Problem behaviors in cats, such as aggression and fighting, can occur suddenly or gradually. When fights happen, it can be stressful for you and your cat.
Any sudden change in your cat's behavior could be a sign of an underlying medical condition. Conditions such as hyperthyroidism, osteoarthritis, dental disease, and central nervous system problems can cause aggression. Contact your veterinarian to make sure your cat is healthy.
If your veterinarian has ruled out medical problems, you will need to determine the cause of the aggression in order to develop a behavior modification plan.
Types and causes of cat aggression
If your cat has no medical reason for aggressive behavior, one of the following may be occurring:
Aggression of fear
Fear aggression can occur in situations where your cat feels threatened or trapped. If your cat is afraid, she may act aggressively to protect herself.
Maternal aggression
Maternal aggression can occur when an animal or person approaches a mother cat and her kittens. A mother cat may growl or hiss, smack, chase, or even try to bite another cat that gets too close, even if they usually get along.
Maternal aggression usually subsides after kittens are weaned. If a cat is showing too much maternal aggression, then it may be worth not allowing her any more time until the kittens are born.
Aggression game
All cat play consists of feigned aggression, so rough play is not unusual. Cats may chase, stalk, sneak, sneak, pounce, kick, ambush, and even scratch or bite each other while playing.
However, play can lead to overstimulation, which can develop into aggression. This usually occurs between cats with significant age differences.
Territorial aggression
All animals can be territorial, and cats are no exception. When cats see their territory being invaded, they may hiss, clap, growl, and even chase and/or chase the "intruder" - be it another cat or a human.
Cats are not pack animals
A cat is a predator that walks on its own. If you have several pets living in your home, make sure that everyone has personal items: a bowl, a scratcher, a scratching post and a pad. They don't tend to share with their siblings, so sharing the same toy or cup of water will most likely end in a fight.
If you add a new kitten to a cat you already have at home, then remember that fights are inevitable. The old resident will definitely show the new one who is boss here. This time must be endured. You should not artificially “introduce” cats to each other by pushing their faces together. Let everything go naturally.
Read the article about the most evil cat breeds.
According to experts, well-socialized cats (those who have had experience interacting with other cats as children) will be more sociable than those who have not had such experience.
By the way, “street cats”, which have a habit of fighting with other cats in order to protect their territory and food, can quite easily get along at home with several four-legged animals.
Understanding cat body language
Your cat's eyes, ears, body and tail are trying to communicate their feelings to you and other cats and animals. Some postures and cues to pay attention to include:
- If your cat's ears are turned back, to the sides, or lying flat ("airplane ears"), they are likely irritated, angry, or fearful.
- If her pupils are dilated, she may be nervous, submissive, or aggressively defensive.
- If her tail is down or tucked between her legs, she may become restless. If she's pacing back and forth, she's probably agitated.
- If her back is arched and her fur stands on end, she is scared or angry.
Cat sounds also convey their feelings:
- Growling and/or hissing indicates that your cat is irritated, angry, fearful, or aggressive.
- Howling or growling means your cat is in distress. They may be in pain, trapped, or afraid.
Don't break up a fight with your hands
The first reaction when a cat fight starts is to immediately disperse the bullies by pushing one away from the other. But doing this is dangerous. Instead, act quickly and find a way to distract the fighters from each other. A toy, treat, or anything else they like. Sometimes only a sharp sound or a tub of water poured on the opponents at the epicenter of the battle helps.
If you try to separate the fighting with your hands, you risk getting serious, poorly healing wounds. Unlike your cat, you don't have fur to protect your body. And even your usually sweet and kind cat can hurt you without even realizing who she is attacking.
How to help cats live together
Treatment for aggression or fighting between cats varies depending on the type of aggressive behavior, but may include desensitization, counterconditioning, or drug therapy.
Methods for managing cat aggression include:
Castrate cats and sterilize cats.
Fighting often occurs between intact (non-spayed) male cats, and intact female cats are likely to have litters, leading to aggression on the part of the mother.
Provide additional perches and hiding places such as boxes and cat trees
This allows your cat(s) to run away and/or hide when they feel threatened or afraid.
Have more cat supplies
Having several food and water bowls, toiletries, perches and toys can prevent competition for resources.
Emphasize incompatible behavior—any behavior that cannot occur at the same time as the problem behavior. Praise them and give them cat treats to reward your cats.
