I got five cats. Yes, five. I took in a stray mama cat and named her Isis. She then had 4 kittens on my couch a few weeks later. I ended up vetting them all and keeping them so I didn’t become yet another person on Facebook posting about free cats.
I’ve always been an animal person, so taking on 5 wasn’t that new or scary for me. Growing up with my parents, we always had dogs. At first, it was just a couple. Then they ended up with 12. That didn’t fully prepare me for cats though.
My cats have always got along mostly. There is some hissing and spitting here and there, but nothing crazy. The cats have their own spots in the house they like, and a lot of the time they lay together and nap.
Yesterday was odd. My wife fed them before she left on an errand, and I was still out at a friend’s house. As soon as I walked in the door something was off.
My boys Chonk and Bear were growling at each other and having a standoff. There was evidence of a scuffle, the food bowls were shifted, pillows were moved, and tufts of hair were on the carpet.
They were not willing to break it up so easily, so I ended up getting the Dyson vacuum to scare them off. I found the mom cat BEHIND my microwave, and I don’t even know where the other 2 girls were.
After investigating, I could tell the cats were still trying to start something, and the whole air in the house was off.
It seemed that Chonk got the worst of whatever happened. I’d consider Chonk my alpha of the group and the most aggressive and playful. He’s also the biggest, hence the name. But in this instance, he was terrified, standoffish, and hissing at even me. The most concerning thing was he was holding one eye closed.
I managed to see it good enough to verify he didn’t get his eye clawed out, but they definitely hurt him. Since this happened right before bed, I chose to separate them for the night. I locked 2 in my office and 1 in my bedroom. Chonk got free-run of the house but chose to hide out until 6AM.
I’m writing this now at 8AM the morning after and still watching the cats trying to understand their mannerisms. I still haven’t reintroduced them all yet, but I know I’ll have to eventually.
I wish I knew what caused the fight. I don’t know if they fought over food (they never have before); was it territorial, a play for alpha, or something else? All I know is cats can be weird..
