I need help. Cats now fighting.

[Erin80]

We brought Tea home a week and a half ago. All was going well. Our black and white cat Binx is very playful with other cats, and in the beginning if he wanted to play with Tea, Tea would just swipe and hiss at him. Now, if Binx tries to play chase or anything like that, Tea chases him and then corners him growling...and he tries to fight him. It’s awful. Binx is so not like that. I feel like we should have got a kitten instead as maybe that energy would match better. They are only just a year, both neutered......is there any hope? I can’t have them fighting like that.

 

[ArtNJ]

You need to try a reintroduction, which is basically pretending they dont know each other and doing a full formal introduction process. There is very little hope if you dont and there is actual fighting as you have stated. Cats can work through a lot of stuff, but usually not if there is actual fighting.

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction - TheCatSite

Unsuccessful cat introduction can lead to stress and conflicts in your furry family. Discover the steps for a proper reintroduction.

thecatsite.com

How To Successfully Introduce Cats [The Ultimate Guide] - TheCatSite

Introduce cats seamlessly into your household with our comprehensive guide. Gain insights into cat behavior, discover effective techniques, and make this journey as smooth as possible for your beloved pets.

thecatsite.com

It sounds like you didn't do any introduction process? That was a mistake. You can usually get away with that if the new cat is a kitten because adult cats are biologically hardwired not to attack kittens. But with two adult cats, even young ones, doing an introduction process is always prudent.

With a reintroduction, YES, there is hope! Both of your cats are one year old! That helps a LOT. **There is still a good chance they may end up friends.**

P.S. At the end of a formal introduction process there can still be some tension. We generally say that anything short of actual fighting is ok and something they can generally work through on their own. Do you feel like you have a handle on what constitutes actual fighting? If not, we have some videos around somewhere. In general, swipes with the paw dont count. Even a charge and swipe doesn't count since that can be done with defensive, get away from me intent. A fight will generally involve rolling around, with maybe a chase first if one cat doesn't want to fight, and the vocalisations will be quite a bit more alarming than the usual hiss and growl.

 

[Erin80]

You need to try a reintroduction, which is basically pretending they dont know each other and doing a full formal introduction process. There is very little hope if you dont and there is actual fighting as you have stated. Cats can work through a lot of stuff, but usually not if there is actual fighting.

How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction - TheCatSite

Unsuccessful cat introduction can lead to stress and conflicts in your furry family. Discover the steps for a proper reintroduction.

thecatsite.com

How To Successfully Introduce Cats [The Ultimate Guide] - TheCatSite

Introduce cats seamlessly into your household with our comprehensive guide. Gain insights into cat behavior, discover effective techniques, and make this journey as smooth as possible for your beloved pets.

thecatsite.com

It sounds like you didn't do any introduction process? That was a mistake. You can usually get away with that if the new cat is a kitten because adult cats are biologically hardwired not to attack kittens. But with two adult cats, even young ones, doing an introduction process is always prudent.

With a reintroduction, YES, there is hope! Both of your cats are one year old! That helps a LOT. **There is still a good chance they may end up friends.**

P.S. At the end of a formal introduction process there can still be some tension. We generally say that anything short of actual fighting is ok and something they can generally work through on their own. Do you feel like you have a handle on what constitutes actual fighting? If not, we have some videos around somewhere. In general, swipes with the paw dont count. Even a charge and swipe doesn't count since that can be done with defensive, get away from me intent. A fight will generally involve rolling around, with maybe a chase first if one cat doesn't want to fight, and the vocalisations will be quite a bit more alarming than the usual hiss and growl.

We kept Tea (tabby) in his own room for 3 days after we got him. Then we gated a hallway off with baby gates so the cats could see but not touch each other for 2 more days. After everyone was finished with hissing and seemed comfortable going nose to nose through the gates, we lifted the gates. Tea still gets put away in his room at night, and Kaia and Binx are together at night as always. It seems to just be when Binx or Tea wants to play that our issues happen. Tea seems to mistake Binxs energy for aggression, and he goes into fight mode. When they aren’t hyper and wanting to play, It is peaceful here. Tea will head boop the cats and seems fine. It’s only when they get the crazies that signals seem to be misread and fights begin.

 

[ArtNJ]

If they are booping heads after a "fight" it might not have been a fight in the first place. Cats tend to hold grudges if they are actually being hurt. Can you describe what happens in detail? If what is going on is Tea saying "you are freaking me out! Get the bleep away from me!" with a defensive swat that is a different and much less troubling thing then "you have challenged me! Prepare to die!" If the mindset is defensive rather than offensive, injuries are unlikely and progress can be made as they gradually work stuff out on their own.

