redirected aggression toward another cat

Question
My husband accidently stepped on one of our cats this morning and it and our other cat went balistic. The other cat started attacking my husband to the point where I had him leave the room. I was finally able to calm the cat down. The stepped on one was under the bed. I separated them for 45 minutes or so and after they'd been together for a few minutes they went balistic again and the stepped on one expressed his anal glands. they were both vicious toward each other. I separated them again. This was about 6 hours ago. I got a Feliway disffuser and put in the room with the stepped on cat (by the way, he wasn't hurt). How long should they be separated and will they ever get back to liking each other again?

Answer
Hi
this is called trauma aggression and is a natural response. When something happens that frightens a cat even if it only happens near them and not too them they can still react this way. I would give them a few days a part to give them time to calm down and to feel secure in their environment again. If it is possible to put them in separate rooms with their litter trays and bedding it is advisable to do so.

It is important to do this for your cats as if they are not given this space and time they could end up never really getting back to their old relationship as the fear will escalate and become more in grained.

I'm sure with a little time a TLC they will calm down again.

Best wishes
Kate