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Why do my cats fightThis is a discussion thread · 9 replies 1 2 Anonymous: Hi all,Recently I adopted a stray male cat. The vet said he's about 4 years old. I already had another male cat of 2 years. The problem is that they want to fight and hiss at each other every single day.  I have to keep them in different rooms but it cannot last forever. So my question is if it's going to stay like this or they'll get used to each other? I really want to keep them both. The new cat has been around for 5 days. Thank you in advance!P.S. The yonger cat is neutered and the new one isn't. I'm going to have him neutered asap and I do hope so much it'll help solve the prob. You have introduced a new cat into your existing cats territory, so they are going to fight and hiss. Here's a method of introduction that will usually work quite well ... Place the new cat in a pet carrier and place it in the room with the existing cat. Let them sniff each other through the air holes and gate. There will be a lot of hissing, but they won't be able to fight. Do this a few times a day until the hissing stops. Once the hissing stops, you can then take the new cat out of the carrier and hold him while they sniff each other. Again there will be a lot of hissing and probably some paws flying. Be prepared and wear clothing that will protect you from the slashing claws. Do this a few times a day until they both calm down. Once they've both calmed down and can be near each other without hissing, then place the new cat on the floor and let them physically interact with each other. There will most likely be more hissing and more slashing, but it shouldn't be nearly as bad as it is right now. Stay with them to see what happens. If a fight starts, then break it up and separate them for a few minutes and try again. When I introduced my male cat to my husband's home and his male cat, I did this with them. They never really did "like" each other, but they learned to coexist and share the same space without fighting. Anonymous: Thank you, I will try that. What are the chances that neutering will help?Unfortunately neutering doesn't help much with personality clashes or territorial issues. Both of our cats were neutered, and they were together for seven years before Sherman died. They still didn't like each other much, but finally became tolerant enough of each other that they no longer fought.   oh hope your kitties will get used to each other anon ^_^ JustaBratUnfortunately neutering doesn't help much with personality clashes or territorial issuesthen why is neutering so widely recommended? i thought it should help to improve their behavior. i'm confused now...  Animal Admirer263 Neutering is normally recommended to keep male cats from spraying, and to help reduce behavioural issues, but it isn't always a "solution." Unfortunately there is no more guarantee that neutering will stop bad behaviour than if you were to remove their tails to make them behave. No matter what you do, if cats have a personality clash, or they're defending what they think is their territory, even neutering won't counter it. As stated previously both of our male cats were neutered, and had been since kittenhood. Sherman lived with my husband, and then when I moved in with Brat, the fighting started. I did everything that I described above to get them to accept each other. They eventually both DID accept the other, but never really got along or became friends. They simply tolerated each other because I made them. Sometimes that's all you can hope for. Just as with people, you certainly can't force them to be friends. thank for the explanation, i didn't realize neutering wasn't a solution for all behavior problems... it's just so often that people recommend to neuter. i learn so many new things from you! ^_^ Show more
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