Two male cats in the house (twin brothers) who fight. What to do? (if anything)

[wartrace]

They are good fellas, usually. They will groom each other & snuggle up togeather but every once in a while they go at it. I sounds horrific but I observed them this evening & it seemed to be a lot of cat screaming & little else. What should I do? Spray bottle? Stop the fight & seperate? Let them finish in order to settle it? (I always let my dogs fight it out, is it the same way with cats?)

Here is the required photo of the subject animals;

Flea Taxi & Chairman Meow.

Forgive me but I have to be up for work in the morning at 3:45am so I will check back in six hours when I get up. Thanks!

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Sometimes cats play-fight, and it's no big deal.

Sometimes they also fight for real; you can usually tell when it's real because they screech and hiss more. That can be caused by displaced aggression; that is, maybe they see or hear something that upsets them, like another cat outside, and they turn on each other, briefly. But even real fighting usually doesn't last long. Unless they are actually injuring each other you can just let them do what they're doing and get over it.

Oh, and don't try to separate them if they are really going at it -- it's like sticking your hand in a Cuisinart. I tried to break up a cat fight once and got bitten HARD.

[applegrove]

2. I have one who hisses like a tasmanian devil when she sees another cat outside.

Horrible sounds. Stops all other activities in house sounds. Everyone goes running in to see if she is okay sounds. I feel for you.

Personally I would try a water pistol.

[Lars39]

24. Ours does that, too.

Scared the whey out of us when it first happened.:o

[applegrove]

31. Yup. When it first happened our bigger cat took offense (thought it was him who was being

hissed and growled at) so they got into a few fights. Then the big cat figured out it has nothing to do with him. But he still runs into the room when she does it to see if she is okay.

[bluedawg12]

3. We have four cats. They can get into some fur pulling

usually no one gets hurt, but, when they gang up two on one, we do usually stop them with words like "NO!" and "Stop it." Which they apparently cannot hear. LOL.

Some times I get up from the chair and say it closer to them, that seems to just cause them to take the fight to another room.

Seriously, the main reason we try and discourage outright fights is on the off chance someone gets bit and then ends up with an infection.

They are handsome cats, btw. Really like tabbys.

[flvegan]

4. Leave it be.

Until you have blood and emergency vet bills, I wouldn't worry.

[foxfeet]

5. Beat 'em with a wire coat hanger! (Just kidding.)

Seriously, I think the squirt gun/spray bottle is called for and I am assuming they've both been neutered. (Please?) I had two brother cats, litter mates, who would roughhouse and tear around the house, but no serious fights. Good luck!

[emilyg]

6. Those two look like my Max and Dofus

Let them be unless it look real ferocious.

[yellowdogintexas]

7. two of my four get into unexplained internecine territorial spats and really

sound as if they are tearing each other apart. Next thing you
know, they are cuddled up on the bed together, grooming and snuggling. They are littermates and sometimes this house just isn't big enough for the two of them

[Shell Beau]

8. I always wondered about my uncle'c cats. There was

the mom and her one kitten that he kept. That mom used to beat the shit out of that baby. It hurt my feelings. The baby wasn't using the litter box and when the mom found poop, she would tear into that baby. It would scare me for the babe. But I don't have much knowledge at all about cats.

Good luck. You have two pretty cats!

[Robeson]

9. Wow. They are beautiful!...

...you should just love them.

[LeftyMom]

10. Dora and Piglet do that. I wouldn't worry about it.

Siblings will do that. Including the human sort- my family could tell some horror stories about my sister and I.

As long as they're not really hurting each other (breaking the skin with bites would be the real concern, and that's pretty unlikely I'd think) let them sort it out. If you break it up with the squirt bottle they'll start right back in as soon as you're not hovering.

BTW, if they're doing it at about the same time every day, it's probably play.

[BrklynLiberal]

13. My latest cat is named Moochie, after the cat in your sig line cartoon.

I just love that cartoon, and the characters in it...

[LeftyMom]

14. I love that comic.

[BrklynLiberal]

16. This is one of my favorites..

[barb162]

11. Call your local shelter and ask if they have a behaviorist and discuss

with that individual, if they are drawing blood and really trying to kill or injure each other. I hope they are both neutered.

[BrklynLiberal]

12. Those are two gorgeous tabbies...

I think there may be times when 2 males may get territorial with each other...especially if they are not neutered. If they are not, that might be the thing to put on the top of your list.

