Fighting Females

I have an altered female and an unaltered female, they fight all the time. I am going to get the unaltered one altered. Will this help so that they will get along better, or will they continue to fight?

Spaying will help, but it isn't a miracle cure and it won't happen overnight. It can take weeks, even months for the hormones to calm down and the cat to be mellower. But not spaying will likely continue this activity.

When you say they fight, how are they fighting? Have you had to rush one of the them to the vet with abscesses? Or are they growling and posturing and bluffing each other?

My fixed female has always been a little skittish because she was a humane society cat, we worked with her a lot to get her to where she can trust us, we've had her about three or four years. This other cat was recently given to us because she was pregnant and her owner didn't want her. The unfixed female is tormenting/stalking the fixed female to the point where she is afraid to walk through a room. I have decided if it doesn't work getting her spayed so we can keep them both the newer of the two cats has to go. I'll have to give her to the humane society.

Oh, yeah and the unfixed female is declawed, I had to get her declawed after we brought her home from the humane society because she was so skittish that we couldn't even hold her. The unfixed female is not declawed, and she knows she can't get hurt.

And... since this started my fixed female urinates where ever she feels like. So now I have two problems I don't know how to resolve. I am really getting frustrated with this situation.

Any help, ideas, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Many times declawed cats will have litter box problems after declawing (not saying all of them do, but in my experience most inappropriate litter box habits are from declawed cats).

You need to get the unaltered one spayed as soon as you can. That probably will help somewhat, but they may never be friends. The declawed one will be more nervous and skittish and more defensive in other ways.

My first cat was declawed (before I knew better) and he was fine - never had a problem with him or other cats with him - but he was the exception! He was a big boy (14 lbs) and his size alone helped him be in charge.

You may have to keep one cat in one room with their own litter pan, food/water and separate the two of them for awhile. Then gradually reintroduce them.

Have you had the intact female spayed yet??

Katie

Please don't declaw any more cats, especially strays and ferals, because they will try and escape if they are stressed and if that happens, they are at a great disadvantage to other predators.

Originally Posted by TNR1

Have you had the intact female spayed yet??

Katie

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She is scheduled for a vet trip early next month.

Originally Posted by hissy

Please don't declaw any more cats, especially strays and ferals, because they will try and escape if they are stressed and if that happens, they are at a great disadvantage to other predators.

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I don't plan on declawing any more cats, declawing the cat I have was a matter of whether or not we could keep her. I wasn't going to keep a cat that always scratched us out of being so skittish. They weren't just minor scrathes either, they have left scars on our arms. Since getting her declawed she is a much better cat, the change was like night and day. I have never believed in declawing either, but this was the only alternative for this cat to keep a good home. So, I think on certain rare occasions it is deemed appropriate, and each situation should be looked at as individual not as a whole.

Oh I can bet it has changed her, no doubt about that. I have scars also, but would never even for a minute consider declawing a cat, especially a timid one. I guess it is all in how you look at it and how you relate and understand the cats you have decided to care for. My friend who rescues only declawed cats from shelters tells me that every time she picks up a new kitty, they do indeed toe the line (no pun intended). It is as if, Doris says, they are afraid if they don't what else will happen to them.

The funny thing about getting this cat declawed is that two or three of her claws grew back. I hadn't ever heard of this before. I don't think she even knows they grew back, she doesn't use them. Since declawing her, I found out there are some type of plastic caps or something that you can put on the end of cat's claws so they won't be sharp, it is temporary and also helps to save your furniture.

This means they botched her declaw. This can sometimes lead to infection of the toe, so you need to watch her feet carefully. It will also throw off her balance and she could get arthritis as she gets older.

50/50 chance. I've had spayed and unspayed females. They tolerated each other but were never buddy buddy either. Seems to me the females lock horns way more then the males do.