Cat friends falling out

[flimflam]

Strange behaviour from my two.....

Came home from work today to find Alf and Ronnie, who have lived together happily for nearly three years, growling and hissing and doing all the proper threatening behaviour (spine fur up). This is not the normal play fighting that they indulge in. After watching them for a while, it looks like Ronnie (3 year old female) is doing all the threatening and Alf (6 year old neutured male) is responding to this.

I'm thinking this is a pecking order fight, as Ronnie has always been the lower ranking cat.

Any thoughts?

 

[valanhb]

I would say to separate them, so no one gets hurt, and keep and very, very close eye on them. Many times when all-of-a-sudden one cat becomes aggressive it is because the other cat is sick and smells different. In their mind, different smell=different cat.

That happened to me once, but I knew what the problem was. Trent got his paw wrapped up in one of those elastic hanging mice toys and then wrapped around the legs of our dining room table. He couldn't move the elastic was wrapped so tight. He was so scared he peed on the floor, and Ophelia was attacking him because with his adrenaline going he smelled different (which didn't help him not to be so scared). We separated them, calmed them both down and things were a little tense for about a day. Then everything went back to normal.

 

[yola]

Do you think one of the cats might be sickening for something and their smell has changed hence the strange behaviour?

It also could be to do with the changes in the weather. My kitties play up on occasions have have bouts of quite serious agression - though nothing as extreme as what you describe.

It could be pecking order stuff - but why right now out of the blue?

 

[flimflam]

Things have calmed down. I think I've sussed it out. When I came home the other day, the first thing both cats did was go outside for their evening constitutional - the first thing Alf always does is scent mark spots on the wall around the garden (by rubbing his face glands all over the top of it and rolling around in his own scent). We have a big tom who has moved in nearby, who has probably over-marked Alf's smell. So, Alf rolls around in his "enemy's" scent comes home for dinner and Ronnie doesn't recognise him (as he doesn't smell like Alf). Ronnie was treating him like a stranger coming into her house. Alf found himself a bolt hole and hid from Ronnie for a day (the big wuss - he is twice the size of Ronnie). I spent a lot of time stroking them both and grooming them with the same brush, so their scent intermingled. All is calm in the house of Flimflam.

Plus my chap is home for the weekend, so both sre getting loads more attention.

Thank-you for your advice.