Cat on cat agression

The actors:
Sassy, our five-year-old, spayed, declawed female who we adopted as a kitten and had never seen another cat other than through the patio door. She is strictly an indoor cat.

Mr. Fuzzy, our two-year-old, declawed, neutered, male. We rescued Mr. Fuzzy this past January when he started appearing on our back deck, with an open wound on his back. We took him in, had him treated for the wound, an upper respiratory infection, and worms; had him neutered and declawed, and gradually introduced him to Sassy. He is a wonderful cat, though quite vocal, and in need of a lot of play.

Sassy and Mr. Fuzzy get along okay most of the time. They have their own food bowls and litter boxes but they do eat next to each other and pass by each other most of the time without incident. Sassy seems to have little interest in Mr. Fuzzy. However, two or three times a day Mr. Fuzzy goes after Sassy, biting her on the back, trying to get his from leg over her to wrestle her down, and sometimes will get her turned over on her back. Throughout she screams like she is being killed. Mr. Fuzzy sometimes winds up with a tuft of hair in his mouth, but Sassy is quite a shedder and there is no indication that she is actually being wounded. As soon as we break the altercation up, she is fined, and often turns and walks right past Mr. Fuzzy. I don't know how seriously to take this. I have been blessed with cat companions most of my life and have never had one so agressive with another. Yet I see no signs of any injury. I don't want to take any chances, though, particularly since my wife and I both work outside of the house.

Any thoughts as to how serious this behavior by Mr. Fuzzy is?

They are biting because they have no claws so when they fight, they use what they have left their teeth. Cat bites are dangerous and if your cats are breaking the skin then you have the potential for the bites to abscess and become infected and get quite nasty. Had they been left with their claws their fighting wouldn't be so severe as what you are seeing. But if you are not having to run them to the vets for cat bites, they are simply tussling and playing and one is a drama queen. But if your cat stops eating, drinking or becomes lethargic I would rush that cat to the vet straight-away-

Thank you for your quick reply. Other than the tufts of fur, which seem to be more loose fur that Mr. Fuzzy's teeth have grabbed, Sassy shows no signs of being worse for the wear.

As you say, they pass by each other during the day, and after the fight, she seems fine. I would be concerned if she seemed fearful of him, but apparently she does not. So she must be confident enough to handle him, whether it's aggression or just rough play. And what I think you are seeing when she's turned over on her back is actually a cat's best defensive posititon -- four sets of claws (when they have claws) plus a mouthful of fangs. If you're OK with flying fur once in a while, then you probably don't need to do anything. Other than keep a close eye for injuries, of course.