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I'm sure similar questions have been asked before but I don't have time to wade through the thousands of threads. 
Our two cats, Alan and Tiger, are between 2 and 3 years old. We've had them for a couple of years and until about a month ago, they were best buds. We adopted them as a bonded pair that had been sharing a kennel at the shelter. They loved each other. They would often cuddle up together for naps, groom each other, etc.
This all changed several weeks ago. My 9 year old son and I were admiring them as they groomed each other one day, and suddenly things blew up. I think what instigated it was that my son made a sudden movement where he sort of collapsed his upper body face down onto an ottoman near and a bit below where the cats were relaxing. No idea why he did this; he was just being silly but I think it freaked Alan out. Alan jumped on my son's back and started hissing and growling. I quickly got him off my son's back and then the two cats turned on each other and because a hissing, growling, yowling, flying ball of fur all around the house.
This was not the first time a fight like this had happened; it's happened a couple of times before but they've always been able to sort things out and be friends again. But since that incident about a month ago, the cats have not been able to be in a room together. After a few more fights, we started keeping them in separate areas of the house and I started diffusing Feliway.
I've done several of the things that I've read about to try to resocialize them, including swapping them in and out of the two areas so they can be around each other's scent, feeding them together (this was introduced gradually, first on opposite sides of a door but for the past two days I've been able to feed them in their usual area, together but from separate plates of course---without incident as long as they are distracted with food), and letting them play from opposite sides of a cracked door. But if they are loose in the same room or area of the house, they are clearly very wary of each other and if one comes too close to the other, someone will start hissing and growling.
Still, it felt like we were making progress until this morning. They had just eaten their food, and I was watching but my brain seems to have blocked out exactly what happened. All I know is that *something* happened (maybe a noise that startled them?) and boom, they were at it again, flying around the house. We've now separated them again and I don't know where to go from here.
I should mention that neither of them shows any sign of illness or discomfort, and neither of them has shown aggression toward any of us humans EXCEPT one time the other day when again, my son made a sudden movement and Alan, who had been resting peacefully nearby, jumped up on the ottoman (different ottoman) beside my son and started hissing at him. Otherwise, both cats have been totally relaxed and sweet.
I'm not ready to accept the idea of keeping them separated forever. What else can we do?
Our two cats, Alan and Tiger, are between 2 and 3 years old. We've had them for a couple of years and until about a month ago, they were best buds. We adopted them as a bonded pair that had been sharing a kennel at the shelter. They loved each other. They would often cuddle up together for naps, groom each other, etc.
This all changed several weeks ago. My 9 year old son and I were admiring them as they groomed each other one day, and suddenly things blew up. I think what instigated it was that my son made a sudden movement where he sort of collapsed his upper body face down onto an ottoman near and a bit below where the cats were relaxing. No idea why he did this; he was just being silly but I think it freaked Alan out. Alan jumped on my son's back and started hissing and growling. I quickly got him off my son's back and then the two cats turned on each other and because a hissing, growling, yowling, flying ball of fur all around the house.
This was not the first time a fight like this had happened; it's happened a couple of times before but they've always been able to sort things out and be friends again. But since that incident about a month ago, the cats have not been able to be in a room together. After a few more fights, we started keeping them in separate areas of the house and I started diffusing Feliway.
I've done several of the things that I've read about to try to resocialize them, including swapping them in and out of the two areas so they can be around each other's scent, feeding them together (this was introduced gradually, first on opposite sides of a door but for the past two days I've been able to feed them in their usual area, together but from separate plates of course---without incident as long as they are distracted with food), and letting them play from opposite sides of a cracked door. But if they are loose in the same room or area of the house, they are clearly very wary of each other and if one comes too close to the other, someone will start hissing and growling.
Still, it felt like we were making progress until this morning. They had just eaten their food, and I was watching but my brain seems to have blocked out exactly what happened. All I know is that *something* happened (maybe a noise that startled them?) and boom, they were at it again, flying around the house. We've now separated them again and I don't know where to go from here.
I should mention that neither of them shows any sign of illness or discomfort, and neither of them has shown aggression toward any of us humans EXCEPT one time the other day when again, my son made a sudden movement and Alan, who had been resting peacefully nearby, jumped up on the ottoman (different ottoman) beside my son and started hissing at him. Otherwise, both cats have been totally relaxed and sweet.
I'm not ready to accept the idea of keeping them separated forever. What else can we do?
