CATFIGHTS!!

[ramanth]

Do I know a thing about cat fights! I have 5 cats and they brawl one in awhile. Usually it's when the weather is hot and uncomfortable there are more fights. But since they have never mortally wounded each other we just leave them be, save for the "Hey, Stop That!"

Good luck!

My Cats

[yorkster]

Originally posted by thelmalu99:
<STRONG>Still fighting.
I have noticed that Elvis is the instigator. Danny will just be there, minding his own business, and Elvis will just go up to him and start swatting at him or trying to bite him. I don't understand, because Elvis seems to be the one getting his "butt kicked". He's got a few small scratches on his nose. Nothing major, but I'm assuming that they're from the fights. I don't know why he keeps picking fights. </STRONG>

hey thelma- I can not remember which one was the kitten and which is the older kitty. anyway, I have a 7 yr. old cat and just a few months ago adopted a kitten who is 7 months old now. they play really rough sometimes, and it will also turn into a fight at times. the kitten annoys our older kitty because he is too active and does not know when to stop. then at other times the older kitty just swats & jumps on the kitten for no apparent reason (that I can see anyway). when he does this he is usually mad and will growl and hiss. I think it is a combination of him wanting to be 'top cat' and just getting tired of being bugged by a kitten all the time. I should add too that they are VERY close. they sleep together, groom each other, very lovey-dovey most of the time. but they are around each other 24/7 and I think any human would need a break from someone if they were around them that much! I don't think you have anything to worry about- it sounds pretty normal.

[Gio]

My two females, Maya and Prema, don't often play together as they both prefer human company, but when they do you better keep out of their way if you don't want to be knocked over! They start chasing each other from room to room and they both play rough. As soon as one gets fed up of being jumped chased or tormented, she will start hissing, swatting and generally trying to make the other retreat in the corner. They always come out of it unharmed, on the few occasions when I thought it was getting a bit too much and decided to intervene, and was not fast enough to take my hands out of the way, I was the one left with the battle scars

[dayzeez]

Hi,
This bring some concern to me because cat DO usually get along if they have from the begining. The only reason they would start to fight would be because something happened. I'm curious...did you buy a new toy, did you move your living room around, did you change jobs? Maybe one of them is sick. You know I actually have a cat with algeries. LOL None the less, let me know!

Sonja

[thelmalu99]

Hi,
You know, I'm getting the impression that all of this is really just rough play. The other day, they got into it and I saw Elvis (the older cat) pin Danny down a few times and bite him on the back of the neck. I was really scared that he was hurting him, and when they stopped, I picked Danny up and examined the area, but there was nothing. No blood, not even bite marks or a scratch. I don't think they're really hurting each other. When they started these fights, Elvis got two scratch marks on his nose, but they have healed up and there haven't been any more.
I have also noticed that sometimes, when Danny is napping, Elvis will go up to him and start grooming him. It's so cute. I wish they could just be that way and not have these fights/rough play sessions. I really hope they're only playing.

[thelmalu99]

Oh, and Sonja,
Nothing has changed at all in the apartment or in my life &gt;sob&lt; LOL!
I have only had Elvis and Danny for about one month, so I guess they're still adjusting. They seem to have made themselves completely at home with the place and with me, but only recently have they started really interacting with each other. If these are really fights that they are having, hopefully it won't last. With cats, who knows??

[Pam]

Thelmalu, I think what you have going on is just really play. My two guys go at it usually every couple of days. It doesn't last long but they tumble and roll all around and the fur flies! Andy, who is quite a bit smaller than Trevor, is ALWAYS the one who instigates these little sessions. It is also completely out of the blue, just like you describe. I think it's sort of an athletic event for him! The only problem is, when Trevor has had enough he usually lets Andy know and a short little chase follows with Andy making a mad dash through the door flap to the basement. Then they are back to their mutual grooming and cuddling until Andy gets the urge again and it starts all over!

[thelmalu99]

LOL at Andy and Trevor!!
Sounds like they have a whole routine!
I have seen quite a few tufts of orange fur fly when my two go at it! Just like in the cartoons, LOL!

[tmckay]

I have 2 kitties - Otie and Mir and have been thinking of adding another kitten. I am glad to hear from reading the responses that usually they get used to each other. I would like to add to the family, but am nervous about upsetting the balance. Otie is very laid back and accepting. He is 5. Mir is 3 and not laid back at all. She tends to be on the aggressive side with everyone except for her immediately family. My vet has recommended only adding a kitten as opposed to an adult cat. She thinks Mir might feel less threatened by a kitten.

[dayzeez]

It is quite possible that they are bonding. I have two brand new kittens and they are VERY cloase but they roughhouse like you wouldn't believe. I think you have two cats that are going to be very close. Watch to see if they start sleeping together.

[thelmalu99]

Dayzeez,
I am waiting for the day!! When I brought them home, I was SO looking forward to seeing them cuddle together and sleep together. I think that's the cutest thing!!
The closest that they have come to that is when Elvis starts licking little Danny's ears and grooming him. It's a big step from totally ignoring each other, so I'm happy and hopeful that they will become very close.

[yorkster]

you just never know with 2 cats if they will be close & snuggly with each other. my 2 previous cats were not at all. they tolerated each other, but that was about it. But they also did not really play or fight. My 2 cats I have now play (and fight!) all the time, but they are also very close and affectionate with each other. I think the closer 2 cats are with each other, the more they will 'fight'- which is not always fighting, it just looks that way to us humans. When I first brought my kitten home at 3 months old, they right away would chase and fight each other. Sometimes the big kitty would (and still does) bite the kitten in the neck, etc. and hold him down that way. He seemed like he was getting really rough sometimes, and it concerned me at first. I had a lot of people here tell me that it is normal cat play, especially when one is quite a bit older than the other, and that older cats have an instinct to teach kittens how to fight. Have you ever seen a momma kitty with her kittens when they get a month or so old? She is VERY rough with them at times! Anyway, my kitten must not mind too much because he keeps coming back for more.

[catwoman]

Yorkster's comments reminded me of something ... my vet once told me that a cat's skin is much tougher than ours, and that is why they can play so rough without getting hurt.

So, what looks rough to us may not feel that way to them at all ...

[4 feline house]

Yorkster-

Yes, when the kittens were still about a month old, Peaches kept tearing into them like she was trying to kill them! She actually hurt Cookie once. We never did figure out why she did that, my last mom (who was a foster) never did such things. Who knows? Now she ignores Cookie, cuddles, grooms, and sleeps with Pepper, and constantly battles Big (who is now almost three times her size) for top dog status.

[sailorsaturn]

I doub thay HATE each other. probly fighting over who gets to be lead. My friends cat has a brother that, like every sesion will fight. then just stop. I think it's just a copation that no one has won yet. then again, I'm not really sure