Strange Behavior

Question
I have 2 cats about 3 years old that have been living together for over 2 years.  They have always gotten along great and had no problems with each other.  Last night they were wrestling and I heard one 'yelp' which is common when they do that.  This morning around 3:30 a.m. my dominant cat was under my bed constantly growing and hissing at my other cat, which has never happened before.  Is this because she was hurt while wrestling or is one of my cats sick?  I have no idea what the problem is and I'm worried because they can't even be in the same room as each other.  Please help!

Answer
Eric,

It is possible that the dominant cat got bit and he is in pain. The growling and hiding can be an indication of pain. If they hurt they try to hide from the pain. Pain can cause aggression in the other cat too. Ear infections, bite wounds, and abscessed teeth can cause a cat to become aggressive. When a cat has a noticeable change in behavior or becomes aggressive you should have the cat(s) examined by a vet to rule out the possibility of a medical issue before dealing with it as a behavioral problem.

It is also possible that one of the cat may have what is called Redirected Aggression. That happens when a cat sees a strange cat outside and  becomes territorial, but can't get to the strange cat to defend his/her territory. The cat then turns on the closest animal member of the family and fights with them as if they were the other cat. They have been known to attack other family cats, even though they may have lived and gotten along together (as yours is doing), the family dog, and even their owners (though that is rare). They are not attacking each other in their minds...they are attacking the strange cat. It is also common that they can begin 'spraying' and defecating outside the litterbox due to the stress of the cat outside.

First thing you need to do is block the window past the cat's eye level of the window that they can see another cat out of (out of sight, out of mind). If it is allowed to go on the cats may develop a permanent personality change.

If you can, keep the cats away from each other for awhile unless you are feeding them yummy cat treats TOGETHER. That is so they will associate something pleasant (cat treats) with each other and not unpleasant (the strange cat).

There is a very popular cat calming spray and plug-in you can use called Feliway (or Comfort Zone with Feliway). It is available at pet stores, vet's offices (they use it too), or on-line. It copies relaxing pheromones that cats produce from rubbing their faces on things.

There is also a calming product that you can add to the cat's food or water that reduces anxiety called Bach's Rescue Remedy. It is available on-line and in health food stores. Here is a link about it: (copy and paste, or type the whole links into your address bar)
http://www.bachflower.com/Pets.htm

If the cats are still being very stressed the vet can put them on "kitty Prozac" for a short term (usually 2 weeks) until they calm down. You may want to speak to the vet about it.

I am including links to 2 good articles on Redirected Aggression that may be helpful to you: (copy and paste, or type, the whole links into your address bar.

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/aggression3.html

http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?action=library&act=show&item=redirectedagr...

Tabbi