Fighting Cats

kittykat23

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Hi,

I have 2 males and 1 female cat all just over 1 yr old and all neutered.

A few weeks ago we had to separate them due to us going away for a few days. Since we have been back to 2 males have been fighting, they had 2 big fights before we could calm them down.

Since the fight, Tigger, the timid out of the 2 has been in hiding and wont come out at all, he feeds and toilets in the same place and I am deeply concerned about him

Pepsi, the bully 1 who started the fights, is carrying on like nothing has happened.

Everytime they both meet at Tigger's hideaway they constantly hiss and growl. But sometimes they can bear to sleep near each other.

I am looking for advice really as to what to do to get these cats back to 'normal'.

Before the fight all 3 cats were very close, they would play together and wash each other.

Thanks

Sarah

 

yayi

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How long were you gone?
When was their last vet checkup?
When cats start acting aggressively towards each other when before they were very close, it may mean that one smells "wrong" and the other one considers him a stranger.
Or it could be a dominance issue. Pepsi decided he wants to be top cat and bullies poor Tigger.
 
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kittykat23

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Originally Posted by yayi

How long were you gone?
When was their last vet checkup?
When cats start acting aggressively towards each other when before they were very close, it may mean that one smells "wrong" and the other one considers him a stranger.
Or it could be a dominance issue. Pepsi decided he wants to be top cat and bullies poor Tigger.
Hi Yayi,

We were away for 3 days, they would both smell differently due to being separated.

It just worries me as I want them to stop fighting and dont know how to do it.

Thanks

Sarah
 
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kittykat23

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Sorry just to add that their last check up was a month ago and everything was fine.

Sarah
 

jirel

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I'm not an expert, but I read a very good book once called The Cat Who Cried for Help. In it a pet psychologist talked about redirected feline agression, when one cat would suddenly single out another for attacks. He said that the only way to really handle this was to seperate the two cats totally for a length of time. (I'm not sure how long). To the point of them not seeing each other. The idea is that after, lets say a week, you let them have visable sight of each other. IF they are able to see each other and there is no hissing or growling, you might put a screen door between the rooms. Then if there is no aggression, put the food and water for each of them within sight. Keep moving things closer until they can eat near each other. Then try to re-introduce them. The problem is that one of them has hardwired agression towards the other into his brain and needs to re-learn non-agression all over again. I'm not certain this is what you are going through and you might want to look for the book to see if you agree with his ideas, but since I didn't see anything here that was oriented to helping you I thought I would post something. I hope this helps and good luck.
 

hissy

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Sarah,

First of all, I would take the cat that is getting beat up to the vet. It is possible that while you were gone, this cat got stressed out and became sick. When cats become ill their signature scent changes, and the first one to notice is usually the one that is closest to them, their feline friends. Even though it doesn't look to you like the cat is ill, he very well could be, and you should rule that out first.
 

menagerie mama

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Try getting a Feliway infuser...I heard it sometimes works for this type of issue...(After you take him to the vet, of course
)
 
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