Fighting cats

Question
Hi there. We recently inherited two brother cats. They belonged to our neighbors who lost their house and left them behind. We took them in and for the most part, they are wonderful. Money is a little tight for us right now but I don't want them going to the pound and I won't be able to get them to the vet for a month or two. They are playful, eat and drink plenty. They are loveable and like to cuddle. The problem is this...whenever my nephew comes over they start making this weird noise immediately and they start fighting eachother. Really bad fighting. My nephew is 14 and the sweetest kid. He is an animal lover and never has any problems with any other animals. It gets really bad and it takes the rest of the day for them to calm down. I don't think they have been neutered which is one of the reasons I need to get them to the vet. Does this have anything to do with it? They don't try to attack my nephew at all, just eachother. Please help me. I would like to keep the cats but I also would like my nephew to be able to come over as I have a large close knit family. The cats don't have this behavior with anyone else. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Kim

Answer
Kim,

It sounds like what's happening here is called re-directed aggression. What this means is that your cats are very upset by the sound that your nephew makes and they are either too good natured or too intimidated by his size (relative to the small size of house cats compared to humans) to attack him so they attack each other. I suspect that something in the way that your nephew smells (if he smells of other intact male animals, other pets, etc) or his body language is intimidating to the cats. I would suggest that you consider checking out Bach flower remedies such as Mimulus which is meant to treat fear and Gorse which is meant to restore optimism. There are other remedies which may fit better and there is a ton of information on Bach flower remedies online so if you have time I would suggest that you do a bit of research and pick the remedies that best fit your cats' overall personalities as well as the specific fear they have of your nephew.

If these guys aren't neutered they could perceive the presence of a male who doesn't live with you in their territory as a challenge to them which would cause them to fight amongst themselves. Definitely neutering will help once you're able to financially swing it but depending on where you live it's possible that you may be able to get these boys neutered for minimal or no cost at any number of spay/neuter programs set up by animal welfare organizations, humane societies and rescue groups.

If the cats are seeing your nephew's presence as a challenge to their territory the best possible thing that you can do is to set them up in a quiet room away from the action with food, water, litter, toys, etc while your nephew is visiting - at least until they're neutered and the testosterone leaves their system which will make them less territorial. In mature males it can take a couple of months for testosterone to leave their system so this is a temporary issue.

Hopefully this information helps. If you have any further questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again at any time - I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali