Things You'll Need
- Can of coins or whistle
- Spray bottle
- Wet towel
- Pillow
- Separate food and water dishes
Instructions
Break up a fight with a distraction. Startle the cats with a loud noise such as whistle, hand clapping or fill a tin can with coins or nails and shake it. The noise shifts the cats' focus away from the fight.
Toss a wet towel over one of the cats. This breaks up the fight and distracts the cat with wet fur. If the cats are in a headlock or otherwise entangled throw a pillow on top to scare them apart.
Squirt them with a water bottle. This works well if you have used a water bottle in the past to keep them off of furniture and counter tops. Eventually they learn that fighting has unpleasant consequences.
Prevent fights by ensuring each cat has her own territory and belongings. Give each cat her own food and water dish and sleeping area. Cats are territorial. Find a separate place for each cat to perch throughout the day. When one cat tries to take over the other one's spot discourage the behavior by moving kitty to her own spot. Put down a towel or blanket with her scent on it, so she knows it is her territory. Spray sleeping areas with synthetic pheromones to calm kitty and soothe aggressive tendencies.
Ensure the cats are feeling well. Aggression can arise when a cat is in pain or otherwise ill. A playmate might try to play with an ill buddy or touch a sore spot such as an undetected abscess that could set off a fight.
Prevent cats from passing along aggression. Cats hand off reactive emotions to the next person or cat they encounter. If you know kitty gets frustrated when brought in early for the night, she may take her feelings out on another cat with a pop on the head. Help happy cat return with playtime or other attention until her emotional charge has drained.