Last Updated: 2 months ago
Do you want to know how to break a cat fight?
When you have more than one cat in your house, it’s possible that one might hiss at the others or try to pick a fight.
That’s not something you’d want. So, keep on reading to get five amazing tips to break up your fighting felines safely.
How do you break up a cat fight?
You should separate them as soon as possible. Keep reading to get five amazing tips to break up your fighting felines safely.
It’s quite unsettling to observe your two felines, who have been living together forever, fight. The good news is that, usually, it sounds worse than it actually is.
However, cats might injure one another if the fight gets vicious. What’s more, some cat diseases are spread through scratches and bites.
1. Understand why cats fight
Cats fight for a couple of reasons, the most common being territory.
By nature, cats are solitary creatures, and they don’t live in small groups or packs like dogs. They prefer the company of other cats only when it’s on their terms.
For indoor cats, your home is their territory. Make no mistakes. Kitty will attack any newcomer you bring into the house in an attempt to chase it away.
So, you have to introduce cats slowly to one another.
In addition to this, some cats are more dominant and aggressive than others. In such cases, you’ll likely observe one cat showing the other cat who is boss.
And if the other cat is not backing off, a fight is bound to happen until one cat establishes itself as the “alpha.”
Territory fights are common in outdoor cats, especially unneutered tomcats during the mating season.
These fights might escalate quickly and lead to a severe physical injury—a lost eye or a deep bite wound. But females can be quite territorial as well.
Besides territory, cats might fight because:
- They are frustrated or bored
- They are in pain
- One plays too roughly
Neutering or spaying your cat might reduce some of the aggression, so think about it.
2. Learn the difference between playing and fighting
As you know it, cats like to stalk, pounce, and ambush one another. So, sometimes you’re not certain if you have to intervene.
Well, it’s all about the cats’ body language if you know how to read it. To help you, here are the warning signs that your felines are about to fight:
- Laid back ears
- Yowling/Growing/Hissing
- Spitting
- Puffed up tails as to appear bigger
- Unsheathed claws
- Aggressive biting
Playing cats, on the other hand, do not look tense and quickly disengage if the play gets too rough.
3. Avoid physical contact
When you see two rolling balls of fur in the living room, your first instinct is to grab the cats and break them apart. Don’t do it unless you want to get bitten or scratched.
During a fight, cats are so agitated that they will redirect their aggression towards you if you intervene physically.
Even the friendliest cat might injure you seriously when Kitty feels she is fighting for her life.
If you think that you have no choice but to separate your pets by force, grab the cats by the scruff of the neck. You’re less likely to get injured that way.
4. Use distraction techniques
One of the best ways to break up a cat fight is to startle the fighting pair. Usually, cats will stop fighting one another if they feel threatened by an outside event.
For example, when I see that Ronnie is about attack our neighbor’s cat I clap my hands several times in a row and shout.
That does the trick because the noise scares both animals and they run in opposite directions.
Other ways to distract fighting cats are:
- Throw a blanket over the fighting pair. Cats will redirect their efforts to escaping from the confines of the blanket and will quickly forget about their fight.
- Get a spray bottle and use it on the fighting pair until they disengage. If you’re outside, you might use a hose.
- Bang two pans together and watch as your furbabies scamper in different directions.
- Fill a coffee tin with coins and shake it to make loud noises.
- Throw toys and treats at the cats.
5. Prevent future fights
Once the cats have separated give them time to calm down. Then you should check them over to make sure that they aren’t injured in any way.
To avoid repetitions of the fight, make sure that each cat has its place – a “territory” where the other one can’t intrude.
In addition to this:
- Each cat should have its own food and water bowls so that they don’t have to feel like guarding them.
- Provide enough litter boxes. The rule of thumb is the number of cats plus one.
- Treat the cats equally. Think about them as children. One will get jealous if you pay the other more attention.
- Spay/neuter your pet.
- Watch for signs of aggression like hair bristling or hissing and separate the cats before they start fighting.
- Add cat shelves and cat trees to provide more space for your cats so that they don’t feel trapped.
Wrap-Up
Cat fights are bound to happen once in a while even when they get along. Usually, your furbabies will work out the problem by themselves.
But if the fighting continues, you should consider a cat specialist and schedule a vet visit to make sure that your pets are healthy.
What do you think about these tips on how to break up a cat fight? How do you act when you’re furbabies are fighting? Tell us in the comment section.
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Olfa knows how to get things done and has a keen business sense that others admire. She’s always on the go, coming up with new ideas! Her ability to anticipate the needs of her readers and deliver information that they want is what makes CatVills such a success. She loves cuddling her cat Picaciu. He is her inspiration.
