Twice last week our two female cats, Lily and Sophie had serious scuffles. They’ve been together now for ten years and they get along just fine. Oh, occasionally when they’re bored and they find themselves in close quarters with one another, they’ll lift a paw in a threatening manner and even halfheartedly slap at each other a time or two. Last week there were two rather violent incidents and both times Sophie (the older cat) was the aggressor, but Lily was the most ferocious. (Who knew that little fluff ball could become so fierce?)
Both times the issue seemed to be possession. First,
Lily was on Sophie’s favorite blanket in her favorite afternoon resting spot. Sophie began bugging Lily and Lily stood up and fiercely defended the blanket. In the end, both girls walked away.
The second time Lily was in another one of Sophie’s favorite spots next to me and Sophie actually leaped onto the couch with Lily and tore into her—did a body slam. Again, Lily stood her ground. She stood up like a bear, pinned her ears against her head and fought with both paws. She won this battle.
But why is Sophie suddenly becoming so territorial or is she just getting cranky in her old age? She’s 15. Maybe, when we adopted Lily, she expected her to be a temporary guest and she’s ready for her to move on so she can have us to herself. Maybe Lily has been tormenting her without us know it and Sophie gets her licks in when she can.
Do you have cat fights in your home? To what do you 
attribute them? What do you do about them? So far our cats seem to work the problem out on their own without the shed of blood. But the conflicts are really rather intense, so worrisome.
Well, I did a little research and found a neat site called Pet Nanny–here’s what she says about cats fighting: http://petsnanny.net/why-cats-fight.htm
Basically, she says it’s common for indoor cats and it’s often territorial–Sophie wanted her blanket and (as you can see) the cat grass, to herself. Cats might fight over use of the litterbox, food, toys or their favorite lap. They’ll also have slapping matches over social ranking. It’s a natural response carried down through their wild ancestors. And it’s recommended that you let them work things out for themselves–unless–well, you know.
They look so innocent in the last photo that if you didn’t have proof of these fights, I wouldn’t believe it 🙂 A Feliway diffuser may help lessen the fights.