Mary Allen
If your cats fight, the first thing to do is to find out what caused the conflict. The cat dispute can be settled better in the long term if you tackle the problem at the root. But what can you do yourself and when should you get help?
Cats don’t always fight in an open fight. A conflict has often been smoldering for a long time and only becomes apparent to people later. If you notice that things are tense between your furry friends, it’s bullying or open arguments, you should try to mediate.
Why Cats Fight
In order to meditate, you need to consider why your cats are fighting and what reasons may have triggered the conflict. Turf wars are quite common among velvet paws and are part of their instinctual behavior. If your cat is arguing with neighboring cats outside, there is little you can do. However, if your velvet paw often suffers serious injuries, you should think about secure outdoor access or housing to protect your cat.
But even among indoor cats that share a household, there can be disputes over territory. Here the animals are individually very different. While one house cat hardly needs anything “on its own”, the next to react extremely sensitively to this topic.
This not only refers to the actual prey but also the food bowl, room, scratching post, toys, and litter box are things that your velvet paw may want to claim for itself. Furthermore, one cat may perceive the other as an intruder or stranger, for example when a new furry friend comes into the house.
Quarrels among cat siblings, on the other hand, are rather rare, but here, too, it can suddenly lead to downright bullying. This is often the case with the combination cat/tomcat because the different playing behavior sometimes leads to tension with increasing age.
Sometimes there are catfights even after the vet visit because the sick kitty has picked up strange smells in the practice. Your feline friend at home then literally doesn’t want to smell them anymore or doesn’t recognize them because of the foreign smell.
Prevent Cat Fights: 4 Simple Tips
Territorial wars and disputes over resources can easily be avoided in multi-cat households with a few simple tips.
A Litter Box for Each Cat
Many cats don’t like sharing their litter box. It is, therefore, best to set up a litter box for each cat. If several velvet paws have to go to a toilet, although some of the furry friends are reluctant to share their cat litter, there will certainly be a fight and you may even find some leftovers from the animals next to the litter box.
Separate Food Bowls & Drinking Bowls for Each Cat
What applies to the litter box also applies to the food bowl and water bowl. Cats can be very particular when it comes to their food. Many velvet paws can only eat relaxed if they are completely undisturbed. If other house tigers frolic around the bowl, eating quickly becomes more stressful than pleasure. Ideally, you should place the bowls in different rooms so that nobody gets in each other’s way.
Offer Enough Scratching & Playing Areas
Cats not only like to scratch scratching posts and other objects because they care for their claws. They also do this to mark areas and things as theirs. It is, therefore, best to set up several scratching posts and the like throughout the apartment where your darlings can let off steam.
Cat Toys
In addition to several options for hiding and sleeping, variety in playing is also recommended. A multi-cat household should have a variety of cat toys. Intelligence toys, puzzle boards, and other cat toys will certainly not lie around unused when there are several cats in the apartment.
Not Enough Space
Apart from the resources, the space also plays an important role in the peaceful coexistence of your velvet paws. The more space your cats have in height, the more relaxed it is for everyone involved. The reason is simple: velvet paws often prefer the height – for very different reasons. Sometimes one fur nose wants to stand out and sit at the top as the highest ranking. Then again, a particularly shy specimen seeks the heights to feel safer. If these alternatives are not available, conflicts often arise.
Therefore, provide another cat scratching post, window seats, or platforms so that the situation relaxes. Don’t forget: We humans live in a horizontal world, while cats move on several spatial levels.
Avoid Catfights After the Vet Visit & Among Unfamiliar Cats
If you want to bring two strange cats together or prevent catfights after the vet, it helps to gently wipe your first cat or the cat that stayed at home with a cloth. Before the cats get to know each other, or before returning from the vet, rub the other kitty with the same cloth so they take on each other’s scents and become less threatening to each other.
Settling Cat Disputes: Distraction Helps
Even if your cats argue violently, you should only intervene openly in exceptional cases. Distraction is better here to separate the opponents. For example, while the cats are arguing, you can clap your hands or throw a pillow in the corner. Make sure you don’t hit your cats with it and don’t let them know you’re behind the distraction of the loud noise. Otherwise, the animals will associate you with the unpleasant stimulus, which can lead to other problems.
As a rule, the brawlers are so surprised by the distraction that they stop fighting and the loser can flee. The distance helps the mood calm down again. Speaking of mood, cats can subconsciously sense and take over a person’s mood. So try to stay calm, relaxed, and cheerful yourself – even if your cats are fighting. Then you can mediate indirectly by suggesting to your furry friends that everything is fine.
You can reinforce this impression by always having something pleasant happen when both cats are in the same room. For example, by distributing treats, pats, and hours of play fairly among your cats.
Cats fight: When to the Vet?
If your house tigers are normally of one heart and one soul, it can possibly be a symptom of illness if your cats suddenly only fight. Because: Irritable or aggressive behavior can indicate that a cat is not feeling well or is in pain. In this case, go to the vet as a precaution and have your velvet paw examined in detail.
If your vet doesn’t find anything and your cat seems otherwise in great shape, you can go through the other causes of the dispute again. Get stuck, don’t be afraid to consult a cat psychologist.