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Cat brothers fighting

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  • 31-12-2010 12:42am
    #1
    Fannymcslap
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭


    Hi guys, hope someone can help.

    I have two cats since february, ever since they were ickle kittens. All things going brilliantly, however two weeks ago one of the little tykes got a ding from a car and got his jaw broken. Few surgeries later and he comes home to me alright.

    Now, he'd been apart from his brother for a full two weeks and the vet and a friend or two warned me that they might fight a little bit when they see each other again. Unfortunately anytime they've seen each other since is shout at each other and hiss. I wouldn't mind letting them fight it out but the injured still has some exposed bone on his face that is due to fixed in the next few weeks and I don't fancy his face being torn off.

    My question is what on earth should I do?!

    Thanks a million!


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    #2
    dvet
    Registered Users Posts: 329 ✭✭dvet


    Normally I'd agree with you that if they're not killing each other, let them fight it out. But with what you say about being worried about your injured cat's face, maybe you should keep them separated until it's repaired/healed. Is there a room in the house you could keep the injured cat confined to for the time being?

    Or if that's not possible - is there any sort of protective dressing the vet could put on it, or maybe an elizabethan collar? (depending on what part of his face you're talking about)


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    #3
    Fannymcslap
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭Fannymcslap


    Currently that's exactly what I'm doing but with the severity of the jaw break and what needs to be done to repair the current damage it could be 6 weeks or so so it's a little bit unfeasible to keep them seperated that long.

    I did inadvertently leave them in one room together for about 10 minutes and they didn't kill each other, just stared intently and hissed, maybe I'm best putting them in a room together and supervising their interaction?

    Really appreciate your input by the way.


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    #4
    Fannymcslap
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭Fannymcslap


    dvet wrote: »
    Normally I'd agree with you that if they're not killing each other, let them fight it out. But with what you say about being worried about your injured cat's face, maybe you should keep them separated until it's repaired/healed. Is there a room in the house you could keep the injured cat confined to for the time being?

    Or if that's not possible - is there any sort of protective dressing the vet could put on it, or maybe an elizabethan collar? (depending on what part of his face you're talking about)

    Dur, I apologise. I didn't see your second paragraph. I may check with the vet see if he can do that, but the sensitive bits are basically all around his mouth and up the left side of his jaw?


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    #5
    dvet
    Registered Users Posts: 329 ✭✭dvet


    Hmmm, it's a bit of a tough one. Was his jaw wired back together? If so, you could see what your vet thinks about letting them together under supervision. If the vet reckons that the jaw is fairly stable (like if it was only broken in 1 place) he might think a little rough play/fighting is ok, within reason. Maybe plus an e-collar to give it some protection. If it was a very delicate repair he might advise against this, but only he could say for sure if it was safe or not I reckon, if he was the one who operated on it.

    Also, I don't know if you normally allow him outside or not, but if you do it might be best to keep him inside for the next while. I've seen some normally road-sensible cats recover after their first car accident, only to get hit again weeks later... I'm guessing it's usually due to undetected vision or hearing loss after their first accident, so that they don't hear cars coming like they normally would. Just something to watch out for!


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    #6
    Fannymcslap
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭Fannymcslap


    Well the vet said that it should be alright, he was the guy who operated on him aswell but it striks me as a bit worrying how aggressive they are with each other.

    The jaw did seem to only break in one place but it also dislocated from the head. Though the break is now fixed together with a plate and 5 screws so really my only worry is that he'll open the cut on his mouth.

    One thing I forgot to mention, the patient was also neuteured whilst they were operating on his jaw, so maybe it'd be best if I got his brother done now as well?


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    #7
    carwash_2006
    Registered Users Posts: 568 ✭✭✭carwash_2006


    Absolutely get the brother done too. May help the situation some. But ultimately if you left them alone before and they didn't do anything much I would leave them a bit longer to sort things out. As long as they don't get a chance to finish sorting things out they will continue to have a problem. I have 8 cats and the boss boy when anyone has a trip to the vets, even when they are back an hour later he hisses at them for the first couple of hours.

    Hopefully when you have the other boy done and they have a chance to get used to each others smells again they will be ok.


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    #8
    Fannymcslap
    Registered Users Posts: 184 ✭✭Fannymcslap


    carwash_2006 wrote: »
    Absolutely get the brother done too. May help the situation some. But ultimately if you left them alone before and they didn't do anything much I would leave them a bit longer to sort things out. As long as they don't get a chance to finish sorting things out they will continue to have a problem. I have 8 cats and the boss boy when anyone has a trip to the vets, even when they are back an hour later he hisses at them for the first couple of hours.

    Hopefully when you have the other boy done and they have a chance to get used to each others smells again they will be ok.

    Yeah before all they did before was just playfight, never anything serious, never even a hiss. You did mention something there that even I noticed, is that the smell of the sick fella is noticeably different, like I can actually smell the vets off of him so maybe that's it. I'm hoping to get his brother in tomorrow to get fixed but if not maybe I'll just supervise some playtime.

    Thanks for your help!


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    #9
    dvet
    Registered Users Posts: 329 ✭✭dvet


    Fannymcslap wrote: »
    Well the vet said that it should be alright, he was the guy who operated on him aswell but it striks me as a bit worrying how aggressive they are with each other.

    The jaw did seem to only break in one place but it also dislocated from the head. Though the break is now fixed together with a plate and 5 screws so really my only worry is that he'll open the cut on his mouth.

    One thing I forgot to mention, the patient was also neuteured whilst they were operating on his jaw, so maybe it'd be best if I got his brother done now as well?

    A plate should be pretty solid, especially if the break was in one place. I would say that seeing as your vet was confident about the repair you could catiously go ahead and introduce them under supervision. It probably would help to get the other cat neutered as well - apart from hopefully reducing his aggression, there's also the possibility that if he's the one who's away for a few hours, he might be less inclined to go on the defensive when he gets home! (plus if he comes home groggy he'll be less inclined to be in the mood for fighting when you re-introduce them :P)


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