The water pistol sounds like it might be a good idea to break up the state of mind that they are in while fighting.

I just found this..Maybe it will help..
I have found the loud noise option works when my cats start going at it.
I start by clapping and if that does not work I find something to make a louder noise.
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=117802

Hi there

First of all, you have a situation which is only a couple of months
old and may yet clear up on its own.

Just to give you some of my background experience with cats, when we
lived in Las Vegas, my wife and I had a total of 42 cats. (not all at
once) Only four of them were our regular "family." Needless to say
we were cat lovers. My wife is now gone, but I still can't live
without a cat. A home without a cat is just another piece of mundane
architecture.

What we did in Vegas was adopt, then adopt. We would go to the Clark
County animal shelter and bring cats home. We would make sure they
were healthy, spayed or neutered if needed, introduced them to being
around other cats. (Our own four became great hosts after a while)
and then find new homes for them. We interviewed prospective kitty
parents and insisted on inspecting the house where the cat would be
taken. We would not allow cats to be adopted by anybody who had a
child or childred under the age of ten. It's not good for the cat and
not good for the smaller kids who might like to play rough. After a
couple of years doing this, it got to the point that the animal
shelter would call us to let us know they had a hard to place animal.
These were usually older cats who for one reason or other had been
left behind by their humans and were usually down in the dumps. Cats
do mourn their losses.

So, handling fighting cats was not unusual. Our own cats pretty much
stayed out of the fray. They just got used to a steady stream of
visitors.

Now when you see two cats fighting, one thing you might do is to pour
some cold water over them . A good soaking will usually break up the
fight. Never reach into a cat fight. I've made that mistake and both
of them turned on the "peacemaker." Needless to say, my tetanus shots
were up to date. Whatever you do, don't hit them with brooms,
newspapers or any other solid object, even if your cat is the one
getting the worst of the situation. Most of the time that only makes
both animals more aggressive and once again one or both may turn on
you once they identify the fact that you are the one holding the
broom.

If you have a cat fight on your hands and don't have any water
available, make a loud noise such as clapping, banging a pan, etc.
Cats hate loud sudden noises and it often will end the confrontation.

One of your cats may smell funny to the other. Sometimes it may take
three or four months to get one cat to accept the scent of another as
'normal,' and will continue to fight till that situation is cleared
up. However, there is a way to clear that up a little faster. First,
rub a towel over one of the cats. Then rub the same towel over the
other cat. Now the cats will smell (kinda, sorta) the same and peace
can be restored. That is the reason kitty never attacks the cat in
the mirror after having seen a reflection once and checking it out.
The cat in the mirror has no scent.

Some people with more than one cat never have a problem with fights,
but others find that their cats are always getting it on in some arena
or other. One reason cats in the same house fight is that there isn't
enough "territory" for each. It's not a question of square feet.
Each cat has his own internal sense of space. In order to satisfy each
animal's need for a separate territory, try repositioning a large
piece of furniture. In other words, rearrange the furniture so that
it breaks up a large space, creating two or three smaller areas. If
each cat has a space of his own, it may put an end to the fighting.

You can create more separate cat spaces in your home by setting up
decorative paneled screens which are available at most furniture
stores. Set one up in a corner to create space front and back.

You can buy a "cat tree" which will perform a similar function. Cat
trees are tall towers with several carpeted shelves. When you bring
one of these trees home, each cat will usually adopt a shelf as its
own. Since the cat then has "its own" space, they are less likely to
fight over territory.

Now if you have tried all of the above and nothing works, you may find
out that by constantly breaking up their fights, you are merely
prolonging the situation. That's because what they are fighting over
has never been settled. It may (and usually is) fighting over who is
to be top cat. And cats don't have any sexist chauvenism. The "Top
Cat" can be either male or female. In that case, settle your nerves,
and let'em duke it out as long as they aren't getting torn to pieces.
A few nose scratches are minor. As for losing an eye, cats have been
fighting for a few million years and one eyed cats are still rather
uncommon. The adds are strongly in your favor that one or the other
will cry uncle and submit before either one gets seriously hurt.
After they have established their boundries (on their own), the
fighting usually ends completely.

Now my own fuzzy named Milo has been sitting on my lap as I'm writing
this (his usual position) and I would swear he's nodding at the
advice. Milo is now 23 and is one of the original four from Vegas.
So, I guess he understands these things.

