Stepped on one cats tail by accident, now my cats are fighting.

[Tuxedokittylove]

So a little preface. We have 2 cats, Spaz is 5 almost 6 and we’ve had her since she was 6 weeks, and Renny who is 1 and we’ve had since he was 5 months. They’ve gotten along perfectly fine the 6 months we’ve had him, other than Renny playing too rough sometimes but that has been easily redirected with toys.

This morning my mom accidentally stepped on Renny’s tail, he let out a little squeal, which caused Spaz to (I think) assume that Renny was trying to hurt her? So Spaz chased him to a corner and a fight broke out. We broke it up and they seemed to have calmed down then another happened. right now they’re separated (I realize now we should’ve done that after we broke up the first one).

Anyways I’ve never really dealt with them being overly aggressive my question is now how long should I keep them separated for? I plan to feed on either side of the door and do all that again before reintroducing I’m just not sure how long to wait.

it might be good to note that yesterday we noticed Spaz was licking her butt a lot, so I’m not sure if maybe something is wrong there and that could’ve been a cause of the unusual aggression?

My other worry is that once reintroduced and if everything goes fine Renny will try and play at some point and it will provoke another fight.

Sorry this is all over this place, but any suggestions or advice if anyone else has gone through this would be great.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
I think you're right, you'll want to take Spaz in.

The article might have some help after you skip past the intro info and scroll to the section on how to deal with it.

Also, when you take the one kitty to the vet, you might consider taking both so they hopefully come back home smelling the same to each other, rather than you having an escalating situation. Hang in there!!

How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats - TheCatSite

Ever come home to find your once-friendly kitties suddenly at odds with each other? Welcome to the perplexing world of non-recognition aggression in cats. This unexpected scenario can leave you startled and concerned about the harmony in your furry family. But why does it occur and, more...

thecatsite.com

 

[neely]

First, I'd like to welcome you to TCS! I'm glad you joined the site and came here for advice. My initial concern is whether Renny's tail is okay, can you see anything that looks unusual or abnormal? Regarding the two cats displaying some aggression it could be Spaz senses Renny's sudden discomfort. I thought these Articles might give you some helpful information:
Why Do Cats Attack?
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats
Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing?

Please keep us posted, fingers crossed things return to normal soon.

 

[Furballsmom]

We were posting at the same time for you

 

[Tuxedokittylove]

First, I'd like to welcome you to TCS! I'm glad you joined the site and came here for advice. My initial concern is whether Renny's tail is okay, can you see anything that looks unusual or abnormal? Regarding the two cats displaying some aggression it could be Spaz senses Renny's sudden discomfort. I thought these Articles might give you some helpful information:
Why Do Cats Attack?
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats
Are My Cats Fighting Or Playing?

Please keep us posted, fingers crossed things return to normal soon.

yes, Renny’s tail seems to be okay, we will keep an eye on it to make sure there’s no changes. Thank you for the articles!

 

[Tuxedokittylove]

Hi!
I think you're right, you'll want to take Spaz in.

The article might have some help after you skip past the intro info and scroll to the section on how to deal with it.

Also, when you take the one kitty to the vet, you might consider taking both so they hopefully come back home smelling the same to each other, rather than you having an escalating situation. Hang in there!!

http://[URL]https://thecatsite.com/ams/how-to-deal-with-non-recognition-aggression-in-cats.33864/

[/URL]

I think that may be the plan. Thank you for the advice and articles!

 

[Furballsmom]

Let us know how things go !

 

[ArtNJ]

Wait, aren't those the wrong articles? This is "redirected aggression" not "non-recognition aggression" -- they are different. Here is the correct article link:

Re-directed Aggression In Cats

Its pretty simple. Something scares cat. Cat blames it on person or pet that is close but had nothing to do with it. So you basically nailed it with your belief as to what happened. It is a very common cat thing. Usually goes away on its own unless your cats fight and hurt each other, then it can take on a life of its own and might required a structured intervention (basically a reintroduction process).

Non-recognition aggression is certainly common as well and useful for any cat owner to know about, so not wasted reading, but it doesn't seem applicable in this specific case.

 

[Furballsmom]

Well, between the bunch of us, I hope we're able to help !

 

[Tuxedokittylove]

Wait, aren't those the wrong articles? This is "redirected aggression" not "non-recognition aggression" -- they are different. Here is the correct article link:

Re-directed Aggression In Cats

Its pretty simple. Something scares cat. Cat blames it on person or pet that is close but had nothing to do with it. So you basically nailed it with your belief as to what happened. It is a very common cat thing. Usually goes away on its own unless your cats fight and hurt each other, then it can take on a life of its own and might required a structured intervention (basically a reintroduction process).

Non-recognition aggression is certainly common as well and useful for any cat owner to know about, so not wasted reading, but it doesn't seem applicable in this specific case.

That’s what I thought happened. They don’t fight or hurt each other, usually just the typical cat playing and they know when to back off and playtime is over. So hopefully it was just a high adrenaline situation or everyone involved and that’s the end of it! Thank you for the article!

 

[Tuxedokittylove]

So a little preface. We have 2 cats, Spaz is 5 almost 6 and we’ve had her since she was 6 weeks, and Renny who is 1 and we’ve had since he was 5 months. They’ve gotten along perfectly fine the 6 months we’ve had him, other than Renny playing too rough sometimes but that has been easily redirected with toys.

This morning my mom accidentally stepped on Renny’s tail, he let out a little squeal, which caused Spaz to (I think) assume that Renny was trying to hurt her? So Spaz chased him to a corner and a fight broke out. We broke it up and they seemed to have calmed down then another happened. right now they’re separated (I realize now we should’ve done that after we broke up the first one).

Anyways I’ve never really dealt with them being overly aggressive my question is now how long should I keep them separated for? I plan to feed on either side of the door and do all that again before reintroducing I’m just not sure how long to wait.

it might be good to note that yesterday we noticed Spaz was licking her butt a lot, so I’m not sure if maybe something is wrong there and that could’ve been a cause of the unusual aggression?

My other worry is that once reintroduced and if everything goes fine Renny will try and play at some point and it will provoke another fight.

Sorry this is all over this place, but any suggestions or advice if anyone else has gone through this would be great.

Just an update, it’s been roughly 12 hours since and everyone has seemed to have calmed down. We did a mini reintroduction after keeping them separated for a few hours once they calmed down and all went well! They’re almost fully back to themselves! Even played a bit together and shared some treats. So I’m hoping it was just a stressful situation and a one time thing. needless to say we’re going to be extra extra careful and watch our feet even more when we walk so we don’t go through this again. thanks again for everyone’s advice and articles!!

 

[Furballsmom]

Good for you!