Cats constantly fighting *UPDATE with pics!*

Fire_Fox

picklepick wrote: »

bitemebankers - Would you care to cite your source to back up this statement? "It's what every experienced animal behaviourist will tell you."

Funny that the following is a direct quote from one of the country's biggest cat charities and it directly contradicts yours!

"Most feline behaviourists agree that cats generally lead healthier, happier lives if there is another feline in the household"

Or indeed these
"It is a common myth that cats are asocial. Cats are social, but their social system differs from that of dogs. Cats have neither been exposed to the same extent or direction of artificial selection that dogs have, nor have they been developed in a breed-specific sense to execute specific tasks.

The basic feline social unit is the queen and her kittens. Weaning occurs between 5 and 8 wk, although given the chance, some kittens will occasionally suckle much later. This is probably related more to social behavior than to nutrition. Under free-ranging situations, kittens will remain either with the queen or as part of her extended social group for the first 12-18 mo of life. Male kittens more commonly leave the group before social maturity (2-4 yr) than do females, although all combinations of groupings have been reported for cats. Multiple generations of related females can be found in free-ranging situations, and they may provide some degree of communal care for the young.

Density of free-ranging domestic cats appears directly dependent on food resources. Most domestic cats are solitary hunters. Prey species include those considered by humans to be vermin, which may explain why cats are found worldwide. The small body size of the cat may be another reason that cats have been allowed to coexist with people in the absence of much artificial selection for specific behaviors. Kittens will learn to prefer and to best hunt the prey species that their mother preferentially hunted. Pet cats learn to prefer a certain texture of food."
http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/140218.htm


"In the past two and a half decades, an increasing body of research conducted by various scientists throughout the world has made it clear that, while the feral and free-living domestic cat, Felis catus, can survive in the solitary state when food resources are so widely distributed as to be unable to support a group, social groups that have internal structure, and in which group members recognize each other and engage in a variety of social behaviors, are formed whenever there are sufficient food resources to support a group ... In other words, they are a social species.

Within the group, commonly called a colony, cats form affiliative, or friendly, relationships, with certain other cats, grooming them, rubbing them, greeting them, and sleeping curled up next to or even partially on them. Also within the colony, certain cats fail to form strong affiliative relationships with certain other cats, thus producing a socially complex society in which alliances and antipathies can affect access to resources, frequency of friendly and agonistic behavior and other issues that we are just beginning to understand.

Most people who have cats have two or more cats. Failure to understand what will promote friendly, amicable behavior and what will promote aggressive behavior can lead to various behavior problems, including aggression and conflict over resources, such as food, resting sites and litterboxes. Thus, it is critical that we understand the natural social organization, relationships and communication of the cat." http://zoopsy.free.fr/veille_biblio/social_organization_cat_2004.pdf

chocdonuty

Oh dear, think I started something here, not what the original thread was about but hey ho!
Anyways, things have been a lot better today, they are currently asleep in the same room, not next to each other but it's a start
There has still been chasing about but not half as bad and they seem to like being close but not too close as they have followed each other a lot today and always seem to be in the same room, we're getting there and hopefully it will last
Not sure if I should separate them when I pop out tomorrow, think I prob will when I go to work just in case.

gettingready

Just let them do whatever they want to/have to do - they are not likely to kill one another and you "interfering" is probably making things worse....

Just let them be

Notsosharp

I'd agree with Getting Ready, although your cats might not ever been the best of friends they will tolerate each other.

I have three cats; two of them get on really well to the extent that one of them will go "looking" for the other one when he doesn't turn up at dinner time (especially if I'm calling him too). I think it's to do with the fact they are half brothers (they had the same mother - mummy sneaked out one night).

In fact when this cat's half brother went missing he looked and looked and looked for him and would not stop calling for him.

I have a third cat (who was admittedly introduced much later) whom neither of my other two cats like very much. It doesn't seem to bother third cat, he seems to carry on regardless and bugs the life out of them anyway (I swear third cat was dropped on his head at birth!). Cat two will make a point of ignoring cat three (as if he's proving he's superior or it' all beneath him). Cat one will play with cat three but they usually end up getting what looks fairly brutal but isn't, the claws are never out and the fangs aren't either.

I just leave them all to it and they all get on fine in the end :T

bitemebankers

chocdonuty wrote: »

There has still been chasing about but not half as bad and they seem to like being close but not too close as they have followed each other a lot today and always seem to be in the same room, we're getting there and hopefully it will last
Not sure if I should separate them when I pop out tomorrow, think I prob will when I go to work just in case.

The best thing you can do now is to monitor the situation. If the cats do manage to get along, the best outcome would be for them to remain where they are as cats find moving very stressful too.

As I say though, if they don't get on, you will have no option but to rehome them if you care about the welfare of your pets (and it sounds like you do). Please take with a pinch of salt the feeble self-justification of certain other pet owners on this thread who put their own desire for multiple pets ahead of what is best of the animals themselves and then try to prove this by shouting down anyone who points out their folly.

Only the most selfish pet owners put their own whims and desires before the needs of their pets and unfortunately they're neither uncommon, nor quiet about it.

thehappybutterfly

Our boys fight like the proverbial cat and dog! No. 1 was about 4.5 when we got No. 2 who was 14 weeks (both CPL) and from the beginning 1 hated 2 but 2 adores 1! 18 months later and we still have twice weekly battles. We know immediately who won by the colour of the fur on the carpet! They take it in turns - very civilised.

After 18 months of this, do you think Feliway would have an affect? I do wish they would stop fighting.

Fire_Fox

bitemebankers wrote: »

As I say though, if they don't get on, you will have no option but to rehome them if you care about the welfare of your pets (and it sounds like you do). Please take with a pinch of salt the feeble self-justification of certain other pet owners on this thread who put their own desire for multiple pets ahead of what is best of the animals themselves and then try to prove this by shouting down anyone who points out their folly.

Only the most selfish pet owners put their own whims and desires before the needs of their pets and unfortunately they're neither uncommon, nor quiet about it.

Try checking your facts instead of leaping to conclusions. I have ONE cat but prior to this cat I had .... ONE cat. :rotfl:

bitemebankers

Fire_Fox wrote: »

I have ONE cat but prior to this cat I had .... ONE cat.

So you don't even have any experience of the situation you're pontificating about. Interesting*

* Not really.

the_pink_panther_2

I have 3 cats, brother and sister and the sister had a kitten who I was too soft to re home. Oddly the kitten and her uncle get on very well but the other neither gets on with her brother nor her kitten. She's grumpy and lacks social skills and I think it is just her personality which is causing the problem. I have had them all for a year now. I have tried felliway, it is helping, but as yet, not enough. Maybe it will still get better but I am considering really whether it would be fairer on the cats long term to rehome the one with the issues. My point really is please do try felliway, it might help, give it some time, but I think it depends on the temperaments of the cats also, it might be that this is a problem that just won't go away. But please don't give up yet!

gwhizz75

OP, I have a feliway diffuser and a refill which is about 1/3rd full which you can have. PM me if you would like it - Might be a good way of trying it before you splash out.

I remember posting a while back when we had just got our second cat and I was really at my wits end. They would fight all of the time, and we really thought we would have to rehome cat number 2 as it didn't seem fair on anyone to live like that. Luckily, we got through it and honestly, time has been the best remedy! 12 months on, they get on fairly well - not best buddies by any stretch but you will generally find them lazing around in the same room. They sometimes play together, often "kiss", and very rarely fight.