Search - google
Terms - cat fights, stopping cat fights

Cheers
digsalot

[Skittles]

15. sounds like normal sibling behavior

yes INDEED

May I ask how you tell them apart, what their differences are in looks and temperament?

[wartrace]

17. One is slightly larger than the other (Chairman Meow).

I usually just call them kitty, they don't respond to their names what so ever. I just named them so the Vet doesn't think I don't like them.

[Skittles]

19. LOLOL

:rofl:

[wartrace]

18. They are Neutered.

I donate every year to our spay & neuter program so of course I take care of my own. I can't imagine not doing that for any animal.

They don't hurt each other so I guess its not a concern but I thought I would ask just in case. It is funny though because it seems to really concern the dogs when the kitties are having a spat. I have six in all and five are beagle mixes who really express their concern with their ears. They always crack me up when their ears go forward in concern. Anyways I usually have two or three dogs that run to investigate the fight. They are smart enough not to get involved although I have seen my old guy "Buddy" work his way between them and give them a warning growl. I think he considers them a couple of his pups.

"Buddy" with his pup "Moe" relaxing with the kitty's. (I adopted Moes mom when she was less than two weeks away for giving birth- she was spayed after the pups were born.)

[Skittles]

20. that is an AWESOME picture

:thumbsup:

LOL, there does seem to be some nose - to - butt proximity going on there :D

[wartrace]

25. Thats the way Moe is, he enjoys smells.

Who am I to judge him?:shrug:

[stuntcat]

26. omg that's sweet!

Nothing to add, the advice so far looks good :) This picture is precious! The first one of them is nice too, we have a grey tabby just like that.

[Eurobabe]

21. It's normal brudder behavior

We have two male tabby brothers, and they routinely go at it. It's all piss and vinegar though, no one gets hurt.

It's all about dominance, someone's gotta be alpha. Let them sort it out. They will never truly harm one another. :hi:

[LisaL]

22. Yea, cats got to decide who is the boss.

[Catshrink]

23. My two older boys are identical to yours

albeit a bit heavier. Mine are 13 years old. They tend to go at it in the evening when one of them tries to hump the other one. They are both neutered.

One was very high strung and whined all night. I started him on anti-anxiety drugs last Monday and now he sleeps peacefully all night long -- and so do I. His brother started the whining a couple days after the first one stopped so now he's on the drugs too. It's them or me.

[MichiganVote]

27. Every tiger cat I've had is very territorial. Separate their dishes.

[Whoa_Nelly]

28. Video'em and post'em on the tube

Lovey and fighting! :hi:

[grasswire]

29. FELIWAY is made for cat troubles

It comes in a spray or a plug-in. Vets recommend it. It approximates a soothing hormone and eases issues. You can get it at your animal clinic or at many pet stores.

[ElsewheresDaughter]

30. get a water gun and shoot them when ever they start to fight

[Kajsa]

32. Try to break it up when you can.

One "fight" between my two ( brothers) ended up
with Darwin getting a really deep bite on his tail
from Nemo.

Vet time, sutures, meds, you get the picture.
The poor guy was in a lot of pain.
:(

So yeah, they can do damage to each other.

I use a spray bottle filled with water.
Now, they just see me coming with the bottle
and they scram.

They hate water.

I also yell " Hey! What's going on out there?!"
and they break it up.

btw, Your two kitties are very, very handsome.

:)
Good luck.

[Eurobabe]

33. If you try to break it up yourself...

YOU risk a nasty cat bite. My mom intervened between her two (non-littermates) and the older more alpha cat bit HER! If it really bugs you when they fight throw a soft pillow into the mix, that will surely divert attention. Cats are like toddlers, they have excess energy and sometimes this is their way of throwing tantrums.

Agree with some of the other suggestions: try Feliway plug-ins, that calms them down, make sure they have their own food bowls, possibly even two litter boxes, maybe they don't like sharing? I've noticed that my daughter's hooligans are much more rough (they are ginger boy littermates) but they have never hurt each other, one always backs down before the point of no return.

I've had cats for 17 years, and my two male tabbies are not litter mates, they spar daily, but all in good fun, the other times are spent cuddling or staring out the window together. The older one is very docile, he's 17 and the younger is 8, he is the more territorial guy.