Do your cats fight a lot?

[Dakkerdog]

I have a male and female that will be 9yrs old this year. Recently it just seems like they fight a lot and of course Moose just won't have that in his house. My male has a spot just above his eye that just never seems to heal because of the fighting. Not sure how to control it. One minute they are curled up together asleep and then suddenly the hissing and fighting breaks out.

[Mybabymambo]

I have three and they all fight all the time. One minute they are best buds, next I am finding fur all over the ground. I hate it

[Cinder4evr]

My boys fight, but it's more like bitey face than malicous

[Trickster]

Yes. The younger two love each other (only about 6 months between them) and never fight but they are ALWAYS pestering my oldest cat. My older cat was an only cat for years so he is not exactly thrilled with company...if the other cats go near him a fight is sure to break out. :

[Kwinon]

Pillage & Plunder fight . . . well I guess you could call it fighting.
It's more like stalking & pouncing & hissing.
They are 100% indoors, so part of it has to be letting off steam, part of it a cat game I don't really understand.

We physically separate them and try to do it before the fight gets too intense. Without yelling or scolding we simply send each kitty to a separate room and let them settle themselves. Most of the time they miss each other and will come out & be nice.

If separation doesn't work, we keep squirt bottles with water handy in most rooms of the house. If their fighting ratchets up, we simply bring out the squirt bottle & remind them who the really big cats in the house are . . . Most of the time we don't even have to squirt actual water, the sight of the bottle is enough to stop the fight.

You may have noticed that cats, unlike dogs, prefer to discipline themselves. So scolding rarely works. The separation is a natural consequence of a too intense fighting and allows each kitty to settle & decide not to fight.

Good luck!