Cat fights; what would you do?

My cats have started fighting with each other and I am concerned about the safety of my kids. I have two cats that are 3 1/2 years old, they are siblings three months apart. They have always loved each other, groomed each other, etc. Fast forward, to a few months ago when my husband brought home another kitten. It took the older cats a few weeks to get used to her. I'm not sure if they knew what to think of her, to begin with.

Both my older cats have been fixed, so I don't really think it's a territorial issue at this point. I do know the younger kitten is very frisky. She is 7 months old and still likes very much to play. The older cats don't usually want to play. Their idea of a good time is to just lay around.

My older female is still hissing at the younger kitten after all this time. She doesn't usually want anything to do with her. But, it's not just them fighting with the younger kitten. There are days when the older ones are fighting with each other. I had to break up a pretty bad fight between them the other day.

They are just like kids, in a way. They know how to push each others buttons. One will pick on the other, until a fight occurs. Then they just won't stop. Tiger, will practically tear the fur out of Carpet. Clumps of fur at a time will go flying. They will eye each other down and growl at each other, just agitating it on.

My daughter came in way early this morning to let me know the cats were fighting in the kids room. Of course, I have told the kids not to try to break the cats up themselves. As, they have gotten hurt in the process. Cat scratch fever is a very serious and sometimes fatal disease you can get from cat scratches. So, I won't let the kids touch the cats if they are fighting.

But if the cats are running over the kids while they are sleeping and fighting with each other, they are putting my kids in danger. I don't know what to do. I can't lock them out of the room. They try to scratch their way into the rooms. They howl and no one can get any sleep. At this point, I just about willing to try to find the kitten a new home. She is adorable, loving and playful.

Carpet has been so darn moody lately. She doesn't want either one of the cats to bother her. She would prefer to be an only pet. She is not sick, she just wants to be the only pet in the house. I guess I could put an ad in the paper that she would make a good companion cat for someone without kids.

I just don't know. Tiger loves the kids so much. We couldn't bear to part with him. Sorry, I didn't mean to write a letter. I don't know if it matters, but all three are inside cats.Any advice?

OUCH !

Wow - I am not a cat person (allergies) so I am of no help I guess.

Were the established cats ok before the kitten showed up ? Could be a catylist for fights.
I as you would be rightfully concerned of this situation with Kids around.
We have territorial problems with our males and have kennels for those moments when physical separation is needed.

If you have a family Vet you might give them a call for advice. If the kitten is the source of the negative energy in the home, I think you know the answer (I hate to be the bearer of bad news )

Thanks Topdog, I appreciate your advice. Yes, for the most part the other two got along just fine until we introduced a kitten into the mix. Even though, both older cats have been fixed, I believe Carpet who is a female is jealous of Katie.

Tiger seems to have accepted her and grooms her as well. He will even play tag and chase with her. Which is pretty hilarious considering as he is a very large cat. But, most days neither one of the older cats are very active. Katie would probably be happier if she had a kitten her own size and energy level to play with.

Yikes! There's a good reason why they call women fights catfights. Don't get close or you'll get hurt!

Hope you'll have that problem settled quick. You really don't want that happening around kids.

It's the kitten! Jealousy... it's a terrible thing. The 2 older cats don't want to be bothered- Maybe Tigger likes the kitten and that bothers Carpet. Feels left out?

Can you play with them all together?

It would be terrible if you had to give away the older cat because it wanted to be an only pet.

We have an older cat- Gracie. She is a brat- she hisses at every animal. We had a stray cat show up and we tried to keep it- Gracie scared her silly at night- that the stray wouldn't get up to go to the bathroom- so she peed in the chair. Couldn't have that. She was pregnant- so we kept her long enough to have the kittens and then be with them for 8 weeks. We ended up keeping 2 kittens- they hold thier own with Gracie now- I think she is actually coming around.

Froix, that was a pretty funny comparison about women cat fights. LOL.

Kris, I would love to see Gracie and your new kittens. I bet they gang up on her. They probably play with her whether she wants them to or not. Thank you for sharing your story.

While the kitten is probably the catalyst, the older cats are now aware that they aren't the only cat. What was once just a given, is now brought into focus for them. They may never get along as they once did, even if the kitten leaves and both older cats are in the same situation as before the kitten arrived.

I am curious. Why did your husband bring home a new kitten? Did you all talk about it before the kitten arrived?

I think it's jealousy. One of your older cats has accepted the kitten, the other refuses to. It might take time. When we introduced a third (adult) cat, we had a similar situation: one of our cats had immediately accepted him, but the other kept hissing, both at the newcomer and at the older cat with whom he had lived peacefully for years. There were no fights though, thank God.

I would suggest trimming their claws or putting on claw caps to reduce the damage they do when fighting. While the kitten is growing up, is there any way you can keep it separate from the older two?