Try using pheromones
There are products that mimic a cat's natural odor that can be effective in reducing aggression.
Keep cats separated, especially when eating
The separation may only last a few days, but if the aggression is persistent and severe, it may take several weeks before you can gradually bring the cats back.
Protracted Kotov battles
Male fights are a phenomenon that is caused by the habitat of their ancestors in wild conditions. As already noted, cats, being solitary, have vast territories in which females live. And the main goal of their life is to take possession of large lands and have many cats for procreation.
But if cats fight brutally and bloody wounds are not uncommon during their clashes, cats use slightly different tactics. Being in a state of protracted war, at the first convenient (and inconvenient, especially for the owners) opportunity, they begin to yell and hiss at the enemy - for a long time, waving their paws for a long time... And when tired, they take a short break to resume the fight.
Peace will not come here even if one of the participants surrenders. Surrender will be counted if the defeated purr leaves the winner's territory. Naturally, in the conditions of human habitation this is an almost impossible task. Therefore, reconciliation between two males requires a serious approach and enormous patience.
What not to do when cats are fighting
When you're trying to help your cats get along, it's important to pay attention to whether they're playing or actually fighting. If the fight is real, you want to stop it and then react accordingly.
Don't let them fight!
If there is a real, bloody fight, try to separate the cats, but not with your hands, otherwise you may get seriously hurt. Try to distract them with a loud noise or sudden movement to break their concentration on the fight.
Don't punish your cat
Never punish your cat for acting aggressively towards another cat. Punishment can make fearful or aggressive behavior worse.
Friendship
The most favorable development of the situation, except in the case where animals grow up together from a very young age, is the immediate sympathy that arises between them.
This happens when a kitten appears in a house with an adult cat. And then the owners do not have to think about how to make friends between a cat and a kitten, since thanks to maternal instinct, a cat is extremely rarely aggressive towards the baby. On the contrary, she, as a rule, takes him under her wing. But if a kitten is purchased for a home with an adult cat, then there is a chance that at first the old-timer will ignore the newcomer. But later, a warm and strong friendship can also begin between them.
If your cats keep fighting
If your cat's aggression is severe or becomes uncontrollable, seek the advice of a certified animal behaviorist or board-certified veterinary behaviorist.
These professionals can provide more detailed information and recommendations for behavior modification for your cats.
Unfortunately, some cats simply cannot live peacefully together. If you've exhausted your resources, time and energy in hopes of dealing with aggression or fighting between cats, it may be time to consider finding a new home for one of them or keeping them separated forever.
There must be one monarch in the apartment!
The interaction between two cats is quite an interesting sight. It's nice to watch pets lick each other, sleep in a ball or play. But most often, completely different pictures appear before the owners - the cats “go crazy”, begin to growl and attack, and the fur flies in different directions. In this case, not only the animals themselves can suffer, but also everyone who comes under the “hot paw” and interior items.
Naturally, this behavior upsets the owners and raises a completely reasonable question: “What are these darlings missing? What are cats trying to achieve by staging military battles?” The answer can be found by considering the character of these animals.
Inside everyone, even the most affectionate and docile cat, lives a real tiger - capricious, domineering, and intolerant of objections. Almost all cats, including wild ones, are essentially loners. They do not like to be in noisy companies, accept intrusive affection and show kindness to everyone they meet.
This fact once again confirms that fights are a completely normal occurrence in a cat’s life. After all, they are confident that they are the main ones on their territory, and this dominance must be constantly confirmed and not by talking.
The owners are perplexed why their little furry girl, who has never offended even a child in her entire life, suddenly turns into an angry fury... In fact, cats do not consider people as rivals and do not show aggression if they do not offend them. They consider man to be a huge individual, incapable of ordinary activities - climbing trees, catching rodents, etc.
But another representative of the species is already competition, requiring action from the cat, since otherwise there is a risk of losing its “place in the sun.” It doesn’t matter what the fight is for - a comfortable chair, a soft pillow, a cup of food or the affection of the owner - there will be no truce until one pet recognizes the leadership of the other.
List of drugs
When treating wounds, the following groups of medications are used:
- Hydrogen peroxide 3%
- Aqueous solution of Furacilin.
- Alcohol essence of Diamond Green.
- Fucoricin.
These drugs are used for minor defects, as well as when it is necessary to prepare the damaged surface for other dosage forms. An aqueous solution of Furacilin has the mildest effect. It effectively removes crusts. Useful in the treatment of purulent wounds, minor scratches, cuts, burns.
