Three cats at odds

[ckhatcher]

I have three cats; a large male and a female who are siblings; then a younger male.  They have been getting along fine, until last night.  The large male stayed out late, and got in a fight or howling match with a "visiting" male that we have tried to scare off.

Now, this morning, the female is spitting and hissing at the other two....whereas they had been friends, even to bathing each other.  What gives, and what should I do, if anything? Please help.  Thanks.

 

[mrsgreenjeens]

Are all three of your cats spayed/neutered?  If not, that could be part of the problem.  Even if they are, that outside stray is probably the cause, and I'm not sure what you can do about it.  Even if you keep your guys inside, they will be upset that there is another cat right outside.  (I know because I've got that issue right now, and mine are all kept inside, but they see the one outside and go nuts running from window to window following his progress) 

If your big guy got in a fight with the other cat, then I'm guessing his smell is on your cat now, so your female smells the intruder on him, which could be why she is hissing at him.  And she may just be hissing t the other one too for general principal.  Try taking a brush and brush all 3 of them without cleaning it, to intermix all of their smells. Just a few strokes on their head and shoulders should do it.   And I would say to try to keep them inside, but don't know if that's feasible if they normally go out. 

 

[betsygee]

Yeah, the exact same thing happened with our three--two males and a female--when a neighborhood cat starting coming around and messing with them.  It was awful to see our "three amigos" suddenly hissing and being nasty with each other!  We just kept chasing off the intruder and with time, ours settled down again. 

Brushing all three of them with the same brush is a good idea--wish I'd thought to do that with ours at the time, I'm sure it would have helped smooth things out more quickly.

 

[feralvr]

My first question was the same as Sally's, are your cats neutered? If not, that is the problem. If they are, then I would suggest keeping your cats inside only. You are putting your male cat at risk of being infected by serious infectious diseases especially if he is fighting other stray cats. I would recommend giving your three cats a bath or using one of those "dry" shampoo for cats. It sounds a bit odd, but it takes the "bad" smell off of the cat causing the issue and makes all of the cats smell the same after the cleaning. Keep your cats indoors, if you can. Sometimes, all it takes is one episode like this to cause a rift in multiple cat homes that may or may not ever resolve. Cats are very complicated creatures when it comes to their relationships with their housemates and it can change on a dime.

For the stray cats coming up and around the house, I purchased a couple of these and now I have no stray cats coming right up to the windows of my home bothering my cats. It is a lifesaver!!! It is a motion detector air spritzer and sounds like a loud hiss. I assure you they will not return. You need to set them up in the usual spots along the exterior walls of the home where the stray cat or cats are most commonly seen approaching.

 

[ckhatcher]

Thanks so much.  Mine are all Spayed and Neutered.  I am not sure about the "visitor".  They are doing some better now, so guess the smell kinda wore off.  Might invest in the sprayers to scare the strange cat.  Thanks again!