Feb
25
The 3 Main Reasons Why Cats Fight.
Posted by Carol Johnston at 21:08 | Filed In Cat Behavior
When you have more than one cat in your household, you can be sure there will be cat fights. Most often your cats may get along, but still fight some of the time. Although most people might not totally understand why their cats have conflicts, still they have their differences just the same as people do. Cats show their displeasure towards another cat by starting fights. This article will explain the 3 main reasons why cats fight and what you can do to prevent it.
Cats are territorial. A majority of cats fight as a result of territory. An example of this is when a cat feels threatened by another cat occupying their territory. It can even be a cat that they have resided together with for some time. A cats gender has hardly anything to do with it. In contrast to what most people think female cats can be territorial like male cats. Usually one cat will growl and hiss, take swats at the other anytime he feels his territory is being intruded upon. This certainly can occur when an additional cat is added to the household. They are only protecting their territory.
Social ranking: Male cats often threaten and fight each other with regard to social ranking and neutered male cats will actually do this. Usually with more than one male cat around, normally one male cat is regarded as the “alpha male’ and will be known as the higher up on the cat hierarchy. A couple of cats may position their bodies, followed by screaming at each other. In case one of the cats back off then the catfight will have been prevented. Even when no one desires to back off from each other, the one cat will assault the other cat by leaping forward in an attempt to bite the neck Both cats will go through this process more than once before they stop the fight. Generally there are no wounds involved with these type of fights.
Aggression: In addition cats fight by reason of redirected aggression which is reasonably common, particularly with indoor cats. If your cat sees another cat in the yard while looking out the window, he may become territorial as well as hostile towards this cat but this cat is unable to be approached and he may perhaps assault the other household cats.Another thing when you are offer treats to your cats. The cat who gets the treat first and starts eating it, will usually turn aggressive and start to swipe and growl at the other cat, who would like a bite.
When you see your cats sometimes battling it out with each other, just consider this being normal behavior for cats. Almost all the time you are going to be able to know the difference between a fight, whether it’s a hostile or playful on. Only when a cat fight becomes nasty then it’s time to break it up, other than that let the cats work out their differences. If there’s a chance you need to break up a catfight, then prodceed with caution No matter how affectionate a cat is, still there’s always the risk your cat could bite or scratch you when feeling aggressive. To end a cat fight, it is best to produce some type of loud noise, like a handclap. Cats are usually surprised by sudden noises and both of them will cease to fight to find out where the noise is coming from. You can even spray them with water to put a stop to their aggressive behavior.
If you find your cats in a middle of a fight, never disipline them for fighting. Cats can’t comprehend punishment and it is only part of their natural instincts to fight. The only time to intervene is when it starts to get out of hand. If you happen to observe your cats fighting more than normal, then you need to figure out why. Are the conflicts they have over a food bowl, a litter box or perhaps a prime spot in the window. See to it that every kitty has their own things along with an area to seek refuge whenever they become stressed out with other pets in the home. This will likely help avoid real catfights, which will be more pleasant for everyone.