I'm sorry if this is a repeat of other threads here, but I have read just about every fourm post and article on the internet about this subject, and still don't know what to do! Also, sorry for the length..... this is half looking for help, and half venting.
I have two female cats - litter sisters - that have been together since the day they were born. I adopted them both when they were around six weeks old. They are both fixed, and both indoor cats. They are now six years old, and both are very docile, friendly, loving cats.
It started about 2-3 weeks ago when they were sitting on the screened in back porch, and a stray tomcat was sitting in the yard next door. As far as I know that cat didn't do anything (that I could see at least), but something spooked my cats and they got into a *TREMENDOUS* fight. It was one of those cartoon fights with the big ball of dust that just keeps rolling. The fight went all the way inside the house, up on to the window sill, bounced off the window, and then into the kitchen. I was panicking, because they've never done this before - at least not that I have seen. I should have handled it better, but the first break in the action I got in between them. I ended up getting bit (it's okay now), but the cats were separated. I closed the one (the dominant and calm one), and went to assess the damage.
There was a dime sized blood drop on the floor, but I don't know if it was from me or the cats. Not important.
This happend on a Thursday night. I checked on the cat in the kitchen, and she let out a tremendous howl that I think the whole neighborhood could hear. So, I gave her space, and closed myself in the second bedroom. Just a side note here, this cat is a chronic licker, and has no fur on the lower half of her belly. And, I don't know if this is important to the big picture, but this cat has always been a drama queen - howled so loud when she got her baby shots that the whole vet office looked up.
After an hour, I checked on the cat in the bedroom. She was spooked, but didn't hiss at me, and came out from under the bed to get some treats. I went to check on the cat in the kitchen, and I was greeted with the same eardrum shattering howl. And this time she flailed around recklessly at the site of me. So, I backed off.
I left her alone for another five hours. When I checked on her again, she had moved from her corner in the kitchen to the living room. When she saw me she again started flailing around, bouncing off the wall and the couch, howling all the time. I gave up for the night, and went to bed. The cat in the bedroom was still spooked, but did eventually get up on the bed with me and fall asleep.
The next morning, I opened the bedroom door. The kitchen cat was sitting at the end of the hall, and hissed and ran when she saw me. I went to the store, and got some disposable litter boxes and plastic things of cat food. When I got back, the kitchen cat again saw me, hissed, growled, and ran to hide in the closet. So, I left them alone while I went to the doctor's to get some antibiotics. When I got back, same behavior from the kitchen cat. Problem is, I needed my scrubs from the closet for school.
I opened the closet door and the cat again, starts flailing around bouncing off the washer and dryer. In tears I called my dad. He came over, opened up the closet door, and the cat was spooked, but fine. No hiss, no growl, no flailing.
After school I quietly sat down on the couch to study. After an hour or so kitchen cat came out of the closet and just sat there staring at me. Then she slowly came up and sniffed me. I didn't pay her attention, and didn't talk. She then jumped up on my lap, stood on my chest, and sniffed my face. I was scared my face was going to get ripped off, but it didn't happen. She walked away, and I put her favorite blanket down on the couch and said "Here's your blanket". She hissed, growled, and ran back to the closet.
On Sunday, they both seemed to be calm enough, and both were letting me pat and cuddle them, so I reintroduced them. Bedroom cat came out, they both walked around tentatively, sniffed each other, and seemed to be fine. I put down a bowl of wet food (their treat), and they ate, and all was well.
For the next two weeks, there seemed to be no problems. Both kept separate, but a few times they were lying next to each other on the bed. They normally get along. Both sometimes cuddle with each other, lie together, eat right next to each other. When I am on the couch knitting I will have one on my lap, and the other right next to me.
I noticed that kitchen cat has some new stress-lick marks, and that it has also spread from her belly to the insides of her lower legs. She also seems to have a fresh bite mark on the back of her neck. I think this is from bedroom cat trying to show dominance.
Fast foward two weeks. Friday night, I hear the same kind of dust-ball fight from the living room. I go out there, and they are going at it. When it broke I stepped between them, and got my toes torn up in the process. This time kitchen cat ran to the spare bedroom. I closed the door. Bedroom cat is hissing at me. I retreat to my bedroom to give them space. After a half hour bedroom cat is fine with me again. It was dinner time, so I fed her, and put a bowl of food in the spare bedroom for kitchen cat. She came out and ate it. Bedroom cat retreated to my bedroom, and I closed her in there. Kitchen cat was still in spare bedroom, but had retreated to the corner. I checked on her, and got a loud howl - although not as loud as the first fight incident. After about an hour, she was fine. Rubbing up against me, purring, playing.