Brilliant Green is used for minor wounds, applying a small amount to and around the defect. Hydrogen peroxide is good at removing dirt and germs. When applied to the skin, the drug boils, the resulting bubbles carry the impurities out. You should not get carried away with this medicine. It burns and slows down wound healing.
Fucoricin is applied to minor skin defects. Effective against fungal infections, furunculosis and dermatitis.
How to make friends?
cat and cat
Two adult males in an apartment cause a lot of inconvenience, as they almost always conflict. In nature, it turns out that the habitat of cats is much larger than that of females. Consequently, how many cats he will impregnate depends on the vastness of this territory. This is why cats have a negative attitude towards the fact that someone occupies their premises.
Adult pets can treat each other well for months, but there will still be periodic conflicts. With the help of a fight, they will be able to determine who is in charge, and, if possible, remove the opponent from their room.
If there is a female nearby who is ready to mate, then the fight between the cats will be especially brutal, and will most likely end in serious injury or death of one pet, if the forces are not equal.
In addition to fighting, pets will mark the territory every time, trying to kill the smell of a competitor, which will lead to an unpleasant odor in the house that is difficult to remove.
Cat and cat
And if it is almost impossible to make friends between two males, then pets of opposite sexes can get along quite well. But be prepared for the fact that in the first days of communication the cat will periodically show his temper, hissing or hitting the cat. This is how he shows his leadership.
Pets should be fed at the same time, but in different rooms. If they eat from the same bowl, the male will constantly eat everything himself. Consequently, the cat will quickly gain extra pounds, and the cat will constantly be malnourished. Both will have a negative impact on your health.
Many owners, in order to avoid fertilization of animals, simply separate them into rooms.
Kitten and cat
Males are more skeptical of kittens than females. Cats, by their nature, never care for kittens, and in the event of a conflict, they can even kill them. But an adult cat is unlikely to quarrel with a kitten, because the male understands that he does not pose any danger. And after a couple of weeks, the pets will definitely form a friendship. However, you should still be on the safe side: at first, do not leave the animals alone. As the kitten grows up, further communication will develop based on its gender.
Cat and cat
Cats have different personalities: they can be stubborn, proud and even fighty. Aggressive breeds rarely make friends with newcomers. It is not recommended to use force in raising pets, as this will cause the cat to develop an even greater dislike for its competitor. You will have to be patient and persevere.
Why do domestic cats become aggressive?
Aggression is not a diagnosis
It is part of normal cat behavior and is highly dependent on early social history, as well as exposure to people and other animals, gender, social context, handling, personality and many other variables.
Aggression between cats living together can come in several forms with different causes.
Fear, anxiety, medical problems, inappropriate introduction of a new cat, and lack of resources can all contribute to cat-to-cat aggression in a family.
When the cat is the enemy
It would seem that a cat fighting with a cat is nonsense, and yet this happens regularly, and this is not a matter of family squabbles. During motherhood, the cat will not allow anyone close to her children who is even slightly aggressive. If a cat turns up under a hot hand, then, of course, it will be in trouble.
But sometimes it comes to a fight during love games. Having forgotten, the cat may well cause serious pain to the cat; in such a situation, the cat may react instantly and inadequately.
What should a person whose cat has grappled with an enemy do? There are not many options: either a bucket of water or throw a thick cloth over the fighters. The animals themselves will stop fighting. But you should not approach or try to pick up your cat, because this will cost you deep scratches and bites. Time will pass, the animal will calm down and come to caress itself.
Conflicts between females
Every cat naturally has a certain level of aggression. Even the most gentle-looking murkas are imperious, wayward empresses who do not tolerate quarrels. They love solitude, reject noisy gatherings and do not tolerate intrusive affection. That's why cats fight among themselves quite often. After all, it is difficult for several independent queens to get along in one territory at once. A cat does not see a rival in a person, but a fellow cat is an obvious competitor.
Animals fight for bowls, for a place on a soft sofa or chair, for the next portion of affection from the owner. There is no big difference in the cause of the conflict. The main goal of any purring creature is to prove its superiority, to force the enemy to recognize it as the rightful owner of the territory . Also, two females fight when the hunting season begins. They actively compete for the cat's absolute attention. But when the murkas fight quite brutally and constantly, rewarding each other with terrible lacerated wounds, then we are talking about females, in which the territorial instinct is expressed quite clearly.
