Pets are supposed to be a joy to keep and, in
many instances, that’s exactly the way it is. But though
they may dote on you, two or more pets may not get on well
together.
Aggression between pets is one of the more common undesirable
behavior problems facing pet owners in multi-animal
households. Cat to cat, dog to dog, or dog to cat, aggression
within and between species can make living with the feuding
parties a veritable nightmare. Let’s deal with the problems
separately.
Feuding Between Cats
Intercat aggression is one of the most common feline behavior
problems. Cats fight with other cats for a variety of reasons,
not least of which relates to differences in their
personalities and agendas. Like dogs and humans, cats don’t
get along together simply because they belong to the same
species; they often have strong individual likes and dislikes
and minds of their own. You could say they’re fussy.
The best recipe for peaceful cohabitation is to have related
cats that have been raised together. The second best situation
is to have unrelated cats get to know each other from an early
age so that they can develop time-sharing arrangements and
other mutual understandings.
Combining unfamiliar adult cats is a crapshoot but sometimes
things work out quite well. The worst case scenario is for an
early-weaned loner cat that has been raised with a doting
single owner to suddenly find herself with an unwelcome
roommate. Such cats are not good mixers and often prefer to be
only cats.
Problems related to individual cat personality differences can
be assessed:
a) with reference to the past experience and known sociability
of the cats, and
b) by observing the cats’ attitudes toward each other when
they are first introduced.
A small amount of hissing is not a good sign but may settle
down in time, typically over about 4 months. Major meltdowns
should probably cause you to rethink the wisdom of the mix.
Aggression may escalate in unfriendly cats, with one becoming
the aggressor and the other the more passive aggressive or
simply terrified victim. This situation, fueled by dominance
on the part of the aggressor, is termed territorial aggression
and is one of the hardest behavior problems to resolve. It’s
probably better not to go that route.
Occasionally, aggression suddenly explodes between two
previously friendly cats. The motivation in such instances can
be either:
a) redirected aggression
b) fear aggression or
c) non-recognition aggression.
Redirected aggression occurs when one cat sees something that
gets her excited, but that she can’t reach (usually because
a window separates her from the object). Instead, the angry
cat redirects her wrath at a nearby feline companion, an
innocent bystander. The motivation behind this type of
aggression is analogous to an angry man punching the wall or
kicking his dog. Of course, the victim of the sudden onslaught
does not understand the motivation for the attack and may
retaliate. A slightly different version of this type of
aggression occurs when one cat flies at an outside cat in a
state of high arousal and scares its buddy. Each inside cat
can misinterprets the other’s body language and intentions,
sometimes with cataclysmic results and thus a permanent
deterioration in the formerly happy relationship. The way to
avoid permanent, irreparable problems is to separate the cats
behind closed doors for as long as it takes for them to settle
down. This can be hours or days. Separation of feuding cats
prevents them adding insult to injury and building up grounds
for long lasting animosity.
Non-recognition aggression is not dissimilar. It occurs when
one cat is returned from the veterinarian’s office and acts
or smells differently. Presumably it occurs as a result of
failure of recognition of the returning cat as the at-home cat
becomes incensed with its roommate as she hops (or staggers)
from the carrier. Serious battles can result, particularly
when the remaining cat is of non-equable disposition (i.e.
flies off the handle easily). Treatment is as before:
Separation and gradual reintroduction.
Feuding Dogs and Cats
The expression “fighting like cat and dog” arose for good
reason. The two species are fundamentally quite different and
will often view each other with animosity unless steps are
taken to engineer a positive perception. Though both species
are highly territorial and predatory, dogs are larger and will
chase cats off or even kill them under certain circumstances.
Dogs that have not been socialized toward cats from an early
age are not likely to be friendly toward cats that coexist
under the same roof, and vice-versa. The best that can be
hoped in such cases is aloofness, mutual avoidance, or a
brittle peace maintained through avoidance and/or hostile
gestures.
The sensitive period of learning regarding social
acceptability is between 3 and 12 weeks of age in dogs and
between 2 and 7 weeks of age in cats. During this time a
plethora of unlikely liaisons can be engineered using
appropriate ploys. During the sensitive period it is possible
to arrange seemingly impossible feats like lions being made to
lie down with lambs. However, it is often not possible to
raise kittens with puppies to create such “bon accord au
naturelle.” But a huge step in the right direction involves
introducing puppies and kittens to friendly members of the
opposite species during this window of time.
If you are unlucky enough to own a dog and cat in which
neither animal has been raised in this way, you may have an
ongoing battle on your hands (as the Clinton’s did with his
pets in the White House). One solution is to find another home
for one or other animal, but if you have time and patience,
you can sometimes make the best out of a bad deal through
appropriate retraining. You can teach old dogs and old cats
new tricks –it just takes a little longer. The plan would be
to introduce the feuding pair to each other at a distance, or
across closed doors, with each animal (especially the dog)
under good control. When each animal is calm and relaxed, this
state of affairs is handsomely rewarded. If this procedure is
repeated frequently, each pet learns that, in the presence of
the other one, good things happen. The distance between the
two pets should then be incrementally decreased, and the time
they spend together increased, until the two can coexist
together.
Managing such a reintroduction program takes strong leadership
on the owner’s part, plus patience and good physical
control. The feuding parties may never become the best of
friends but some odd couples can at least be taught to
tolerate each other's presence. Just in case your newly
trained animals suffer at setback, it is prudent to provide a
place to which your cat can retreat, should the need arise A
climbing frame, a springboard to a tall piece of furniture or
a narrowly open, firmly secured, cupboard door will provide
safe harbor for the cat in times of emergency or exasperation.
Sometimes, it is the dog that is on the receiving end, though,
in such instances, the dog usually learns to give the cat a
wide berth, thus circumventing trouble. For peace of mind, be
advised that cats don’t kill dogs and the worst injury that
the dog is likely to experience is a scratched cornea. Soft
Paws® (plastic nail caps) or simply regular nail trims (plus
nail filing) for your cat will help reduce this unwelcome
complication.
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