HELP!! Mom is trying to tear her son to shreds!

In all my experience with cats..this has never happened to me. All of sudden, two days ago, my 3-year old mother cat has begun seeking out her 2-year old son and attacking him....and I mean ATTACKING. This is a regular alley cat catfight!! He trys to hide and she tracks him down. I have separated them for a day, but as soon as I let her out...she immediately starts searching him out. We have 15 other cats in a huge 10 room house--so there is plenty of room for them-and she doesn't pick on any of the others-just this one. They are all so sweet and, of course, so spoiled--what am I going to do? It has really disrupted a happy kitty household They've had little spats...but this is scarey!! Please Help.

Have you tried pure vanilla. I know it sounds weird but I have heard to works great. Put a dab under the chin and at the base of the tail where it meets the back. There may be one other place as well to put it. Put it on both cats. This will allow them to smell exactly them and should cut down on fighting.

Another product on the market is Feliway plug-in and spray. They are expensive but again I have heard it works great.

There may be others who will come along with some ideas as well.

I am very sorry to hear about your situation. I can totally relate. 2 of my 5 cats had an extremely violent cat fight 4 weeks ago from today. They are brothers that I have had from birth. If you will look under my name from all of my posts, you can see some advice that was given to me. Additionally, the book by Pamela Johnson-Bennett, Cat Vs. Cat has some really good advice on inter cat aggression.

Mine are still separated to this day. I'm working very slowly on a "re-introduction" phase. From what I understand, you need to keep them totally separated for about 2 weeks. Then start re introducing them, but have positive things going on when they are around one another.

In the book, she suggest that because cats have "friendly" phermones around their cheeks, take something small like a sock and rub each of their cheeks and then place that opposite sock with the other cat. If you would like, you can PM me and I will send you a list of other suggestions from the book.

I know it is a frustrating and heartbreaking time, that I currently havent resolved, but one consistent thing i have been told, is it will take alot of time and alot of patience.
Good luck to you and I wish you well.

Do you think one of them may have a medical problem, either making momma cat aggresive or making the son smell funny? That is the only idea I've got aside from what others have said.

Actually I got her neutered 2 months ago, and at that time she was being cranky with all the cats. The vet said at that time it was because of her hormones and she would calm down....and she did. She has been the sweetest thing since then....a Mommy to all. Carrying toys around and pretending they were her babies...cuddling her other children that are now bigger than she is. Oh my.....she is such a darling....except to this one son of hers.

Are all the cats in the home spayed or neutered? That would probably help the situation some. I agree with Pami to separate them for at least 2 weeks. But any extreme behavior change warrants a vet check, I would say.

All are neutered, but 4 of the females-we have them to do yet.

I really think animals are affected by the hormones of other animals. I believe the problem will be resolved when the four females are spayed. I foster, and my male Garfield who was neutered as a kitten, acts differently when I have a female in my home go into heat. And he is never allowed into the room with the intact females!

For now, separate the two who are fighting, and get appointments for the 4 intact females to get spayed as soon as possible.

It is still not the best, but a lot better. I didn't have to shut Trixie (the mom) up last night, and everything stayed quiet. The son (Cyclone) stayed undercover and she at least left him alone and didn't hunt him out. The vanilla...even tho not pure really helped. I did rub it on several times yesterday. Also, last night, I talked gently talked while holding Trixie and had Cyclone on the freezer. I rubbed my hand many times over each one of their faces and noses and then the others while I talked to them to exchange their pheromones. I think that helped tremendously, too. Like I say...it is not perfect yet....but at least Trixie is not "out for the kill" all the time. Their is something else that I haven't mentioned. You see....altho Trixie has not had a litter for almost 2 years, she allows any of the cats in the house to "nurse" on her!! She is going to be an eternal mother...and is very protective as such. I am beginning to wonder if, maybe, as cats do, the cats were play fighting....and Cylone got a bit rough and now she thinks that he is a "mean ole tom" that's hurting her babies!....and she thinks she is just protecting them! Could be??