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CAT FIGHT Custom Search CAT FIGHT isn't a story that takes place in a jungle or even in the shrubs outside your house during the midnight hour. Instead, it's about the very real tension, stress, and, yes, even fights that can take place in your very own home between those mild, sweet, domesticated little cats with whom you live. The following situations are real. The stories have been told to me by readers just like you about kitties just like your own except these cats are engaged in a CAT FIGHT, either psychologically or physically. Joe from the United Kingdom just moved into his girlfriend's house and took his 12-year-old male cat with him. His cat enjoys going outdoors and, in fact, often spends the majority of his time outside. Sounds simple, but there's one catch. His girlfriend already has two cats. One is a kitten; the other is an adult Burmese and can be very temperamental. Joe currently has his cat confined to one room so he can get used to the new surroundings. He wrote to ask how long he should keep his cat there and also asked if I had any tips on introducing him to the Burmese cat. Joe wants to avoid a CAT FIGHT.
Kim from Ohio wrote to discuss a similar situation. She adopted a 1 1/2-year-old male cat about 4 months ago. He's been very playful, follows her everywhere, and greets her at the door. He's almost too affectionate. His tail was cut off and his other "quirk" is that he doesn't like men other than the ones he lives with. Doesn't sound like a problem. That is, until her husband brought home a stray from work. The new cat was a female, about 3-4 months old. The male cat, Jack, took it very well. He never hissed until the new female cat did. He was more accepting of her in the first two days. She would hiss at him and he would back away. Jack lets her eat his food, use his litterbox, and play with his most favorite toy. He's like the best big brother she could ever want. Kim's question is this: Jack doesn't act like himself towards Kim anymore. He's not the always-wanting-to-play or "be near me"
cat anymore. Kim wants to know if this is normal. She asks if he is just growing up. In this case, the dreaded CAT FIGHT has been avoided. But are there other consequences?
Amy from Florida has 6 cats. Two are indoor/outdoor. The other four have pretty much grown up together. They include two brothers,(calvin & hobbes) their mother (momma)and another female (scout) who is a few months older then the boys. They are all spayed/neutered...all have gotten along fine, for the most part. Scout has always kept to herself and was not really one to romp and play. Over the last few months, Calvin has been terrorizing Scout. He is three times her size and will just wait for her as if he's looking for a reason to harass her. Amy writes, "I would ignore it, but then started to realize that Scout stopped going into certain rooms and would keep herself in areas that Calvin would not frequent." The situation morphed into Calvin attacking Scout at every turn. They would stare at each other from across the room and growl. If Amy was holding Scout and Calvin came in the room, Scout would growl and hiss trying to go to her safe spots. Then, to make matters worse, Hobbes started in! Amy started to separate Scout (much to her chagrin) and noticed that Calvin sits outside the door. When, on occasion, she lets him in, he walks in and Scout scrambles to jump up high (Calvin is very large, not all that agile. Amy says they are then locked into stares and growls. This is all occurring after two years of growing up together. The other day, the normally peaceful Hobbes walked in with Amy, and upon seeing Scout, attacked her terribly. Amy is at her wit's end. She wrote to ask "What is going on? Why are
the cats ganging up on her? The other cats, including Mama, do not like her either. I don’t want to keep her separate all
the time, but cannot have a CAT FIGHT all day/night.
THEY ALL HATE HER... Help! "
These three stories may seem very different, but they actually share a common thread. They are just varying degrees of the same behavior. Take some time and give these questions some thought. The behavior in question in these cases can be extended to explain far more than fighting behavior in cats. The answers, likewise, are not just answers about fighting behavior in cats. Instead, the answers can serve as part of the solution to many other cat problems.
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