Expert: Dear Tabbi - 9/23/2008

Question
Hello,

Wow do I have a problem going on with my two cats right now and I need some help desperately!  I have 2 cats, Mimi and Fiona, they are sisters that I adopted in 2005, so that makes them about 3 years old.  They have always been best buddies, they sleep together, clean each other, do everything together.  

Three days ago, I went down to the basement to feed them and they were fine, then all of a sudden I heard a “cat fight” going on…I thought at first that maybe something got into the basement and they were fighting with it, well to my surprise, they were fighting each other and have not stopped since.  Now keep in mind that these cats are still the little love bugs they have always been but when they are in the same room with each other they start fighting so bad that things are getting broken in my house and this morning, Fiona had a cut on her nose from Mimi.  I am not sure which cat is being the aggressor but I think it is Fiona.

Now a little background on what has changed in our house…First let me tell you that I adopted the cats in 2005 in New Jersey, in 2007 we move to Illinois, however, the cats have been perfect since that move.  Then this last August 2008, we moved again to Missouri.  When I first moved the cats to Missouri, we had to rent a little house with a roommate until our house was ready and this roommate had a dog, which was really no big deal, the cats just kind of hung out in the bed room and I had a baby gate up so the dog couldn’t get through.  We were only in the rental for about 3 weeks max.

Now, we have been in the new house since Aug. 29, cats and our little dog were doing great.  The new house is in the country, and there are cats that roam around outside but they never come in…oh yah, Mimi and Fiona are strictly indoor cats, anyways, on Saturday when the fighting started I did notice a cat roaming around the outside of the house, but it never stuck around and I am not sure if my cats had even seen it.  Well since then my cats hate each other.

I am not sure what to do, I have separated them, I have Fiona in the bedroom with her own food and litter box and Mimi is in the main part of the house.  I don’t know what t do or what even happened between them but I am at my wits end with all this fighting.  It is even effecting our 14 month old yorkiepoo that was friends with Mimi and Fiona.  

What is going?...How do I fix this, I just want my house to be the loving “zoo” that I had before.  I miss watching the cats chase each other in playing and the dog chase the cats and the cats chase the dog.  

Oh one more thing, I have just recently bought that new rodent/insect repellent called Riddex that you plug into the wall, it said it was safe for pets, but could that maybe have something to do with this strange behavior the cats are having?  I unplugged it yesterday and there is no change in their actions…just a thought.

Please advice.


Answer
Laura,

The plug in insect repellant has caused problems with cats because some can hear the high pitch whine it emits and it hurts their ears, which can make them aggressive.

But your problem sounds like it is a common behavior called Redirected Aggression.

That happens when a cat sees a strange cat outside and  becomes territorial, but can't get to the strange cat to defend his territory. The cat then turns on the closest animal member of the family and fights with them as if they were the other cat. They have been known to attack other family cats, even though they may have lived and gotten along together (as yours is doing), the family dog, and even their owners (though that is rare). They are not attacking each other in their minds...they are attacking the strange cat. It is also common that they can begin 'spraying' and defecating outside the litterbox due to the stress of the cat outside.

First thing you need to do is block the window past the cat's eye level of the window that they can see another cat out of (out of sight, out of mind). If it is allowed to go on the cats may develop a permanent personality change.

If you can, keep the cats away from each other for awhile unless you are feeding them yummy cat treats TOGETHER. That is so they will associate something pleasant (cat treats) with each other and not unpleasant (the strange cat).

There is a very popular cat calming spray and plug-in you can use called Feliway (or Comfort Zone with Feliway). It is available at pet stores, vet's offices (they use it too), or on-line. It copies relaxing pheromones that cats produce from rubbing their faces on things.

There is also a calming product that you can add to the cat's food or water that reduces anxiety called Bach's Rescue Remedy. It is available on-line and in health food stores. Here is a link about it:
(copy and paste, or type the whole links into your address bar)
http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm

If the cats are still being very stressed the vet can put them on "kitty Prozac" for a short term (usually 2 weeks) until they calm down. You may want to speak to the vet about it.

I am including links to 2 good articles on Redirected Aggression that may be helpful to you: (copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar.

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/aggression3.html

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=redirectedagr...

Something to be aware of is that pain can cause aggression. Ear infections, bite wounds, and abscessed teeth can cause a cat to become aggressive. When a cat has a noticeable change in behavior or becomes aggressive you should have the cat(s) examined by a vet to rule out the possibility of a medical issue before dealing with it as a behavioral problem.

I hope this answered your question.

Tabbi