re: fighting cats

louby_lou

Hi everyone,

I was wondering whether anyone would be able to give me some advice. I have two rescue cats, Tigger who is approx 5 years old and has been with us for 18 months and Jess who is just over a year old and we've had her since she was a couple of months old. Despite her background, Tigger was very confident and loving unitl we brought Jess into the house, we introduced them gradually but for a while Tigger retreated into herself after the arrival of the new cat.

We've now got to a situation where, although they never cuddle up or anything, they will both sleep and hang around in the same room without a problem but recently I have noticed that the play between them has become really boisterous and quite nasty. The little one keeps jumping on the older cat and there's lots of flying around the house, hissing and howling. I'm starting to get quite concerned as Tigger now spends most of her time on the windowsill avoiding the younger cat and they seem to spend all of their time fighting.

They spend a lot of time indoors as I work during the day and whenever they are let out in the evenings or weekends, both of them never vernture further than the back garden and never stay out long than about an hour. I'm wary of kicking them out all night because once out they spend most of their time howling on the back step, wanting to come in.

Could it be that the little cat is bored and torments the older cat for some amusement? I'm getting worried about the older cat as she seems to be getting more and more withdrawn. Is it worth separating them into different rooms whilst we're out?

Also another strange thing is that the older cat, Tigger, has always had a bit of a thing for socks! Whenever I leave the laundry out to dry, I get home from work and she has pulled all of the socks from the airer and skatters them around the house. We know that it's her because we've caught her in the act a few times and she always makes this really strange meawoing sound when she has a sock in her mouth. As far as I'm aware, she has never had any kittens. (It was quite funny, my husband once woke to a matching pair of socks that Tigger had left at the end of the bed for him!)

Anyway, sorry about the length of this post but I would appreciate any advice people will be able to give me.

Thanks

Lou

_Jules_

Hiya Lou,

Some cats are happy just to curl up all day (and all night) whereas others need a lot more stimulation. It sounds as if you have one of each. It does sound like your youngster is bored and so is finding her only form of amuzement is to pester Tigger and if Tigger is a quiet, low ranking cat, she will just retreat to try and stay out of Jess's way.

I don't like the idea of cats being shut out all night either, they fall foul to other predators (such as foxes), or get into fights, or even wander about and get run over. However, I think you may need to find a way of allowing the cats more access to a more natural life. Is there anyway you could have a catflap fitted? You could still lock it overnight, so the cats remain indoors, but at least they could have access to the outside world during the day.

Tigger is displaying typical hunting behaviour, in her own funny way, by finding socks and yowling to tell you she has caught you something nice Wink

. So it may do her good to be able to express her instincts more naturally (chasing leaves, catching flies etc).

Being an "Innie" cat can be quite stressful to the cat, as they have little chance to do what comes naturally to them.

If you have no chance of fitting a catflap, then I would keep them seperate during the day, while you are out (it can't be very nice to be constantly bullied). Then have some sort of routine for fun and games of an evening.

Cats love chasing a piece of ribbon or chasing and catching those real fur mice; get a big box and cut cat sized holes in it, so that they can dive in and out, ambushing each other or toys. Perhaps even get one of those climbing frame things for cats, so they can express their leaping and climbing instincts.

I'm sure you'll work something out and have happy cats again soon Wink

Jules.
____________
Jules and the Ark

Maisy

We had a simlar situation when we had Sox who was a pair with Patch. They would fight like cat and dog one minute and cosy up the next. Patch would look out for Sox.

When Patch got knocked down Sox would become use to her own company. We actually thought she was lonely and introduced a rescue cat. It was then when Sox became aggressive. She would chase the other cat under the bed and make hissing sounds. It was then that they would fight. It was like the older child bullying the younger one. The rescue cat was afraid to come out from under the bed. The more we told Sox off, the more jealous she became. In the end they would not settle so we had to return the rescue cat unfortunately.

Some cats prefer their own company. They demand all the attention and when they do not get it they play upon it. I can't really offer any advice other than try and give them equal amounts of attention. I hope that within time things will settle down for you Smile