I kept them separated for the night. Saturday afternoon (last night) I reintroduced them. They seemed fine. There was a pooping outside the litterbox incident, but I don't know which cat did that. One cat was lying in the corner of the couch, and the other was sitting on top of it at the opposite end. I laid down on the couch, and bedroom cat climbed down onto my lap. Then she got up, went over to lick kitchen cat, and a fight almost broke out again. I moved bedroom cat off the couch, but there was still a stand off. Growling, hissing, posturing. Without them seeing it was me, I sprayed water on both of them. Bedroom cat backed off, and I coaxed her into the bedroom where I kept them separated. That night I spent time playing with both of them to the point of exhaustion for all of us.
This morning, bedroom cat was scratching to get out, and kitchen cat was scratching to get in. I kept them separated until I made sure they were both calm. Kitchen cat ate, then went to her corner and laid down. I thought this was a good time to let bedroom cat out.
When I did, bedroom cat sniffed around for kitchen cat. Saw her in the corner, and walked up to her. I coaxed bedroom cat out to the other room. Kitchen cat went into my bedroom. Bedroom cat followed her. Again, hissing, gowling, posturing. I closed kitchen cat in the bedroom. Bedroom cat is sitting outside the door, not making any noise, but watching.
<sigh> I just don't know what to do. I am sure this is a run for alpha female - even though I keep telling them that *I* am the alpha-female of the house. I've read some posts that say let them fight it out - which the woman in me is going to have a hard time doing - and some that say keep them separated. My house is small, and there isn't really any way to separate them without confining one to a single room. Right now the plan is to keep them separated and call the vet tomorrow, and maybe take kitchen cat in to make sure she is not sick.
Any advice would be much appreaciated. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I am at the end of my rope here. Eventually they will have to be alone together, but the paranoid part of me keeps picturing coming home to school to find a severely injured cat - and I am a po' college kid that can't afford that.
If anything, thank you for letting me vent. Sorry for all the details, but I hope they might help clue someone in on something. I don't want to have to get rid of one, because I have no idea how to choose. Neither cat is really doing anything wrong.
I have two female cats - litter sisters - that have been together since the day they were born. I adopted them both when they were around six weeks old. They are both fixed, and both indoor cats. They are now six years old, and both are very docile, friendly, loving cats.
It started about 2-3 weeks ago when they were sitting on the screened in back porch, and a stray tomcat was sitting in the yard next door. As far as I know that cat didn't do anything (that I could see at least), but something spooked my cats and they got into a *TREMENDOUS* fight. It was one of those cartoon fights with the big ball of dust that just keeps rolling. The fight went all the way inside the house, up on to the window sill, bounced off the window, and then into the kitchen. I was panicking, because they've never done this before - at least not that I have seen. I should have handled it better, but the first break in the action I got in between them. I ended up getting bit (it's okay now), but the cats were separated. I closed the one (the dominant and calm one), and went to assess the damage.
There was a dime sized blood drop on the floor, but I don't know if it was from me or the cats. Not important.
This happend on a Thursday night. I checked on the cat in the kitchen, and she let out a tremendous howl that I think the whole neighborhood could hear. So, I gave her space, and closed myself in the second bedroom. Just a side note here, this cat is a chronic licker, and has no fur on the lower half of her belly. And, I don't know if this is important to the big picture, but this cat has always been a drama queen - howled so loud when she got her baby shots that the whole vet office looked up.
After an hour, I checked on the cat in the bedroom. She was spooked, but didn't hiss at me, and came out from under the bed to get some treats. I went to check on the cat in the kitchen, and I was greeted with the same eardrum shattering howl. And this time she flailed around recklessly at the site of me. So, I backed off.
I left her alone for another five hours. When I checked on her again, she had moved from her corner in the kitchen to the living room. When she saw me she again started flailing around, bouncing off the wall and the couch, howling all the time. I gave up for the night, and went to bed. The cat in the bedroom was still spooked, but did eventually get up on the bed with me and fall asleep.
The next morning, I opened the bedroom door. The kitchen cat was sitting at the end of the hall, and hissed and ran when she saw me. I went to the store, and got some disposable litter boxes and plastic things of cat food. When I got back, the kitchen cat again saw me, hissed, growled, and ran to hide in the closet. So, I left them alone while I went to the doctor's to get some antibiotics. When I got back, same behavior from the kitchen cat. Problem is, I needed my scrubs from the closet for school.
