Do you break up your cats "play fights"?
Monday, August 23rd, 2010 at
8:43 am
Normally, I let my 2 cats duke it out when they are play fighting, but this morning, my one cat caught the other in this little tunnel they have, and I could hear the one inside hissing. I split them up, but did I do the right thing? They are now snoozing peacefully, but I know that in some cases its better to let them work things out for themselves. Just curious of people’s opinions, thanks!!
Filed under: Cat Tunnel
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I let them play fight, but if one hisses, then I break it up. If one hisses, I know that it might be upset and lash out at the other one.
The only two of my six that play fight are the two kittens.Unless Mickey and Minnie are destroying the apartment like a Georgia tornado I just let them finish out their pseudo fight until their bodies wear out or until they become bored.
With these two I have not noticed any malicious tussles.
I have ten barn cats and they get a wee bit feisty when they sense that one of their siblings might be encroaching on their ‘space’ or are getting more attention from the parents cats.
I never have to break them up. My dog observes them at this behaviour and he intercedes when things get too rough. Nothing like a 120 pound Cane Corso bearing down on you to make you forget what the fight was about. The dog has adopted all these cats and he will make double sure that no harm comes to any of them while he is on station.
no, they are protecting their territory.
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I never break them up unless they decide to carry it to the next level. It’s like kids. Break up their fighting and 5 minutes later they are best buds, and you are the bad guy.
Cats aren’t stupid. They usually stop fighting before one of them gets hurt.
I don’t know what they do when I’m not there, but when I am there i’ll let them go at it until it gets out of control. like hissing scratching at eyes, etc. then I’ll clap and say "No!" Or I’ll push one off lightly. though be careful, Don’t EVER try to break up a animal fight with your hands or anything, because they may bite. keep a safe distance and make noise to get their attention. or get the broom and hit the ground. that get’s mines to stop.
I have seven and only intervene if they begin to growl and tumble around actually fighting. Then I step between them and act as a barrier until one of them goes somewhere else. I don’t scold them, as they’re only behaving naturally. My objective is only to keep them from hurting one another. I don’t do anything if they’re just hissing, as I believe it’s best to let them work things out as much as possible… and they usually do.
I asked my vet about this because with so many cats, we have little tiffs happening all the time. He said that unless one cat is in imminent danger of being injured, let them work it out. It actually makes things worse for the pursued cat when you are not home if you break it up because they start to perceive it as a favorite. Let them work it out as long as no one is in danger of being hurt. They will scuffle, hiss, and sound quite serious from time to time but unless we hear a squeal or see one trying to bite another, we leave them alone. They get a few knicks here and there, but so far nothing major.
I have two cats as well and usually I just let them ‘duke it out’. But if I notice it’s getting too agressive I’ll stop them. But honestly, what do they do all day when you aren’t around? Know what I mean?
i do not break up my cat fights too often because it helps them learn how to fight for real…………………….I only split it up when it gets to serious which you can tell when one of them hisses
When they get too noisy or it sounds like one is really unhappy, then I break it up.
Yes you did right, as one cat was hissing it meant it was getting quite serious.The one trapped in the tunnel would feel vulnerable and possibly would have lashed out at the other cat. We don’t usually step in and stop our 2 cats unless it gets that one is trapped by the other, then I just clap my hands and say ‘Break it up boyz’ and they do lol