About 2 hours ago I woke up to hear a serious cat fight taking place outside the bedroom door. Lion, Bear and Tristan were on the other side of the door and there was a humungous, serious cat fight going on. I opened the bedroom door, Tristan raced into the bedroom under the bed and Lion and Bear took off, still fighting. I followed them into the living room and hoisted Bear up out of the fray. Lion immediately attacked, leaping up on top of me to get to Bear and the as I swung around to keep Bear out of his reach, he kept trying to attack. I let Bear go and raced for Lion, throwing a scatter rug over him to contain him. I separated them, then went looking for Tristan who was hiding under the bed. I calmed each cat down separately. Abbie and Freija were no part of this having been asleep on the bed at the time, and none of the cats showed aggression to them.
After they were calm I carried Bear into the living room where Lion was and held him until he calmed. I then put him down and picked up Lion and cuddled him. I started combing both of them and they were fine, still nervous and angst, but not having a problem with each other.
Then Tristan came in from the front room. Lion went over to say hello, they touched noses, then Bear came over and Lion attacked Tristan. Tristan jumped out of reach, wetting himself, and Bear took off after Lion. I had blanket ready and threw it over Bear, the closest one to me, and shoved him into the laundry room which was right there. Bear had also wet himself.
For the next hour I again spent calming down cats. Abbie and Bear were in one room and Lion and Freija were in the next. Tristan is in a third.
Right now, Lion and Bear are with me, both of them washing themselves. Bear has eaten and both of them are calling their nrmal 'where are you' meows when they are apart. Tristan is still apart. Lion was the main aggressor.
This is the first time anything like this has ever happened. They have always got along well and have always been best of friends and playmates.
What I suspect might have happened is that the back door is right by the bedroom door . . . the blinds are drawn at night but the bottom of the blinds were bent. There is a neighbour cat who comes and will jump at the window. The cats have reacted to her before, by hissing and growling. I suspect this may have happened again, and the cats already wanting in the bedroom and having the door shut on them turned their aggression on each other and things got out of hand.
So, I would welcome any advice from people who have experienced this themselves about how to proceed from here. I can buy a Feliway diffuser today which I will do. Is the vanilla trick a good one to use to reintroduce Tristan to Lion and Bear? I don't want to keep them separated too long in case they only remember the aggression and forget that they are friends, not enemies.
Thank you for any help.
Kathryn
After they were calm I carried Bear into the living room where Lion was and held him until he calmed. I then put him down and picked up Lion and cuddled him. I started combing both of them and they were fine, still nervous and angst, but not having a problem with each other.
Then Tristan came in from the front room. Lion went over to say hello, they touched noses, then Bear came over and Lion attacked Tristan. Tristan jumped out of reach, wetting himself, and Bear took off after Lion. I had blanket ready and threw it over Bear, the closest one to me, and shoved him into the laundry room which was right there. Bear had also wet himself.
For the next hour I again spent calming down cats. Abbie and Bear were in one room and Lion and Freija were in the next. Tristan is in a third.
Right now, Lion and Bear are with me, both of them washing themselves. Bear has eaten and both of them are calling their nrmal 'where are you' meows when they are apart. Tristan is still apart. Lion was the main aggressor.
This is the first time anything like this has ever happened. They have always got along well and have always been best of friends and playmates.
What I suspect might have happened is that the back door is right by the bedroom door . . . the blinds are drawn at night but the bottom of the blinds were bent. There is a neighbour cat who comes and will jump at the window. The cats have reacted to her before, by hissing and growling. I suspect this may have happened again, and the cats already wanting in the bedroom and having the door shut on them turned their aggression on each other and things got out of hand.
So, I would welcome any advice from people who have experienced this themselves about how to proceed from here. I can buy a Feliway diffuser today which I will do. Is the vanilla trick a good one to use to reintroduce Tristan to Lion and Bear? I don't want to keep them separated too long in case they only remember the aggression and forget that they are friends, not enemies.
Thank you for any help.
Kathryn