an hour I let my male out and his sister began to hiss at him, again, terrified of him. I them separated them and left them that way for a few days. I read about reintroductions and spoke with a behaviorist who explained exactly how to do it. I followed the protocol and felt they were ready to see each other after 10 days of separation. It was a huge mistake. He began his yowling and growling toward his sister and she was absolutely terrified. I separated them again and left them that way for another two weeks. My female was in my bedroom and the male was in the rest of the house. I tried one last time and was met with disappointment. I sadly returned my male to the rescue group where I had initially adopted him and since then I can't stop crying with worry over him. He and I had a strong bond and I absolutely adored him. If I could have made it work with the two of them separated for the rest of their lives, I would have. I am completely broken over this. I wish I could offer some good advice, but I feel that redirected aggression is one of the worst things that can happen to two formerly bonded cats.

Thanks Aislinn and I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. I am afraid that it might come to this, but only time will tell. 

How is everything going?  I've been a bit worried about you and your situation.

Thank you Aislinn. It has been a rough week and I've been over this a thousand times in my head about what to do. Thank goodness my bite wounds are alright; I went back to the doctor yesterday and there was no infection. I think the fact that I sought treatment so quickly helped prevent me from having to go to the hospital. Cat bites are very, very dangerous. 

Our female, Lucy, is still separated in a spare room and the slow re-introduction process has begun. This time with her separated from Chaz and Leo has really made me realize how stressful it has been on her from us getting Leo last year. I new that she had some dominant diva in her prior, but it never really raised its head, as Chaz is submissive and she never had to "manage" more than him in the house. A lot of her changed behavior has happened since we got Leo. 

Then came Leo the kitten, which she HATED from day one, even though I kept him separated and took over a month to introduce him to her. Of course, he is a kitten that did kitten things, like pounce on her (and Chaz), compete with her for play time, treats, etc. I've really, really tried not to favor anyone and made time to give her special alone attention, but I can now see that she has really been unhappy.

Now, let me caveat to say that the fight earlier this week with Chaz seeing the dog and then the perfect storm reaction could have happened whether we had Leo or not, BUT, since Lucy has been separated in what my husband calls her "fortress of solitude," she actually seems to be happier and more relaxed. On top of that, both Chaz and Leo are much more relaxed without her in the rest of the house. So, of course this has made me think about what to do.

We have decided to keep her, get her some behavior/stress reducing medication (kitty Prozac), and work with her. However, we have decided to rehome Leo instead.

I believe in my heart-of-hearts the relationship between Chaz and Lucy will mend; however, our efforts will fail if Leo is still here. Leo just stresses her out, makes her irritable, and brings out dominant behavior. 

Out of a choice between Lucy and Leo, I think from a rehoming aspect, Leo would be adopted very quickly, as he is still a kitten at 10 months, adaptable, no issues what-so-ever, gets along with other cats, and cute as a button. He's plug-and-play and a new owner wouldn't have to do a thing for him.

This is not an easy decision either, but I think it would be the most successful one to make for all kitties involved. 

I'm glad your bite wounds are healing.

I'm sure you gave your decision a lot of thought, and hope that Lucy and Chaz can be reunited peacefully.  Just take it slowly, and keep a close eye on them when they finally are together.  Another aggressive episode will set everything back to square one.

You're right in saying that Leo at his young age can be re-homed.  I know that poor Lucy at her age, would be so stressed and depressed, that she likely would die from a broken heart.

I hope you will try to find a home for Leo, or bring him to a rescue where he will be taken care of.  I hate the thought of bringing an animal to a shelter, where they rarely get attention.

I think medication for both Chaz and Lucy is the way to go.  Chaz as the victim, will display fear, which will only create aggression in Lucy.

I wish you the best of luck, and if you feel like posting updates, I would be happy to hear them.

I hope Lucy and Chaz can reunite.  I'm going through an introductory process right now between my 12 year old neutered male and a 2 year old neutered male.  I've had them separated and been doing site-swapping for 2 months now.  I am going to try to give them a face-to-face this weekend between baby gates--we tried that early on and it didn't work.  My resolution is that if they don't get along, we will just live site-swapping like we have for the past two months.  One gets run of the house from 6am until about 6pm, the other gets run of the house 6p-6a.  Neither cat seems to mind their "down time" in their designated bedrooms, so, if things don't go right, at least we have this and I can rest that they are both well taken care of.  I considered medicating my aggressor (my older baby), but he has never done well on any type of medication, so my vet didn't recommend it.  I have always heard they help tremendously though.

