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| | ==Treatment== | | ==Treatment== |
| − | The majority of domestic cats are neutered and inter-cat aggression within neighbourhoods is consequently reduced but, in situations where two entire males live in close proximity, the risk of overt aggression is greatly increased. In such situations the aggression can be very serious since reproductive, and hence genetic and evolutionary, success is at stake. '''Neutering before 12 months of age has been shown to decrease fighting by as much as 88%''', which suggests that in the case of male to male inter-cat aggression, hormonal influences are perhaps more significant than learning.
| + | Specific recommendations will differ between cases, but could include: |
| | + | *Neuter cats. This includes trapping and neutering any stray cats, to reduce population density. |
| | + | *Ensuring that each household provides its own cat with sufficient resources to limit the need for resident cats to wander. This should include free access to food, water and a choice of resting places. The garden should also be enriched to provide places to perch and shelter, latrine sites and planted borders that enable the cat to hide and which encourage wildlife. |
| | + | *Installing posts and fences that provide claw marking opportunities for resident cats, to help deter others from entering the garden. |
| | + | *Use of deterrents to prevent non-resident cats from taking up vantage points, such as sheds and fences, from which they can overlook and territorialise a resident cat's garden (for example, burglar deterrent plastic prickle strips that will not had,m card but which are uncomfortable to walk or sit on). |
| | + | *Coded electronic cat door to prevent non-resident cats form entering the home. |
| | + | *In some cases time sharing may be employed, to allow cats to have outdoor access at different times of day so that they do not encounter each other (this can be achieved using some cat flaps with timer facilities). |
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| − | Intact male cats that are the cause of aggression should be neutered. If these cats are feral they will need to be trapped and relocated. Some make good pets once they have been castrated. If that intact male belongs to a local resident they must be contacted for permission to have the animal neutered. The surgery may be sponsored by a local charity or shelter organisation if the owner is unable to pay. In a minority of cases, the owner may be unwilling to have the cat neutered.
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| − | Aggression between entire males and females is '''rare''', although it may occur if the female is not ready or willing to mate. The mating process is a very noisy event and it is not uncommon for inexperienced owners to misinterpret this as an episode of aggression. When owners report that entire cats of different sexes are acting in a hostile manner toward one another it is therefore important to consider the differential of normal mating behaviour.
| + | ===Drug therapies=== |
| − | | + | In some cases despotic cats may respond well to psychoactive medication such as fluoxetine. If the victims of interact aggression are timid, and unable to territorialise their own garden, psychoactive medication may be used to reduce anxiety. For example, fluoxetine, clomipramine or buspirone. |
| − | Another hormonally-related aggressive behaviour relates to the change in behaviour of '''lactating queens''' who can become increasingly aggressive toward other cats when they have a litter to protect. Such aggression may occur within the neighbourhood or inside the household and whilst hostility toward other cats can be considered normal at this point, [[Feline Aggression Towards People|aggression toward owners]] in a domestic situation should not be accepted as part of normal “maternal aggression”. Prospective owners should therefore resist the temptation to purchase kittens from a queen that is overtly hostile to them. Cats showing maternal aggression of this kind should be neutered so that further breeding cannot occur. If aggression is directed only at other cats then the owner has a responsibility to house the cat securely to prevent this occurring.
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| − | In some cases the general feline population is so large that resource density and individual territorial space are insufficient to prevent aggression. In these cases neighbours may have to make a concerted attempt to improve the local environment so that cats may coexist. The temptation to introduce more cats should be resisted. Timesharing access to the garden may effectively reduce the population density that each cat experiences, but this must be combined with improved [[Effect of Environment on Feline Behaviour|resource access and environmental enrichment]] in the home.
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| | ==Prognosis== | | ==Prognosis== |