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Expert: - 12/1/2009


Question
i have 2 female cats a 6 year old and 5 year old they out of the blue turned on each other now i keep them apart because all they do is attack its been 5 weeks now what to do.

Answer
Lise,

I tend to voice a minority opinion about such things. My practice is to leave them back together and let them work it out.  It is possible one or the other or both saw a strange cat and got into that fight/fright/flight thing.  When cats are in the fight/fright/flight mode they do not recognize each other until it passes (which may take a few hours to a few days or more.  They usually get over that in a couple of weeks, unless they are separated.  If they are separated, they cannot work out their differences and re-establish their relationship with one another. The longer they are separated, the longer it will take to return to normalcy. Cats have very, very tough skin and most of the "attack" is posturing and noise.  Rarely will they really hurt each other.

I would put them back together and ignore the ruckus and see if they settle down within a couple of weeks.  When this type of thing occurs, I like to take the cats in question to an interior room with no outside windows and leave them in the dark to "chill" for a couple of hours.  Afterwards, they may have an uneasy truce for a while, but usually, they go back to their previous relationships.

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Norman Auspitz

Expertise

I can answer most non-veterinary questions about cats. My particular expertise is pedigree cats, breeding and showing. However, I am versed in feline behavior, cat breeds and their characteristics, general feline husbandry, and the like.

Experience

I judged for the Canadian Cat Association from 1975 until 1982. I am currently an approved allbreed judge for the Cat Fanciers'' Association (the world''s largets cat registry), and have been judging for them since 1991. I have been breeding pedigreed cats since 1971 and have been exhibiting pedigreed cats in shows since 1970. I obtained my first pedigreed cat in 1970 and have never looked back. In 1971, I obtained my first Abyssinian which has become my primary breed. In addition, I have bred Manx and Persians. Currently, besides the Abyssinians, I am also breeding Maine Coons.


Organizations
Cat Fanciers'' Association, inc. (CFA) and the Manx, Maine Coon, and Abyssinian breed councils. I am currently Abyssinian breed council secretary.

Publications
Cat Fancy Magazine, The Abyssinian Chapter in The Cat Fanciers'' Association Complete Cat Book, and Articles for various editions of The Cat Fanciers'' Association Yearbook

Education/Credentials
I received a B.S. from Drexel University in 1968, a M.Math from University of Waterloo, in 1970, a Ph.D. from University of Waterloo in 1975, and a MBA from McMaster University in 1980. I received my approved allbreed judging status in the Cat Fanciers'' Association in 1999.

Awards and Honors
We have produced a number of Cat Fanciers'' Association (CFA) National winning Abyssinian and Maine Coons. We have produced a number of Abyssinian and Maine Coon Distinguished Merit females (an award for a top producing cat), including the first Distinguished Merit Abyssinian in the red (sorrel) color. I am the CFA Abyssinian breed council secretary and belong and/or hold office in a number of cat clubs. I am also a member of the CFA Judges Association.

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