sisters

Question
My friend has 2 cats, sisters and they are about 5 or 6 years old.  They have always gotten along great and all of a sudden they are fighting ferociously.  Now one cat hides 100% of the time and wont come out because of the other cat.  The scared cat is not eating and is not using the litter box because if she comes out of hiding her sister will hiss at her.  Any suggestions to why or what can be done to resolve this?

Answer
Lisa,

The odds are that something frightened one or both of the sisters.  The behavior you describe is the standard flight/fright reaction to a major scare.

My advice always has been give them time to reconcile.  Do not scold or try to interfere in any way as this will elongate any reconciliation!  Usually, in a couple of weeks they are civil to each other (assuming no human interference).

You can try a separate litter pan and giving them different food dishes well away from each other.  I would not further separate them, however.

Now, for the next couple of weeks or so, you will just have to ignore their interactions.  In time, they will make up with one another.  Their relationship may not be the way it used to be, but they should establish some kind of inter-relationship.

Good luck and best regards... Norm.