Two Neutered Cats Fighting, Again

Question
QUESTION: Hi Norm,

I've reached out to you before, (http://www.allexperts.com/user.cgi?m=6&catID=1606&expID=20908&qID=4922950) about the same cats.

Following your advice, things settled down quite a bit. There would still be fighting, usually after seeing a stray cat, but we got a dog (who lives outside completely) and the stray cat stopped showing up. The fighting also reduced quite a lot, and was barely noticeable. I think there was maybe one or two major fights after my last question to you.

This past January/February, I was out of the country so the cats were at home with the remainder of the family. They had a fight, of which I don't know many details.

Once I got back, I noticed that the fighting has increased. One cat (Tyler) actually got hurt (a nail fell out and he has a wound on his shoulder from the fighting) which had never happened before. To go into further details, I'll need to use names.

The cat's are Tyler and Charlie. Both males, neutered and brothers. Tyler has always been the more curious one, willing to go explore while Charlie has always been a bit fearful of change. Charlie is also the one who is more dependent and attached to us humans, whereas Tyler just wants to be petted a bit and is quite independent.

From what I can tell, during the fight they had, something happened to scare Charlie so much that he won't let Tyler near him (although he wasn't harmed in any way while I was away so I can't be sure of this). He hisses whenever Tyler comes near him, and very rarely do the two now even sit near each other (they used to sleep on top of each other before, even with the sporadic fighting). In fact, Charlie won't even sleep unless he's hidden or with a human when the tension is high (in the immediate day following a big fight).

Tyler on the other hand doesn't know what to do. He is missing a playmate and he's hissed at every time he goes near Charlie (or sometimes even near my mom/dad if Charlie is nearby). He tiptoes around the rooms trying to make sure there's no fighting, and is usually never the one that starts the fighting.

Usually, the fighting now happens like this:

Tyler will be sitting somewhere or playing on his own
Charlie will come up and start hissing
Tyler will hiss at him too

Following this, Tyler will chase Charlie (sometimes after Charlie runs away from the situation), and we'll usually have to separate the two (Charlie runs under couches/beds and pees himself in the process). After this there will be 1-2 days where both will tiptoe around the house, Charlie will stay huddled next to a human, and Tyler will check to make sure he doesn't run into Charlie.

Tyler was also the one who got hurt previously, Charlie has never been hurt by Tyler. From what I can tell, this won't go away till Charlie realizes that Tyler won't hurt him, but I need to know what I can do to speed that process along.

They've been fighting on a weekly basis since March (sometimes more) and I feel like I live in a war zone. I can't even feed them together without worrying about them fighting, I have to monitor them when they use their litter box and I have to bring them into my room separately making sure they don't start fighting. They won't even sleep until I'm between the two of them (at night, in my bed) and will often wake me up because of their hissing at each other.

Thanks,
Nida

ANSWER: Nida,

This is problematic as usually, companion cats, when they fight do not draw blood or hurt each other.

It may be time to find one of them another home unless you can find the cause of all this angst!!!!!!!!!!

You can try a Feliway diffuser where the litter pan is. However, I would get another litter pan and have it in another part of the household.  It sounds to me as if they are separated more than they are together. If this is the case, it is unlikely they will ever get along.  They need to have access to each other all the time, or they will never learn to get along!!  It is also possible that they may never get along again.  You will just have to play that by ear.

My guess is that your being gone and coming back after a time may have been sufficiently disrupting to get them going again. See if things do settle down after a couple of weeks.

Please let me know how they do.

Best regards... Norm.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Norm,

No, they aren't separated. They just prefer to stay in different rooms, even when they have access to  each other. The litter pan is something they never fight over actually, they usually fight over my bed (where they sleep) and the living room.

Other then that, they have drawn blood. Both have minor scratches but one (Tyler) had a major gash on his leg which has healed now.

Would you suggest I talk to a vet if you think this is a bigger issue, because giving one away is not an option for me.

Answer
Nida,

You could try the Feliway diffuser.  On the other hand, although I am not a vet, you might ask your vet to check the thyroid levels of both cats as that can affect behavior and aggression.

You can see if your vet could recommend a tranquilizer for a short time to see if you can mellow out their behavior. However, if the cat thinks you are messing with its head, it might just get worse!?!?!?

Please let mw know what you find out from your vet.

Best regards... Norm.