Ask Me Help Desk - Unusual Cat Behaviour

Unusual Cat Behaviour

Well, this is an interesting predicament.

I have 3 cats, 2 girls and 1 boy. They are all slightly over a year old. I have had each of them since they were about 3 months, and they have always gotten along fine. They play, and eat, and sleep together, everything.

However, last night, the two girl cats got into a real fight. Fur was flying, hissing and spitting, the whole deal. I dumped water on them, which stopped them. The one girl cat ran and hid under a table. A little while later, the aggressor girl cat jumped back onto the one that was hiding. They kept doing this, all through the house. It was clear that the one cat was trying to hide, but the other one would just find her and beat her up again. I managed to separate them, but now my boy cat has taken to caterwauling when he sees the scaredy-cat, which brings the aggressor cat running, and the fighting begins again!

This has never happened before, they were like a big happy family yesterday morning.

I have the aggressor cat locked away in a room with a litter box, and water, along with the boy cat. Once they are not around, my scaredy-cat acts normal, although a little nervous. But if they are loose, the scaredy-cat will cower and hide, not even coming out to go to the bathroom.

I hope to get them to the vet's soon, but money has been non-existent. :(

It could be that because the cats are reaching maturity, the aggressive female is becoming territorial.

Here's a link to an HSUS article that explains it in detail:

http://www.hsus.org/pets/pet_care/ou...mily_cats.html

And another that specifically addresses aggression between cats that have previously been living in harmony when aggression occurs:

http://www.catsinternational.org/art...g_a_house.html

I had the same situation. Something sparked a fight and it was on. I talked to the vet and she have me give the aggressive cat some valume (sp?) for a while.

You need to keep them APART for a while. You should get the male cat fixed, probably all of them fixed. As long as the two aggressive cats can sense the others fear, they will keep fighting. If they are all about a year old, they are "coming of age" which is going to cause fights between the two females. You probably need to get them fixed.

But first off I would, get some valume(?), keep them separated at ALL times, and get them fixed.

Thank you both very much.

I am trying to keep them separated, and so far, so good. The aggressive cat isn't even howling despite being confined to the spare bedroom.

And yes, hopefully by this time next week, I will get them to a vet to have them checked out and fixed.

Thanks again. :)

If the female is howling--she is getting ready for "heat". You may want to separate the male from her als0, or you are going to have lots of babies.

Quote:

But first off I would, get some valume(?), keep them separated at ALL times, and get them fixed.

Are you talking about Valium? I would not suggest that you seek a specific drug to correct your cats behavior, unless your vet prescribes it.

But I completely agree that spaying and neutering the cats is a must do! That completely slipped my mind. I suppose I just assumed that everyone spays and neuters their pets.:rolleyes:

Quote:

Originally Posted by BIM

If the female is howling--she is getting ready for "heat". You may want to separate the male from her als0, or you are going to have lots of babies.

Yeah, I can't believe I missed that... If these animals are over a year old and not spayed/neutered, you're lucky you don't already have a litter or two!

Quote:

Originally Posted by tre_cani

Are you talking about Valium? I would not suggest that you seek a specific drug to correct your cats behavior, unless your vet prescribes it.

Yes, the vet prescribed it. I would never give something to my pets w/o the proper approval.

Well, I have seen both of my girls go into heat, and they do get loud but they have never become aggressive towards each other. In fact, they hardly ever interacted very much before at all. They got along well enough, but were never best buds.

And yes, I do separate them from the male when they go into heat, and no kittens so far, thankfully. I planned on taking my male into the vet next week for a consultation/neuter.

Thanks again for your help and concern.

Sounds like a power struggle, not a medical problem.

I was thinking that, too. The power struggle, I mean.

The 2 girls are now getting along fine, but the boy and the one girl are still weird towards each other.

The boy wants to see the girl, but when the girl sees the boy, she gets nervous and backs away. There is no more hissing, and the boy cat just seems to want to play with the girl, but she is still scared. I keep them separated and only let them be together when I am there to nip any fights in the bud.

Thanks once again to all!

Quote:

Originally Posted by pisces_windrider

Well, this is an interesting predicament.

I have 3 cats, 2 girls and 1 boy. They are all slightly over a year old. I have had each of them since they were about 3 months, and they have always gotten along fine. They play, and eat, and sleep together, everything.

However, last night, the two girl cats got into a real fight. Fur was flying, hissing and spitting, the whole deal. I dumped water on them, which stopped them. The one girl cat ran and hid under a table. A little while later, the aggressor girl cat jumped back onto the one that was hiding. They kept doing this, all through the house. It was clear that the one cat was trying to hide, but the other one would just find her and beat her up again. I managed to separate them, but now my boy cat has taken to caterwauling when he sees the scaredy-cat, which brings the aggressor cat running, and the fighting begins again!!

This has never happened before, they were like a big happy family yesterday morning.

I have the aggressor cat locked away in a room with a litter box, and water, along with the boy cat. Once they are not around, my scaredy-cat acts normal, although a little nervous. But if they are loose, the scaredy-cat will cower and hide, not even coming out to go to the bathroom.

I hope to get them to the vet's soon, but money has been non-existent. :(

Hi some cats usually attack cats that are hurt or moan because illness its because the poorly /hurt cat seems to be a strange cat in the house,I suggest when feeding time let poorly start eating first then introduce the other two into the room for feeding, Another thing that annoys cats is some strange smell on the other cat, I suggest cleaning them one by one with the same cat shampoo then let them loose into the same room. Good Luck. CARL.

Hey those sound like great ideas!
I tried the feeding thing, and the 2 girl cats get along fine now. But the one boy and one girl still don't. I think the girl is just afraid of the boy now, because the boy doesn't display any aggressive behaviour towards her now.
I will keep up with the feeding plan, and try to bathe them somehow :D

Thanks!