I sincerely hope your bites continue to do well.  A coworker of mine had a cat bite (rather nasty) that had almost healed, then it got severely infected and she ended up as a 23 hour hospital patient to get IV meds. 

Many ((((HUGS)))) to you , I understand how hard it is to rehome one!  Do you have any friends that would be a good kitty parent that might be interested in him, that way you could always go see him??

Thanks so much again Aislinn and Hbunny. I am very fortunate that I work from home, so I have the chance to work with the kitties. We are also doing "site swapping" a couple of times a day to give everyone (mostly Lucy) house time. I've heard that using vanilla extract helps with reintroducing a communal scent, and I did try it once when Leo had to go to the vet and it seemed to work well, so I'm going to try that again.

I've since ordered Spirit Essences "Peacemaker" and some Pet Naturals "Calming" to help out until we can get Lucy to the vet next week. These will help Chaz as well. Anyone use these before? I also have the Feliway plug-in and spray, but I need to refill those.

The good news is, earlier today I cracked the door to the room where Lucy is separated so she and Chaz could see each other through the baby gate and there was no growling or hissing, so that's a positive start. Still, I know this will take time and change. 

I have used Rescue Remedy in the water. I can't say there was any visible difference, but it may have helped somewhat. Just take the reintroduction slowly and try to provide treats when they are in view of each other so that they learn to associate positive things when in each other's company. I sincerely hope it works. As for hbunny, I wish you nothing but success with your two. I know how stressful it is to see our cats dislike each other after blissful years together. I lost hope in my situation, and worry that I gave up too soon. I just didn't see a resolution. Redirected aggression was something I knew nothing about at the time, but sadly I found out all about it the hard way. I hope that both of you will post updates, and I hope they're all positive ones.

I've tried the Rescue Remedy in water as well for about a month, but shortly afterwards Wurp cat had a bad case of dermatitis and the vet told me to stop it since he has major allergies and something in it could be a trigger.  He cleared up after starting him back on Zyrtec and stopping it.  I really couldn't tell any difference while he was on it though.  I also have 2 Feliway diffusers (the multi-cat kind) going--I've had them for 2 months now---and can't tell they are making any type of difference either.  Wurp is just--pardon my language--an asshat.   I'm still going slow....I put up baby gates this past weekend and let them see each other again, but Wurp (my aggressor) scaled 3 baby gates stacked on top of each other!!  I give up on the baby gate thing.  I can't really prop the door open a crack either, they are forceful enough they move the door stops (been there, done that).  So...back to scent swapping and just try it and see after another month.  They were separated for 8 weeks without a glimpse of each other until this weekend.  It's such a pain for us not to have full access to everywhere in the house, but, if that's what it takes we are just resigned to do it.

Thanks Hbunny for the info and you are so funny! Yes, our cats can be total asshats at times! LOL! It feels good to say it out loud. :-) I've read that you can put that Rescue Remedy on your hands/cloth and rub the cat down with it as well. That's what I'm planning to do when it gets here (I had to order it on Amazon).

Lucy is separated in a room, as she is the aggressor. Chaz is submissive to her. I've read that this set up is the best way to go, as you want your aggressive cat to be separated to avoid stimulation, while letting your fearful/submissive cat have run of the house to build up confidence and reclaim his/her space. 

So far, things are going "well," meaning no hissing and growling during interaction at the door/baby gate. The first time I cracked the door, Lucy did get puffed up after a few minutes, but I said, "Okay, we are not ready yet." and shut the door. When I do this, I literally sit there at the door on the floor with them with my hand on the doorknob the whole time, and monitor the interaction completely. The amount the door is open depends on how they are interacting....sometimes it's a crack and sometimes it's enough for them to be nose-to-nose, but they are never unmonitored. I talk quietly and encouragingly and freely give treats to both of them. I do this at least 2-4 times a day, about 5-10 minutes each. Overtime, when I feel they are getting more comfortable, I'll stack the other baby gate on top in the doorway and introduce some play with feathers/string etc. and lots of treats. Again, I'm there the whole time to gauge body behavior, pupils, signals, etc.

I've had to go through this process once before last year when Chaz went to the vet to get his teeth cleaned. When I brought him home, Lucy had non-recognition aggression towards Chaz and I had to do the separate/re-introduction process with them both. I was fortunate, as I saw what was happening before a fight broke out and it took two, very thorough weeks of re-introduction therapy to get them back to where I felt comfortable with them both out together in the house. Again, Lucy was separated while Chaz was able to feel more confident.

