• Question: Why do cats hate each other?

    Asked by nicole22 to Charlotte, Jo, Kevin, Louise, Valeria on 11 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by heylookitsthatguy.
    • Photo: Kevin Mahon

      Kevin Mahon answered on 11 Jun 2012:

      Cats don’t hate each other! If they did, none of them would breed right?

      Seriously, cats get into conflicts for many different reasons.

      1.Cats are territorial – if a strange cat comes into it’s territory, it will likely result in some sort of conflict (either fighting or making loud noises at each other)

      2. Social ranking – males cats (even neutered ones) will fight to see who is the ‘alpha’ male so to speak – this happens throughout the animal kingdom!

      3. Aggression – sometimes cats can redirect aggression towards other cats. This can be as a result of stressful surroundings, bad welfare or lack of access to resources.

      4. Playing – A lot of the time, what we might think is a nasty scrap can just be a very long drawn out play bout (the opposite can be the case though too!)

      It is possible for cats to live together peacfully – what is most important is that each cat has its own space, food and resources.

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