4 cat household, mom, dad and two brothers are constantly fighting
by Jess
We have four cats in our household, we have the two boys and the mother and father of them. The boys just turned a year old in April. They all have gotten around really well and play together all the time, including sleeping together, everything. Oliver (the father) is very timid though and tends to hide away, while the others are rough housing including mom (zoey). But the last few days they have been getting in random fights. One of the boys, Lupin, keeps walking up to Oliver and just staring at him. They just lay down and stare at each other and then they break out into fights and the other cats just join in, including mom. The boys just turned one in April. They are not fixed and I know this could be a major thing in it. We are going to get them fixed, just money issues have caused us to not do it as of now. I just don't know what to do with them. We've kept Lupin away from the other cats thinking it was just him causing it but when we did this Beau (the other brother) and his father got in a fight. I am thinking it's just a fight for dominance but do we just let them battle this out or what? Zoey is not in heat or anything so it's nothing of that sort. I have been looking at the Feliway and am thinking of buying that. Does that work, is it worth it? I just please need some help with this. I really don't want to have to split my cats up. RESPONSE: This problem will only get worse until all of the cats, including mom, have been fixed. Feliway will do nothing but waste your money so don't bother. At this point, the boys are reaching sexual maturity and their goal is to get rid of dad and eventually each other, so the winner can mate with mom. Sexual desires are the most common reason for cat fights and often the most serious damage is inflicted because of it. If you are not going to spend the money to get them fixed then you must seperate them all before they do severe damage to each other, and then you will be spending all of you money to have the vet fix injuries or may even have to have one of them euthanized because the injuries are too costly or too severe to save the cat. Get them fixed NOW! Talk to you vet about making payment arrangements. Often vets will allow time payments when it comes to spaying and neutering because they know the severe trauma that can occur with un-neutered males - and you do not need more kittens! Check with local shelters to see if they have any low-cost spay and neuter clinics coming up. In the meatime, while you are deciding what to do, seperate all of the cats, especially the males. Sorry we can't be more helpful but there is no magic remedy that will overcome natural instincts. Donna - House Full Cats Mom |