This time is different and I don't know what to expect or how long it will take since there was a big fight. We did get Lucy a prescription for Prozac and she's been taking it for only a few days. I'm giving Chaz those "calming treats" as well, and I do think they are helping, but then again, the true test will be in the future. He is very submissive and doesn't seem to be very scared of her, so that's a good sign. 

We plan to rehome Leo on Saturday.   After separating, it's been very clear that there is/was a lot of tension between her and Leo. He is still a kitten at 10 months, and I can only imagine what might happen between the two of them when he goes through his "asshole adolescent" phase in a year or so. 

Oh, hbunny, I feel so sad for you.  Just take is slowly, and try giving them treats on either side of the closed door so that they can learn to associate positive things when they smell each other.  Obviously, the visual part will have to wait.  It's so hard to live with your cats separated.  I wish there was more warning out there about redirected aggression.  I would have moved mountains to have prevented it happening with my two.  Keep the faith. I am praying for you.  It's so hard.

craftygirl, the same goes for you.  It looks like the Prozac is the way to go.  I had my two on Elavil (anti-anxiety), but it didn't do a thing to calm my aggressor.  He was the most gentle, loving boy, until he saw his sister.  The behaviorist that I spoke with told me that he associated his sister with the cat that was on our deck.  It's fear-based, and very hard to turn that association around, especially with the victim cat also associating him with the mean cat that tried to kill her.  Such a mess.

I'm sorry to hear that you will be letting Leo go, but understand.  I hope and pray that someone loves him and immediately takes him home.  Just be sure that's the route you absolutely want to go, because there's no turning back if you regret your decision.

Good luck to both of you, and please keep me posted.  I am with you in spirit, rooting you on during this tough time.

I just wanted to give everyone an update on my redirected aggression therapy with Chaz and Lucy (aka "Miss Thang"). So far, things are going well and I feel the Prozac is helping with Miss Thang. I am going to try seeing how they interact without a barrier between them (for a very short time) sometime this week. Miss Thang is going into week 3 of being on Prozac and I feel that it has made a huge difference in her disposition.

This will be my second time doing something like this. I had to do a reintroduction between Chaz and Miss Thang about a year-and-a-half ago for nonrecognition aggression after bringing Chaz home from getting his teeth cleaned. 

I'm hoping that some of what I am doing will help any of you who have to go through this horrible experience.

Thanks again for all your support and help!

I've been thinking about you, Craftygirl. I am so happy to hear that it's going in the right direction. I wish my vet has prescribed Prozac instead of Elavil. It would probably have saved a lot of heartache.

Please keep us updated. I am hoping and praying that it all goes well. Kudos to you for persevering.

Hi Craftygirl, I've been thinking about you. Is everything going ok?

Hi Aislinn,

Thank you for asking! Things are almost back to normal (whatever that is). :-) Yesterday was the first full day that Chaz and Lucy (aka Miss Thang) were able to hang out together and have full run of the house. Tomorrow will mark a full month since this whole ordeal started. This is the 2nd time I've had to do a reintroduction with these 2 kitties (first time was for non-recognition aggression).

I've worked very hard with them and paid an almost unhealthy amount of attention to reading their body language, state of emotion, behavior, reactions, etc. Like I mentioned before, I was doing "therapy sessions" with them 2-3 times a day, with longer times for each session as we went on. 

I do think the Prozac made a huge difference with the aggression, and I will only keep Miss Thang on it for a short time. I think 2-3 months. She really didn't have problems before we got Leo, but now that we rehomed Leo, she is going back to her old self. The only side effect I've seen with her on Prozac is a lowered energy level (sleepy) and an increase in urine output. It's not that she is peeing more frequently, but when she does go, you'd swear that an animal 3x her size just did. Because of that, she was getting urine on her legs and getting litter stuck to her, so we gave her a "sanitary trim" of her fur, adjusted her litter amount, and removed the hood on her litter box so she could have better "form". Like I said...an unhealthy amount of attention. :-)

In hindsight, rehoming Leo was definitely the right thing to do. We still have guilt over it, but I feel better knowing we did the right thing for all involved. I know you are struggling with this right now, but you know in your heart what the answer is. Time will heal.

Oh, Craftygirl, I am so happy to hear about your progress. It is absolutely wonderful. I've read so much about Prozac for kitties, and now I'm a believer. I know you did the right thing with rehoming Leo, as the less stress, the better, but understand your guilt all too well. I think you did what was best for all involved. I will read your blog as well. I admire your dedication and tenacity. Chaz and Lucy are very lucky to have you as their mom. Thank you for the wonderful update!