3 days is short for an introduction but with booping noses through the gate, and both being young, I probably would have put them together as well.

If this isn't a fight, perhaps you can try and time "the crazies" and separate them, feed them or play with them right before. "The crazies" -- we often call them "the zoomies" -- tend to happen at the same times for many cats.

 

[Erin80]

If they are booping heads after a "fight" it might not have been a fight in the first place. Cats tend to hold grudges if they are actually being hurt. Can you describe what happens in detail? If what is going on is Tea saying "you are freaking me out! Get the bleep away from me!" with a defensive swat that is a different and much less troubling thing then "you have challenged me! Prepare to die!"

Lol.
Binx will get a burst of energy and will playfully chase Tea. Tea will react defensively, will swat or hiss at Binx (best case) or will then chase Binx and corner him, while growling, and then leap on him at which point all sorts of crazy noises happen and I break them up. During calm times, they are fine as long as Binx keeps his distance from Tea. As soon as Binx tries to play or chases him, Tea freaks out.
That’s pretty much what is happening!

 

[ArtNJ]

Well, unfortunately that does sound like a fight. I guess you have either been lucky that there have been no painful injuries yet, or Tea just isn't the grudge holding type.

I think I would try a longer reintroduction.

This is bad luck. Two one year olds usually end up friends. Well, they may still get there.

By the way, do you know Tea's background?

 

[Erin80]

He came from a hoarding situation. He probably never learned to play I’m guessing.

 

[Erin80]

The good thing is my mother in law would love a cat...and she doesn’t have any other animals...so Tea might move in with her.

 

[MoonstoneWolf]

The one thing I learned with my ferals is that a lot of times Treasure would be wanting to play and Shaman wouldn't. She gets pretty vocal at him too and they take all the stances of fighting but 20 minutes later they'll be insisting on eating off the same plate together or snuggling up with one another. Shaman isn't a playful cat. She likes to be pet, talked to and kept company but does not like to play. I sometimes think Treasure likes to play too much and a bit rough at that.

But all in all Shaman and Treasure are littermates and best buddies. Sopdet fights off Treasure as well but same thing, he likes to play and she'll just want to lay and relax so she get after him "Go play with a squirrel buddy". Just my observations. Not all cats are quiet when they play.

One example is that one time there were 5 raccoons in the back yard. They all saw Treasure coming and took off. 50 lb raccoons that could tear a cat apart went running from him. Not because they were afraid but maybe because they were not in a mood to play. I think it's his playfulness though that caused him to be at the vets right now so yea I do think that maybe monitoring playtime is a good idea.

 

[jen]

Do they do anything else together like eat or sleep near one another during the day when they can both interact?

 

[jen]

Bottom line is if one cat wants to play, or even both which it sounds like yours do (Binx chases Tea, Tea chases back) and the other one eventually doesn't, they will get vocal about it. If they truly were scared or wanted to harm the other they would have by now. Hissing, growling, snarling, are all ways of communicating and that is great yours are. This is the only way to tell the other "ENOUGH!" Sometimes it takes multiple times for the other to get the message and learn.

If one of them was not eating, barely sleeping, always hiding in fear of the other, peeing outside the box, THEN I would be concerned.

 

[Erin80]

Do they do anything else together like eat or sleep near one another during the day when they can both interact?

They will sleep in the same room, they eat near each other and if I play with them with a fishing rod type toy they will take turns playing with it...no aggression. They do tend to follow each other around most of the day....if one goes to a room, the other will usually follow. Today they’re a lot better than yesterday.

 

[jen]

They will sleep in the same room, they eat near each other and if I play with them with a fishing rod type toy they will take turns playing with it...no aggression. They do tend to follow each other around most of the day....if one goes to a room, the other will usually follow. Today they’re a lot better than yesterday.

Great. Even more reason to say they are playing and communicating and not fighting at all. Sure they may have their little tussles here and there and it may seem overly dramatic to you. But they are fine.

 

[KarenKat]

Our two cats have similar behaviors - Olive, 4 yrs, lives to play with wild abandon and Gohan, 9 yrs, is forever serious and deliberate with every motion. They tend to wrestle a lot these days and if Olive goes to far Gohan will corner her and giver her a lecture - literally howling at her with no physical contact.

But this didn’t start out this way. Gohan was very resistant to Olive and would chase her away constantly. It took months for them to be civil and a year and a half later they are just starting to bump noses. It sounds like your two will work this out, especially if there are no injuries. Good luck!