How to Stop Cats from Fighting

The best practice to prevent fighting between cats is to create an enriched environment with lots of high places for cats to claim as their own and avoid other cats in the house that bother them.  But sometimes fights are unavoidable.  Here are some ways we use to diffuse the situation.

If they are just hissing ,growling, and stalking:

• Make a loud noise.  They are super focused on the fight that a loud distractions can help the victim get away

• Interrupt with a laser pointer.  This is also a distraction technique to divert their attention somewhere else.

• Roll a tennis ball on the floor nearby or between them.  As with the other suggestions, this is to distract them and break their concentration.

• Use a squirt bottle.  A squirt bottle that can deliver a fairly long-distance stream is a must for any cat household.

If they have physically engaged and fur is flying, do not try to break them up by grabbing onto one.  You will likely regret this as the cat now sees you as a perpetrator and can scratch or bite.  Instead try some more aggressive distraction techniques, like clapping and stomping.  Be sure to check each cat for wounds after so they can receive care if needed. 

The goal with breaking up cat fights is to give at least one of the cats a moment to get away.  Just make sure they have enough places to go to hide. Once a cat fight has occurred its a good idea to try to figure out the pattern that led to the fight. Read about why cats fight and some of the behaviors we’ve seen that lead up to fights.