What to Do About Your Two Fighting Cats

If you have two cats and they are often fighting with one another you may wonder what is wrong and what the best course of action is. Separate them? Let them fight it out? It can be distressing to watch as your cats roll around on the floor wrestling with one another and even more worrying when you see claws and hear lots of hissing. This article will offer an insight into what to do for the best.

What to Do About Your Two Fighting Cats: Territory

When you just have one cat in the house, it will soon become apparent that the whole home is their new territory! They will quickly find their favourite spot where they like to sleep, play and relax. That means that even after spending a small fortune on a cat bed for them, they might still prefer to sleep on your hardwood floors or crushed up against a corner in the room. Once you introduce a second cat into the home, the once placid, docile animal you had will change overnight and feel threatened and insecure, as he seeks to protect his territory from the "invading" second cat. This will result in a great deal of hissing, growling and the odd swat here and there. This usually subsides as the cats re-establish the boundaries and learn who is in charge of which territory. The cats will settle down and appear to get along, but then you may notice that the old territory dispute comes up again as they start rolling around on the floor fighting.

What to Do About Your Two Fighting Cats: Let your cats have their own space

One way that you can help solve this territory dispute among your two cats is to let them have their own space. Do not insist on them sleeping together on the same cat bed, eating out of the same food bowl and using the same litter tray. Like humans, cats like to have their own space and feel free to come and go as they please. If they feel pressured to spend every waking hour together, they will get on each other's nerves. That is why some of them will start to fight, or if the other cat has crossed the line into their own special territory! You may never know exactly where each cat's territory starts and ends, but the cats will know and will let each other know how they feel.

What to Do About Your Two Fighting Cats: Clashing personalities or an innocent play fight?

Cats who are different in age can also clash from time to time. For example, an adult cat who has been with since he was a kitten will be well established and comfortable in your home. A second cat, who is a kitten, will have a different personality and want to play. When the cats get together, they will want different things and will fight when one does not want to play and so forth. So do not be surprised if you open a door and find your kitten pouncing on your adult cat and wrestling him to the floor. It may look vicious, but it could be a simple play fight. Unless the adult cat becomes aggressive and starts fighting back violently, do not interrupt or you risk being scratched or bitten.

As the kitten grows older, his playful, fighting tendencies will abate and hopefully your two cats will get along better. But in the meantime, just carefully keep an eye on what is happening and have a squirt bottle handy in case the fight gets out of control. If one cat is violent and draws blood, squirt him and warn him off. Do this each time he looks like he wants to pick another fight and he will soon back off.