Feral or domesticated, your kitty may get tangled up in one of
these if they are in particular an outdoor cat. Indoor cats if
by themselves are obviously not as prone to this risk, unless
they find themselves outside, or a stray visitor inside.. but
two or more indoor cats can have their "bad" days as well.
If you allow your cat to roam outside in the big wild outdoors,
I seriously recommend you take kitty to your veterinarian from a
young age and start getting him vaccinated! And make sure this
is done every year no questions! This is necessary if you don't
want your kitty to get infected by nasties like Feline Aids
(FIV) which is transmitted through blood while fighting. This
also protects your kitty among a lot of other different diseases
out there like Feline Leukemia
(FLV). It is also highly advisable to get him (or her) neutered.
Un-spayed males will fight fiercely for a female if she is in
heat, which can leave both cats in tatters and spayed males can
find themselves in the middle of something they don't understand
if an un-spayed males get the wrong idea...
Cats fighting outside at night time can be quite of a shock, as
sometimes they can sound close to a child shrieking or yelling,
and it is definitely the last thing you want to hear when your
trying to sleep at night! My ultimate way of getting rid of cats
engaged in a fight is to turn the hose on them, as noises won't
startle them hardly as they are concentrating too much on the
other cat!
For indoor cats, obviously water all over the carpet is unwanted
so I find usually placing a large object between the two which
will cut of eye contact with both cats, if they are engaged in a
fight, don't get in their way as cat bites can not only hurt,
but are more likely to become infected than dog bites. Use a
chair and turn upside down and use the back of the chair and
gently slide the chair between the cats, this will startle them
and stop them from fighting. Give the cats 'time out' by placing
one in a closed room for a short period of time.
A good tell-tale sign if a cat is frightened, the hair will
stand up all over the body and when the cat threatens or is
ready to attack, you will see the hair stand up in a narrow band
along the spine and tail to make him look bigger, and this is
also a good time to get out that hose or chair!
With the average lifespan of an outdoor only cat if they are
feral or domesticated, is only about three years! Which is why
if you love your kitty and want him to have a healthy live, keep
him indoors and he can live a whopping 16 years longer!
Not only will you benefit from keeping your kitty living longer
indoors, it will save you expensive veterinarian bills for
infected scratches, broken teeth, torn ears, and so on by these
nasty one-on-ones.
