Cat Behavior Problem - My Cats are Hissing at Each Other

by Netta
(Lynn, MA )

My cat behavior problems started last night with my 3 cats. 2 are neuterd males that are 2 years old from the same litter the other is an unspayed 1 year old female. She is NOT in heat.

Last night, a stray cat came up on the porch and irritated my 2 male cats. They screamed, growled and hissed. This has happened before and usually they calm down and are fine. But my 2 boys ended up fighting eachother... I separated them and all was calm again a few hours later and again this morning they seemed back to "nomal" but now one of my males is fighting with the other, hissing at both of the other cats and growling.

After separating them, I can pat the out of control one and he seems fine with me... but I don't know what to do to keep the peace with them!! I would appreciate what ever advice and help you can offer!!


Reply from Liz (Editor): Even though your female cat isn't in heat, I suspect the stray knows there's an intact female in the house and is trying his best to get her attention. Or it could be he's just amusing himself by annoying your cat.

I reckon your boys got upset because the stray was hanging round outside - in their territory, and quite possibly spraying too. Even if you can't smell his scent (and his spray if he did this) your cats will have been able to, and even though they're neutered their territorial instincts will have kicked in.

Because they're frustrated and annoyed at this other cat, but they can't take it out on him, basically they're taking it out on each other.

I'm sure this situation will be temporary, as long as the stray cat doesn't keep coming back. Unfortunately he's likely to keep coming back if he's hoping to get lucky with your female, or if he's just amusing himself by being a nuisance, so you need to humanely discourage him. This page on the website gives you some advice on how to do this:

How to Stop a Cat Spraying in Your Garden

I'm sure this cat behavior issue will resolve itself if you can stop the stray cat from coming round and annoying your cats. Good luck.