I'm starting this thread to ask if anyone managed to train their cat not to fight other cats(strays) after he/she started doing so regularly.
First let me say my cats are outdoor/indoor and it's not an option for me to change to indoor only, or make an enclosed outdoor area for cats,or cat proof all of my fences
So back to the point, one of my cats Seth, fights other cats pretty much every 2~3 weeks. He just barely manages to heal his previous injuries (every single time this includes a puncture wound to the inside of his right front leg). I start thinking, he's getting better, he hasn't fought for a while maybe things will change... And then one night I'm woken up in a middle of a night with the sounds of cats fighting. Of course I quickly get up to brake them apart. When I go out my other cat Ramzes usually comes out from some hiding place, but Seth... Every single time he has various injuries. None are really life threatening, but I worry he might loose an eye or get really injured badly while I'm not aware. In a way he's lucky I tend to hear and wake up when they fight.
I think Seth wasn't like this before. I remember situations when he didn't care for other cats strolling right in front of him. On the other hand, perhaps he was fighting, but it was far from home and he wasn't getting injured that much. Why do I think so? He got really ill some time ago (perhaps a year has passed) and he had to get an IV. The vet commented he has lots of scar tissue in the inside of his right front leg where she was trying to put the IV. So I wonder. Also Seth came to live with us at 1 year old (he was born stray in a city, at ~8/10 months old he was picked up by a local cat charity and that's how he ended up with us) so it might have happened prior.
So coming back to the problem. My other cat Ramzes, had a phase when he was behaving like that. Until once he got injured, got an infection and had to get antibiotics. Then he stopped. Now he just hides rather than fights. Perhaps he has the opportunity to hide because Seth fights that other cat?
Seth on the other hand seems to not remember at his injuries at all. Also my vet is of the opinion there is no stopping it. She said "once they(certs) start liking the adrenalin of the fight they will seek more of it". So perhaps I just need to get used to it, but before I do I'm asking here.
Has anyone encountered a situation like this and managed to resolve it without physically separating the cats? I'm not even sure the cat Seth fights is the same one each time as by the time I get to "the scene" the other cat is gone.
First let me say my cats are outdoor/indoor and it's not an option for me to change to indoor only, or make an enclosed outdoor area for cats,or cat proof all of my fences
So back to the point, one of my cats Seth, fights other cats pretty much every 2~3 weeks. He just barely manages to heal his previous injuries (every single time this includes a puncture wound to the inside of his right front leg). I start thinking, he's getting better, he hasn't fought for a while maybe things will change... And then one night I'm woken up in a middle of a night with the sounds of cats fighting. Of course I quickly get up to brake them apart. When I go out my other cat Ramzes usually comes out from some hiding place, but Seth... Every single time he has various injuries. None are really life threatening, but I worry he might loose an eye or get really injured badly while I'm not aware. In a way he's lucky I tend to hear and wake up when they fight.
I think Seth wasn't like this before. I remember situations when he didn't care for other cats strolling right in front of him. On the other hand, perhaps he was fighting, but it was far from home and he wasn't getting injured that much. Why do I think so? He got really ill some time ago (perhaps a year has passed) and he had to get an IV. The vet commented he has lots of scar tissue in the inside of his right front leg where she was trying to put the IV. So I wonder. Also Seth came to live with us at 1 year old (he was born stray in a city, at ~8/10 months old he was picked up by a local cat charity and that's how he ended up with us) so it might have happened prior.
So coming back to the problem. My other cat Ramzes, had a phase when he was behaving like that. Until once he got injured, got an infection and had to get antibiotics. Then he stopped. Now he just hides rather than fights. Perhaps he has the opportunity to hide because Seth fights that other cat?
Seth on the other hand seems to not remember at his injuries at all. Also my vet is of the opinion there is no stopping it. She said "once they(certs) start liking the adrenalin of the fight they will seek more of it". So perhaps I just need to get used to it, but before I do I'm asking here.
Has anyone encountered a situation like this and managed to resolve it without physically separating the cats? I'm not even sure the cat Seth fights is the same one each time as by the time I get to "the scene" the other cat is gone.