Bonded pair fighting aggressively

[mitsismoke]

Hey all, I'm a college student with two cats (Theo and Ollie) who are not blood related but have been bonded since they were very young. I adopted them together and immediately found out they are two extremely sweet and affectionate boys. When they were younger, they would cuddle often and playfight at times, though it never got aggressive. They were always so sweet to each other and would groom, eat, and sleep together. I've been busy and working/going to school in the past months, which means I'm not always home as much. Recently, I've noticed Theo has some scabs and, at times, open wounds on his neck (never bigger than the pad of my finger, but still look alarming). They had fleas recently which I treated with revolution - it was a very mild case - but this predates that. They fight pretty often, with Theo usually being the one to initiate it, going after Ollie when Ollie doesn't seem to want to be bothered. Theo is a very energetic and athletic cat with a very mischievous side to him - he revels in knocking over my trashcans and biting my feet when he wants me awake - but Ollie is larger and a lot more mellow and lazy. I notice that when Theo goes after him, Ollie plays for a minute, until it seems that Theo takes it too far. Ollie will cry and try to run away, but Theo is relentless and continues going after him. I'm wondering if these marks are from Ollie biting him out of frustration? I've seen Theo bite Ollie sometimes when they're grooming each other, but it doesn't seem hard enough to hurt Ollie, just enough to annoy him and make him walk away. They have lots of toys around the apartment, a cat tree, a bench, scratching posts, and a hammock. I should play with them more often, but my schedule sometime interferes with that. I don't think it's necessarily from a lack of stimulation, but I could be wrong - maybe he is bored. Also, they are both neutered and aren't ever around other cats. I guess I'm just confused and worried because I want them to get along well and I don't like the idea that Ollie may be injuring him. I'm going to take them to the vet soon and was considering trying the pheremone collars, but would like other's opinions first. Thanks.

 

[Furballsmom]

HI
Theo may be the one who's having physical wounds but Ollie is under constant stress too. If you can, def take them in to the vet and talk about the pheromone calming products, either collars or plugins.

If you find a way, maybe you can start clicker training Theo, and taking him for walks to mentally engage him and work off a little of that excess energy

 

[ArtNJ]

I'm fairly certain your describing bite wounds, not nail wounds. The size, and location on the neck, are indications. If the hair falls off the spot, or you feel a hard area underneath the wound, thats infection. Bite wounds frequently get infected. My only hesitation here is that with real fights and bite wounds, the relationship wouldn't normally include some voluntary playing as your describing. Normally, with real fights and real wounds going on, the less dominant cat would act afraid of the other cat at all times and hide, and/or you'd have a lot of hissing and screaming going on. And you'd see some real fights too. At the same time, a wound that is open, the size of the pad of your finger, and on the neck? I don't see how that can be anything other than a bite wound.

So I'm a little stumped here, this is an unusual one I think, but I am concerned because bite wounds are a serious issue. Infections require expensive vet care, and just as importantly, the relationship normally becomes very hard to put on a better course once bite woundshappen. Maybe we need some additional thoughts here. At a minimum though, check for signs of infection.

If I'm somehow wrong and a nail somehow ripped a patch of skin, thats not necessarily such a big problem, especially given the state of the overall relationship you've described. I'd more write that off as a one time freak injury -- normally nail wounds aren't like that.

If I'm correct, and these are bite wounds, I'd like recommend separation with one in a separate room behind a gate. Basically, that gives things time to cool off and resets the hostility. Or at least I normally would, but your being a college student, I'm not sure you'll be able to manage that. If the only available seperation room is a bathroom, thats hard as heck to make work.

Edit: I know you said the timing doesn't work, but could you be wrong and this be flea related? Excessive scratching could open a wound and make a cat irritable, so it could potentially fit together.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. How old are they now? Sometimes an illness in one or the other can cause aggression. Either the sick cat being attacked by the healthy one, or vice-versa. Any changes inside the home, even things that you can take for granted, can trigger one cat to turn a bit aggressive. Don't know your living arrangements, but even a new cat around the area can set one cat off and cause them to be overly aggressive to their buddy (Redirected aggression).

There are a whole host of possible issues, and you really have to do some digging/researching - and charting/logging of - any change, however small, that might connect to when this change happened in their dynamics.
Re-directed Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Stress in Cats – The Ultimate Guide – TheCatSite Articles
Why Do Cats…? A Guide To Understanding Feline Behavior – TheCatSite Articles

 

[catsknowme]

Is Ollie showing any signs of bladder problems? Sometimes male cats exhibit mating type behavior when they are having bladder irritation. That type of behavior is usually biting the other cat's neck.
Do you have anyone around who would enjoy playing with the cats? High energy kitties often like a long pole with a teaser attached. Using a retired fishing pole or a lunge whip for horses works great - the greatly lengthened chase path allows for across the room mad dashes and high leaps. I had a Maine Coon who was a working cat but when we lived in town, he had to stay inside or go out on his leash only. After his second UTI, the vet explained that MCs are like a Border Collie - highly intelligent, lots of energy and a need to have a job. Once I began the hard playing, JC didn't get another UTI.
As for Theo, I agree with clicker training - it does wonders for building confidence in a cat.