I opened the closet door and the cat again, starts flailing around bouncing off the washer and dryer. In tears I called my dad. He came over, opened up the closet door, and the cat was spooked, but fine. No hiss, no growl, no flailing.
After school I quietly sat down on the couch to study. After an hour or so kitchen cat came out of the closet and just sat there staring at me. Then she slowly came up and sniffed me. I didn't pay her attention, and didn't talk. She then jumped up on my lap, stood on my chest, and sniffed my face. I was scared my face was going to get ripped off, but it didn't happen. She walked away, and I put her favorite blanket down on the couch and said "Here's your blanket". She hissed, growled, and ran back to the closet.
On Sunday, they both seemed to be calm enough, and both were letting me pat and cuddle them, so I reintroduced them. Bedroom cat came out, they both walked around tentatively, sniffed each other, and seemed to be fine. I put down a bowl of wet food (their treat), and they ate, and all was well.
For the next two weeks, there seemed to be no problems. Both kept separate, but a few times they were lying next to each other on the bed. They normally get along. Both sometimes cuddle with each other, lie together, eat right next to each other. When I am on the couch knitting I will have one on my lap, and the other right next to me.
I noticed that kitchen cat has some new stress-lick marks, and that it has also spread from her belly to the insides of her lower legs. She also seems to have a fresh bite mark on the back of her neck. I think this is from bedroom cat trying to show dominance.
Fast foward two weeks. Friday night, I hear the same kind of dust-ball fight from the living room. I go out there, and they are going at it. When it broke I stepped between them, and got my toes torn up in the process. This time kitchen cat ran to the spare bedroom. I closed the door. Bedroom cat is hissing at me. I retreat to my bedroom to give them space. After a half hour bedroom cat is fine with me again. It was dinner time, so I fed her, and put a bowl of food in the spare bedroom for kitchen cat. She came out and ate it. Bedroom cat retreated to my bedroom, and I closed her in there. Kitchen cat was still in spare bedroom, but had retreated to the corner. I checked on her, and got a loud howl - although not as loud as the first fight incident. After about an hour, she was fine. Rubbing up against me, purring, playing.
I kept them separated for the night. Saturday afternoon (last night) I reintroduced them. They seemed fine. There was a pooping outside the litterbox incident, but I don't know which cat did that. One cat was lying in the corner of the couch, and the other was sitting on top of it at the opposite end. I laid down on the couch, and bedroom cat climbed down onto my lap. Then she got up, went over to lick kitchen cat, and a fight almost broke out again. I moved bedroom cat off the couch, but there was still a stand off. Growling, hissing, posturing. Without them seeing it was me, I sprayed water on both of them. Bedroom cat backed off, and I coaxed her into the bedroom where I kept them separated. That night I spent time playing with both of them to the point of exhaustion for all of us.
This morning, bedroom cat was scratching to get out, and kitchen cat was scratching to get in. I kept them separated until I made sure they were both calm. Kitchen cat ate, then went to her corner and laid down. I thought this was a good time to let bedroom cat out.
When I did, bedroom cat sniffed around for kitchen cat. Saw her in the corner, and walked up to her. I coaxed bedroom cat out to the other room. Kitchen cat went into my bedroom. Bedroom cat followed her. Again, hissing, gowling, posturing. I closed kitchen cat in the bedroom. Bedroom cat is sitting outside the door, not making any noise, but watching.
<sigh> I just don't know what to do. I am sure this is a run for alpha female - even though I keep telling them that *I* am the alpha-female of the house. I've read some posts that say let them fight it out - which the woman in me is going to have a hard time doing - and some that say keep them separated. My house is small, and there isn't really any way to separate them without confining one to a single room. Right now the plan is to keep them separated and call the vet tomorrow, and maybe take kitchen cat in to make sure she is not sick.
Any advice would be much appreaciated. Maybe I am making a mountain out of a mole hill, but I am at the end of my rope here. Eventually they will have to be alone together, but the paranoid part of me keeps picturing coming home to school to find a severely injured cat - and I am a po' college kid that can't afford that.
If anything, thank you for letting me vent. Sorry for all the details, but I hope they might help clue someone in on something. I don't want to have to get rid of one, because I have no idea how to choose. Neither cat is really doing anything wrong.
I'm sure they are picking up on my nervousness, too.