How to quickly separate fighting animals
It’s painful to look at your beloved pets when, instead of purring pleasantly, they begin to arch their backs and scream wildly, sorting things out and demonstrating their readiness for battle. It is much worse if opponents move from “words to deeds” and begin to fight fiercely. Here you should remember several effective methods that will allow you to quickly separate fighting cats .
- Cover the fighters with a blanket. The animals will experience temporary disorientation, which will make it possible to safely separate their rivals and calm them down.
- Turn on the vacuum cleaner. You can even direct it towards raging opponents if they are fighting so actively that they no longer notice anything around them.
- Use water spray. Cats will run away in different directions for fear of getting wet, because only a few like to swim.
© shutterstock
When animals fight, you should never break them up with your bare hands. Redirected aggression of cats is quite dangerous. It can turn the breeder's hands into a scary sight. The best way to stop a fight is to grab your pet by the scruff of the neck. In this case, only the aggressor needs to be restrained. It will take at least 3 minutes for the cat to finally relax and the level of adrenaline in his blood to decrease slightly.
Cats don't fight at home if a person loves you
As you know, there are no rules without exceptions. Let's remember our heroine Anya and her cat Greta. Perhaps none of the above cases are suitable for them. All of Anya’s animals are healthy and, as we remember, sterilized. The conditions in the house are good and seem to be equal for everyone. But not every living creature feels comfortable in a hostel, and it seems that Greta is just such a cat. It may be that she does not like going to the common tray or is categorically not satisfied with eating from a common bowl. Maybe she thinks that Anya pays more attention to her than to others. And this is also a very likely reason that a cat finds itself at the epicenter of conflicts.
Owners who find themselves in such a difficult situation should create the most equal conditions for their pets - even to the extent of arranging for them beds located at the same height. You cannot scold either the weak or strong sides of conflicts. It is worth spending more time “talking” and playing with animals so that every cat feels loved. Love and patience can work real miracles. And Anya has these qualities beyond measure—the mistress of seven cats simply cannot be any other.
Svetlana Mosolova
When training turns into war
If cats living in the same territory quickly change their anger to mercy, it means that all the fights were “make-believe.” Sometimes one of the murkas may show an emotional outburst, suddenly jumping away with a hiss or using its clawed paw. But this is only a counter move. The animal probably felt psychologically disadvantaged or experienced short-term pain. A slight demonstration of aggression does not mean that the friendly relationship is broken, and the cats will seriously fight in the future.
Enmity. However, relationships between pets can become tense, developing into a long-term feud. Signs of real aggression are:
- battle cry in the form of low howling cries;
- angry hissing and growling;
- static tense poses;
- ears pressed to the head;
- point-blank gaze;
- clawed feet;
- raised hair on the withers and back;
- fluffy tail, raised up or nervously whipping at the sides.
Beating and humiliating a cat is useless and dangerous
Beating and humiliating a cat for educational purposes is the worst thing the owner of a guilty animal can think of. Humiliation and physical violence will not achieve obedience from your pet. He will not be able to grasp the cause-and-effect relationship between his behavior and moral and physical pressure; he will not be able to somehow connect these events.
Beating and humiliating a kitten or an adult cat is also prohibited for another reason. Felines have an extremely vulnerable psyche. Anything can throw them out of emotional balance. Many cats have a hard time traveling in a car, a change of scenery, the appearance of a child or a new four-legged inhabitant in the house, even moving to another room can have a negative impact on their psyche.
Screaming and physical impact on them can lead to severe mental disorders that will require long-term and expensive treatment. However, there is no guarantee that it will be successful.
Tailed bully is not recommended:
- Poking your nose into urine and feces. Poking in its own excrement will result in severe stress for the animal. It will begin to fear its owner, and its behavior will become even more unpredictable, if not inadequate.
- Beat. In the mind of the pet, physical punishment will be fixed not in connection with the action committed, but with the offender or the object with which he was punished, for example, with a slipper. As a result, he will begin to avoid shoes and the person who offended him, but will not stop doing what he was beaten for.
- You can’t stop doing something using the “no” command. These animals do not understand the meaning of this word, and perceive prohibitions as a violation of their personal boundaries.
Beatings and humiliation will not solve the problem. This will only push the pet away, but will not improve the situation. The only thing that can be done without harming the cat’s psyche is to lightly slap it on the back with your palm at the moment the “crime” is committed.
