How To Safely Break Up A Cat Fight In Your Home

House cats are like human siblings in many ways. They play together, they eat together, and sometimes, they fight. Even cats born from the same litter that have never lived apart can find a reason to tussle. Sometimes, the squabble involves a quick flip here or head smack there, and then it's over. But other times, it involves wrestling, clawing, kicking, and biting. As a loving cat parent, it's natural to want to break up the fight ASAP, but there are some dos and don'ts to keep in mind. To safely break up a cat fight in your home, try to create an audible or physical distraction, or physically separate them with an object.

Cats can get into a fight for a number of reasons, such as competition over food or a shared bed. Sometimes, the fight starts out as harmless bunny-kicking, but after a minute or so, it can become more aggressive. When you see a fight break out for the first time, your knee-jerk reaction will likely be to pull them apart with your hands, but this isn't the safest approach, especially if the cats have claws.

An angry cat's protracted claws are like miniature hooks that can easily pierce your skin. Combine those hooks with a mouth full of sharp teeth, plus another furious feline, and you have an even greater threat. Grabbing cats mid-fight will most likely leave you with a few scratches or bite marks, or both, putting you at risk for cat scratch fever, a real thing you need to watch for signs of. This is why you should consider safer separation methods.

There's a reason felines are called "scaredy cats." Many of them have an inherently timid temperament, and it doesn't take much to send them scurrying across a room. Even while violently clawing at each other, some cats will still respond to stimuli in their surroundings, like loud noises. With this in mind, try to create an audible distraction like clapping your hands, shouting loudly, banging a pair of pots or pans together, or dropping a book on the floor beside them to break up a fight.

You can also use a physical distraction that makes contact with them, such as water from a spray bottle. Many cat parents keep one lying around for moments when their kitty misbehaves. If you're one of them, grab your bottle and spray your fighting cats. Although not all cats hate water, most of them do — or at least getting sprayed with it — so hopefully one or both of your cats will respond to the spray by running away. Alternatively, you can fill a cup with water and pour it over them.

If you don't have a spray bottle lying around, you can use a blanket or pillows instead. Take a throw blanket or towel, and toss it over your cats. This will likely startle and disorient them, causing them to want to escape from the situation. Throwing a pillow or two at them may also help distract them without harming them.

If creating an audible or physical distraction doesn't work, you can try to physically separate your cats with an object like a broom or mop. Take the bristle side of a broom or the head side of a mop, and press it against them. You can also use the handle side and attempt to pry them apart, as cats usually latch onto one another with their front legs while fighting.

Other objects that can work to separate a pair of feuding felines are rolled-up magazines or newspapers and umbrellas. Just be sure to keep your hands and arms as far away from them as possible when you poke them with your item of choice.

Hopefully, vicious fighting between your cats will never be the norm in your home, but it doesn't hurt to be proactive in case another fight breaks out in the future or if the playing becomes too rough. It's not always immediately obvious if your cats are playing or fighting, so it's best to be prepared for any type of aggressive behavior by keeping these items nearby at all times.