HELP!!! Please Cats fighting

child359

Hi there,

I have recently (9 days ago) adopted two cats from a rescue. They are brothers and will be 2 years old in April.

Initially Phantom came with a sore eye and I had to put eye cream on and he had an anti biotic injection. Socks was fine.

After a few days of settling Socks would randomly pounce on Phantom and the poor thing would run of scared.

Socks had a reaction after his vaccinations on day 4 with us and wouldn't eat for the day and needed hand feeding at one point.

Since this point (day 5) then Phantom has been pouncing on Socks relentlessly

but ..............

bizarrely enough they are fine during the day time but it is when I sit down in the eveningand go to bed.
It will start by them grooming each other then it ends up with them in a fight miaowing and running off

what follows is then a NIGHT full of Phantom hiding and then pouncing on Socks and then Socks egging him on by staying near him and waiting for him to pounce and then they fight. They is no hissing or spitting

It sounds terrible when it happens and fur is starting to be shed:eek:

Anyway the following day they will sit next to each other on the windowsill, eat next to each other etc absolutely fine.

I thought it may because they were bored but playing with them hasn't helped.
I have ordered some Feliway diffusers but frankly I am not sure I can wait for them to be delivered. It was so bad last night I barely slept...at one point I seperated them but they just sat at the door miaowing at each other and scratching to be back with each other, as soon as they were they started fighting again.

I very nearly logged on at 5am to write this thread I am despairing so much

The rescue stated they didn't show any signs of not wanting to be together in the rescue but once the pen door was opened they seemed happier in with other cats.

They do not go out yet but have been house cats and intend to keep them that way.
They have been neutered.

I understand this may be trying to assert dominance but should it be this bad or still be going on?

Any help will be gratefully received

cheepskate_2

Hi

Not much good with cats, but do they sleep all day. I thought initially they were outdoor cats and were used to being out at night,hence wanting to play at night.

To me it seems like they are just playing, but i'm not really a cat person

UKTigerlily

I agree with the above, it just sounds like they're playing, many Cats come awake at night, mine wants to go out at night but in the day only does if she needs the loo

McKneff

defo playing I'm afraid, not much you can do apart from sticking them in another room so they don't disturb you too much

Sirbendy

agreed. Our boys are the most sloppy loving pair you'll ever see...buy when it's playtime the fur can fly, and howls can be heard followed by one or the other clearing the sofa and us in one bound, then standing ears back, bogbrush tailled, and pelting out the door at speed again. You'd swear they hate each other at playtime.

If they do it and I'm up, I tend to tell them to "pack it up, tarts", or beep the smoke alarm and watch them flee.

McKneff

Sirbendy wrote: »

agreed. Our boys are the most sloppy loving pair you'll ever see...buy when it's playtime the fur can fly, and howls can be heard followed by one or the other clearing the sofa and us in one bound, then standing ears back, bogbrush tailled, and pelting out the door at speed again. You'd swear they hate each other at playtime.

If they do it and I'm up, I tend to tell them to "pack it up, tarts", or beep the smoke alarm and watch them flee.

:rotfl: :rotfl: :rotfl:

lowis

i have two pensioner siamese cats, one is 13 and the other is 14, they pretty much do what you describe....but not quite so actively and frequently. they never hiss or growl when they play / taunt each other, and they do love a chase around during the night time. at all other times they get along fine.

if a cat doesn't like something they usually avoid it, the fact that your cats are not avoiding each other leads me to believe that they are Ok with their dynamic.

Sirbendy

Tis funny though...flying tackles from the cat tree, one on top of the clotheshorse "punching" the other through it with a paw...it's literally "poke, poke, poke, poke, poke, BISH", sitting eating my tea and having fudge charge across Jem, across me, through my pasta and off again...even hiding in the bath and jumping out on each other.

Endless energy, but occasionally it does demand a ding round the respective earhole. At night I just tend to stick my head under the pillow and sigh.

spookylukey

Definitely sounds like boisterous play fighting, especially given there is no hissing or spitting. I have two year old brothers who adore each other and they are always tearing round after one another or bunny kicking the other one's head in. Like your boys they often start with a grooming session but when they come to the throat area they can't resist locking their jaws round which starts the battle.

One of them is the main instigator and his brother is always the one being chased, I bought a Feliway plug in for a different reason and it seemed to give the one who is always being chased a bit more confidence and he quite often chases his brother now or starts the 'fight' which results in a cheer from me! It does take a week or so to kick in though so don't expect instant results.

child359

Thanks for all the replies:T

They have certainly put my mind at ease that they don't hate one another.

I spent about an hour playing with the toys with them last night about an hour before bed time which I had read can help get rid of some excess energy:rotfl:

I am not sure if I was that tired that I just slept through the majority of it as I only heard the odd one!!:T :T :T

Just had half an hour playing with the toys with Socks and trying to tempt Phantom into playing (he is quite timid paying with the toys despite being the one who instigates the pouncing game!)

I have ordered one of those "Da Bird" things which cats are supposed to love.

The are finishing nearly all their meals now and coming straight to me when I walk through the door now which they haven't been doing so hopefully they are settling in nicely.(Fingers crossed:o )

I think I need a good book on Cats. Anyone suggest a good one at all?

Sirbendy

Not really got any suggestions there...the 'net has been my most consulted resource! I'm looking to buy a radio controlled cheapo something for them to chase and scrag - laser pointers work well too.