Fighting between cats who reside in the same home can be unpleasant and stressful, but with the assistance of a veterinarian and cat behavior specialist, it is often preventable and manageable. Aggression can arise for a number of reasons, and cat behavior is complex.
Why Do Cats in Households Become Aggressive?
Why Do Cats in Households Become Aggressive?
Feline aggression is a typical behavior that is impacted by various factors like gender, handling, personality, early social history, exposure to humans as well as other animals, and many more. It is not a diagnostic. Cohabiting cats may be aggressive against one another in a variety of ways for various reasons. The introduction of a new cat in an inappropriate manner, medical conditions, fear, anxiety, and a lack of resources can all lead to inter-cat aggressiveness in a home.
How do you stop aggressive behavior in cats?
1 - Insufficient Socialization
The process of socializing a cat involves getting it ready to enjoy company and feel at ease around people, other animals, places, and activities. When a kitten is between two and seven weeks old, the "sensitive period" socialization should ideally start.
Because many cats are not given enough socialization, situations involving one or more adults who have not been socialized with their particular species are more likely to result in issues. These cats are prone to react intensely and inappropriately when they see another cat since they have not had the proper experiences, which leaves them ignorant of proper feline communication and manners. They could try to eject the other cat from their private area by attacking, or they might flee and hide out of fear.
The animal should exhibit proper social behavior towards members of their own species as well as those with whom they have had sufficient socialization during the course of acceptable socialization. Later in life, this will have a favorable impact on the social behavior that is expressed.
2 - Presenting a Novel Feline
Since introductions frequently set the foundation for a cat's relationship with its existing companions, it is imperative that you introduce your new cat to them properly. It can be quite tempting to simply let the new feline outside in the same area as your present cat if your cat has lived among other cats and has always been sociable. While it's possible that they may eventually get along, cats don't always click well with one another, and a bad first date can ruin a relationship.
It's important to introduce cats carefully and with consideration for their individual needs. It can be tough to resist the impulse to introduce the cats right away so they can form a fantastic connection, but if you allow your new cat to roam free in the house, a lot of bad things can happen.
If your new cat is just allowed to roam around, your current cat can feel as though their domain has been invaded. This may cause your current cat to feel uneasy in their house, which may cause behavioral issues, or it may make them hostile or offensive towards their new cat. That's not beneficial to any of them!
The new cat does not know where it is from its point of view. Every sound and smell is strange, and there could be danger around every turn. Your newly adopted cat has probably been exposed to a limited quantity of noises and odors. It might also be accustomed to living in a small area, so even though you would like it to feel "free," pushing it too quickly could make it feel anxious and overburdened.
3 - Rivalry for Resources
It is not unusual for a few cats in a household with multiple cats to restrict access to essential items like food, water, or litter boxes. Key environmental resources, such as litter boxes, food, water, hiding spots, perches, resting and sleeping sites, places to play, scratching areas, or toys, should be provided in various, distinct locations. This reduces stress and anxiety, lowers territorial drives, lowers social tension and rivalry, and offers options that collectively lessen the likelihood of cat aggressiveness.
Cats are not interested in fighting. Instead, since fighting can lead to injuries, cats would rather run away or avoid one another. However, the last resort is aggression if none of these are accessible. Even though the cats in multi-cat households are frequently unrelated, they still need to share resources and have little chance of hiding or avoiding potentially conflicting situations.
4 - Health Concerns
In order to rule out any underlying medical concerns, your cat should be evaluated and have diagnostics done if you observe any abrupt changes in their behavior towards another feline in the house. Aggression can also occur in cats who are in discomfort, which is unusual. When other family pets approach a cat, it may start to growl and hiss and become more agitated overall. Increased irritability and hostility among cats can also be brought on by other medical disorders such as osteoarthritis, cognitive impairment, dental disease, and hyperthyroidism.
5 - Absence of Sources of Predation
It is important to provide cats with the opportunity to express their natural behaviors and wants. Giving your cat a range of toys, planning playtimes with other cats once or twice a day, and puzzling food toys are all crucial predatory outlets. Read This: Why do cats fight? How to put an end to it
How to Handle Cat Aggression
Aggression encompasses a broad range of intricate behaviors that arise from diverse motivations and situations. The best course of action is to act quickly; as soon as you witness conflict and/or aggressiveness amongst cats, call your veterinarian and a qualified specialist in cat behavior for assistance.
Determine which triggers, such as images of outdoor cats or loud noises, agitate your cats, and make adjustments to the environment to reduce or eliminate them.
Provide a richer environment for cats so they can develop innate coping mechanisms. This includes numerous elevated perches large enough for a single cat to rest on throughout the space, numerous litter boxes positioned in various parts of the house, numerous watering and feeding stations, numerous scratching posts and pads, etc.
Ensure that cats have lots of suitable play and enrichment opportunities.
In order to prevent creating more bad associations between cats, keep them apart whenever they are not under supervision or if their aggressiveness ranges from mild to severe.
Reintroduce the cats gradually while employing counter conditioning and desensitization, and keep a keen eye out for indications of tension and anxiety.
Recognize and observe body language, and if you witness any signs of bullying, stalking, or aggressiveness, you should gently reroute the offending cat by offering them food or a toy instead of the other cat.
Stay away from punishment. This includes screams, water sprays, loud noises, hitting, etc. By making the cat associate the punishment with another cat, punishment might make the cat more hostile towards it, increase anxiety and terror, and sever the link between humans and animals.
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