Our Two cats suddenly hate each other. Help!

anon123456

Hello Everyone.
Looking for a bit of advice as my wife and i are very upset at the moment.

We have two shorthair cats both 3yo which which we picked up locally. Both happy and healthy (till today) one neutered tom one spade queen

Both get on with each other very well are fiendly and clean each other, they will playfight but never serious and never hurt each other.
However they absolutely detest ANY other cat they see

They have both always been housecats except for 3 months we lived with in laws when they went in the garden and neighbourhood and love it. We live in a first floor maisonette, we try to let them out but they usually take two steps out hear a noise and run back upstairs. They have never seemed unhappy though.

This morning as its such a lovely day we left the door open and they both went out for over an hour, we were delighted.
Then all of a sudden there was an enormous racket, they both run upstairs tearing each other apart hissing, spitting, snarling, fur on end. It was viscious and I'venever seen anything like it from either of them.
Before we could break them up the slightly older(but slightly smaller) cat chased our other one out of a window and she jumped down to the ground.
She is fine and not in pain i checked her thoroughly.

They won't calm down, they both have gone into hiding and the moment they see each other all hell is breaking loose again. We have had to seperate them, tried everything we know to reconcile them. Cuddles food treats toys etc nothing is working.

We are scared we are going to have to lose our cats and rehome them which would break our hearts. We have a four month old baby girl and if they are going to start getting violent we can't risk her safety.

We have no idea what started this or how to fix it. Anyone with any help we would be so greatful
Paul and Sam

RuthnJasper

anon123456 wrote: »

Hello Everyone.
Looking for a bit of advice as my wife and i are very upset at the moment.

We have two shorthair cats both 3yo which which we picked up locally. Both happy and healthy (till today) one neutered tom one spade queen

Both get on with each other very well are fiendly and clean each other, they will playfight but never serious and never hurt each other.
However they absolutely detest ANY other cat they see

They have both always been housecats except for 3 months we lived with in laws when they went in the garden and neighbourhood and love it. We live in a first floor maisonette, we try to let them out but they usually take two steps out hear a noise and run back upstairs. They have never seemed unhappy though.

This morning as its such a lovely day we left the door open and they both went out for over an hour, we were delighted.
Then all of a sudden there was an enormous racket, they both run upstairs tearing each other apart hissing, spitting, snarling, fur on end. It was viscious and I'venever seen anything like it from either of them.
Before we could break them up the slightly older(but slightly smaller) cat chased our other one out of a window and she jumped down to the ground.
She is fine and not in pain i checked her thoroughly.

They won't calm down, they both have gone into hiding and the moment they see each other all hell is breaking loose again. We have had to seperate them, tried everything we know to reconcile them. Cuddles food treats toys etc nothing is working.

We are scared we are going to have to lose our cats and rehome them which would break our hearts. We have a four month old baby girl and if they are going to start getting violent we can't risk her safety.

We have no idea what started this or how to fix it. Anyone with any help we would be so greatful
Paul and Sam

Oh, bless you - what a difficult situation. It must be very distressing. I'm more of a dog than a cat person, but my first suggestion would be to take them to a vet for a check-over. It might be that one of them has something wrong that isn't obvious.

My dog usually gets on very well with a friend's dog who comes to stay when my friend goes overseas. They are best friends but, on one occasion, I had to separate them in a sudden vicious fight which injured me as well. It transpired that Betty (friend's dog) had a very nasty inner ear infection and, when they were grooming each other, Gisèle (my dog) had licked the ear and caused Betty pain - she snapped, Giz snapped back and it all kicked off.

Or it might be that someone or something hurt one of your cats whilst they were outside (whether deliberately or not) and this upset the balance between them.

Hopefully, there will be a simple explanation and you won't have to lose your cats. But a quick trip to the vets is the best idea.

Good luck - hope things improve soon. Keep us posted!

purpleshoes_2

Try feliway. I also dont think you would need to rehome them. Surely you can separate them? It happens. One of my cats took a dislike to another cat of mine after 18 months living peacefully. I make sure their paths dont cross and I dont have the biggest flat. Of course your child's safety is an issue, but they are fighting with one another, it doesn't mean they would harm the child.

Feliway might help, either the spray or the plug in. Id be keeping them apart until you got some anyway, because what's the point of putting them together when you know they will probably fight?

It may have been a one off, hopefully it was.

Pooky

If they've been out a bit further afield than normal then they'll have picked up new scents, its very easy for cats to get spooked by new scents so they might have mistaken each other for "new" cats. Give them a day or two and they'll calm down - feli way is fantastic at calming them down and we use a plug in version every few months to keep our 5 moggies in check.


Keep letting them out though, they will get used to the freedom eventually and settle down.

christineperseus

My cats are brother and sister - 10 years old - and HATE each other!!!
I have photos of them as kittens curled up together.
I don't recall when they started fighting - but it's been for the last few YEARS!
I don't have the money or time for them to have 'therapy'.
I have tried feliway - no change.
They've just turned into grumpy old cats.

donnac2558

Something outside has come into their territory frightened them and they have gone into fight or flight mode. So since nothing else to fight they are going for each other.

balletshoes

I've caught a couple of "my cat from hell" programmes - one was about exactly your situation OP - 2 cats who previously got along great, and all of a sudden started being really aggressive and vicious with each other every time they set eyes on each other.

Separation and then gradual re-introduction, including have the cats eat near each other but separated (in the programme they used a glass partition door then a safety gate). Just until they got used to each other again as friends.

PasturesNew

Could be scrapping over a mouse they were both chasing and wanted?

Tabbit

This can happen for a lot of reasons, sometimes one cat will freak out over something that isn't bothering the other, but then the other will get freaked out by the first ones reaction. As far as they are concerned, their best buddy just started acting like a total psycho for no reason and they can't trust them any more.

Have a look at Jackson Galaxy's work, google him, he's on twitter, look up his TV series 'Cats from hell'... If you feel like it's too much on your own, you could also contact a local cat behaviourist to help you. You may find that you need to 're-introduce' your kitties from new, which can be a little time consuming, but becoming a guardian to them was a promise and I think it's worth that effort to not break your promise by giving up on them. ^.^ Good luck