Sibling fight

[Jojo13]

My female cat got a plastic grocery bag stuck on her body ( she got locked in a closet accidentally for a little bit where we store the bags for recycling). When the door was opened she took off running. Her brother ( whom they get along fine has NEVER done anything but play with each other ) got spooked and viciously attacked her. I separated them tried to calm them down with treats and the male ate the treats but as soon as he saw her the viciously attacked her again. I separated them in different room last night for them to cool off and the male is fine but my female now puffs up and hisses badly when she sees him and growls. I also have another male ( sibling) who was not involved with the fight locked up with the other male and she wants no part of either one of them. Please help I am afraid the more I separate them the worse it is gonna be. They have always been together and have never fought other than play. They are 2.5 years old.

 

[epona]

They've both had a frightening experience and have displayed misdirected aggression towards one another.
This is not unusual after a bad experience (usually caused by something unexpected happening that has frightened one or both cats in a multicat household) and the usual recommended way to deal with it and help peace to regain hold is to separate them and treat it as if you are doing a new introduction from scratch - scent swapping while separated by wiping each cat with a towel or cloth then wiping the other with it so they get used to one another's scents a bit, then graduating on to feeding them either side of a closed door, then using a divider or baby gate/screen door that they can see and smell scents through while they are eating near one another but not together.

Hopefully they will remember they were once friends, take it gradually though and be patient, they've both had what to them is a horrible thing happen.

Best wishes.

 

[Klause]

I literally had a very similar experience. My male cat got spooked by his sister and they fought. Then it was very contentious every time they saw each other. Here’s what I did:

I put my male cat in my spare room with everything he needed. My female never really uses this room and he likes this room. This allowed for them to have scent under the door and then they could hear each other.
I did this when I was not there and overnight.

After a day or two I let my male cat out to smell and explore. I used treats as reinforcement to show positivity. I let him return to the room as he pleased and shut the door when he returned on his own. I did this for one whole day.

After this I decided to leave them out overnight, but then separated while I was at work.

I also implemented play time and got some “hunting” toys to help associate time together as fun time.

After two days of overnights with no issues I did small times together with me not there (such as being gone for only an hour or two)

This whole process took about two weeks, but they are finally back to normal. They do still have small spats with hissing, but have not had a huge blow up in over a month.

I also used feliway diffusers to help in case the pheromones would help with calming. I’m not sure I will continue these, but they seem helpful at the moment.

Best of luck! This process is stressful, but I’m sure they will be able to find a peacefulness with each other again.

 

[Klause]

I literally had a very similar experience. My male cat got spooked by his sister and they fought. Then it was very contentious every time they saw each other. Here’s what I did:

I put my male cat in my spare room with everything he needed. My female never really uses this room and he likes this room. This allowed for them to have scent under the door and then they could hear each other.
I did this when I was not there and overnight.

After a day or two I let my male cat out to smell and explore. I used treats as reinforcement to show positivity. I let him return to the room as he pleased and shut the door when he returned on his own. I did this for one whole day.

After this I decided to leave them out overnight, but then separated while I was at work.

I also implemented play time and got some “hunting” toys to help associate time together as fun time.

After two days of overnights with no issues I did small times together with me not there (such as being gone for only an hour or two)

This whole process took about two weeks, but they are finally back to normal. They do still have small spats with hissing, but have not had a huge blow up in over a month.

I also used feliway diffusers to help in case the pheromones would help with calming. I’m not sure I will continue these, but they seem helpful at the moment.

Best of luck! This process is stressful, but I’m sure they will be able to find a peacefulness with each other again.

I also did vet checks to make sure no one was hurting or sick.

 

[Jojo13]

I have been keeping the boys seperate from their sister since the big fight ( today is 2 days). I locked the boys in my room yesterday and today switched them so they could have each others scent ( during the switch the female saw the other brother, not The one who attacked her, and she was hissing and making all kinds of sounds at him. Poor guy he is high anxiety and is just an innocent bystander but she is lashing out at both of them. Oddly enough my senior male she is completely fine with just her brothers…..

 

[Klause]

I have been keeping the boys seperate from their sister since the big fight ( today is 2 days). I locked the boys in my room yesterday and today switched them so they could have each others scent ( during the switch the female saw the other brother, not The one who attacked her, and she was hissing and making all kinds of sounds at him. Poor guy he is high anxiety and is just an innocent bystander but she is lashing out at both of them. Oddly enough my senior male she is completely fine with just her brothers…..

Hissing sounds scary, but it’s actually just communication. Read the body language. If she’s going to attack, you’ll see it. Communication is a way to say they’re scared, angry, etc.
I had to learn that too because mine did that too during this whole situation.
Hopefully things turn for the better soon! You’re doing all the things!!!

 

[Jojo13]

Hissing sounds scary, but it’s actually just communication. Read the body language. If she’s going to attack, you’ll see it. Communication is a way to say they’re scared, angry, etc.
I had to learn that too because mine did that too during this whole situation.
Hopefully things turn for the better soon! You’re doing all the things!!!

Well tonight we let them mingle and the female hisses and then her grey brother ( not the one who attacked her the first time) went after her. I am calling the vet in the morning. This is just crazy they have never fought like this! The grey male is high anxiety and any loud noise he’s under the bed he’s not aggressive none of them are this is all new. I will continue to keep them separate but they all normally sleep in the bed with us so when we divide them up we have banging on the door all night. I unfortunately don’t have another free bedroom to put them in.

 

[Klause]

I’m so sorry you’re going through this. I completely understand what this feels like. I think the Vet is a good plan. It helps to rule that out at least.

I also found success with the feliway line of diffusers and sprays. It’s really helpful for us.

Best of luck! Keep us posted!