Stopping Cats Form Fighting

[matt1991]

I have been feeding these cats for few months now 2 of them 1 is to mean to bring inside near my boy cat and the other is very sweet now but strange if u stop petting him out of anger he will claw your legs ect anyways my boy always avoids him when i bring him inside now.


just now i let my boy outside a few hours while the stray was inside sleeping on my living room floor i let my boy in he tries his best t avoid contact with the stray i go into my kitchen my boy follows me and the stray just goes up to him and jumps him i started shouting and broke it up and put him outside.

its so strange hes a good boy other than fact hes such a jerk to my cat id like to take care of him but my cat is my baby his happiness comes first and i cant have the other cat in if my boys afraid to even move he wont even go near his food if the other cat can see him ect.

 

[Kieka]

Cats a territorial by nature. The other cat isn't being a mean cat, he is trying to establish dominance and claim your home as his. Cats can and do coexist within homes but you generally have to provide a slow introduction and allow them to accept each other. There usually will be a little bit of tension in the beginning as everyone adjusts to the changes.

If you really want to bring the stray in I would start with a vet appointment and check for disease plus get vaccines. If the stray isn't spayed or neutered, getting that done will also help the situation as it reduces the hormonal impulses for territory dominance that can sometimes be a driver behind fighting with males. While you are waiting for everything to be checked and recovery keep the stray isolated in a part of your home so that your cat can start getting used to the smells of another cat in the home without being confronted. Once the stray has a clean bill of health you can work on the face to face introductions and eventually they will tolerate each other (or possibly become friends). During this time though it is important to keep giving your cat attention and not make him feel like he is literally being kicked out for another (which may be what is happening when you sent him outside while the stray was inside).

 

[Mamanyt1953]

If you do decide, after a vet check, to bring him in, let us know and we can give you the links to a couple of articles about how to introduce two cats. You need to know that this is going to take weeks, sometimes even MONTHS to do correctly.

 

[matt1991]

If you do decide, after a vet check, to bring him in, let us know and we can give you the links to a couple of articles about how to introduce two cats. You need to know that this is going to take weeks, sometimes even MONTHS to do correctly.

well they have known each other for 6 months now hey play together outside ok but then he comes inside and wants to attack my cat for no reason

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Different territory. Cats are, in my opinion, the most territorial animals in the world, and certainly in the domestic world. Territory is EVERYTHING. And in your house, where the food smells are, is PRIME territory. And the outdoor cat, naturally, wants that territory.

There are tricks to bringing an outdoor cat in, and still others for introducing a new cat to an established cat (this has nothing to do with the fact that they socialize outside, and goes back to that "territory" thing) successfully. I can link you to those articles if you want to read them and see if it is worth trying.

 

[matt1991]

the outdoor cat desperately wants to live indoors hes so weird he will roll on his belly wanting to play then he will quickly jump up like he wants to be a sweet cat but instincts or something stops him if only he were fixed hed probably be a good house mate for my cat but i cant let him inside with my cat if hes gonna continue to pick fights with him

 

[matt1991]

im thinking of putting him in the other part of my house i have a 2 bed room house the other room is just clothes and stuff thrown everywhere for storage basically and the laundry room is like a small bed room too ill just lock him int here at nights to keep him out of the cold and put food and litter when he tries to be mean to my cat ill just put him there

 

[Cat_mediator]

I agreed with the other members about getting him checked out by a vet first if you decide to give him a permanent shelter. If not, you just have to keep the stray cat outside. You can still feed him outside of your home. It will be better for your resident cat. Like they said, a proper introduction takes a few weeks and even longer if a bad encounter has happened in the home. They can get along great outside because it is a shared territory. Cats know that very well, but their home territory is an entirely different story. While you keep the stray cat outside and get him checked out by a vet, put a buffer zone in high traffic areas like the hallway etc (just in case the stray cat slips into the house). They will avoid each other by walking around the buffer zone, you'll be surprised. Use boxes or a cat tunnel to create a buffer zone. Let's us know your decision.

 

[matt1991]

tbh i dont think it will be perm im moving within 6 months and he wont wana leave this place but while im here i wana give him a decent life and feed him im mostly letting him in due to the weather idk how cold they get but he sure wants to stay in lately so im gonna put him into the back room