Are My Cats Playing Or Fighting ? Learn All Reasons Here
Are my cats playing or fighting? Sometimes, it is quite hard to tell whether our cats are fierce foes or furry friends! From play-fights to playful tumbles, our cats often act like enemies and try to mock fight. However, this is absolutely normal behavior of cats and helps them to set boundaries, bond, and learn more about one another.
However, if your cats seem a bit too aggressive, then it might be time for checking whether they are fighting or playing. As furry beings with an actual disagreement can cause each other stress of harm, it is significant to identify the signs of an actual cat-fight and assist them in getting along!
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Are My Cats Playing or Fighting?
When we talk about adult cats, most cats still love engaging with their friends in playtime. Though for several cat parents, the playtime of their cats may seem as if it turned into aggression. Therefore, it is hard for them to tell if their cats are enjoying an excited play session or having a duel that needs intervening before one of them gets hurt. So, there are general guidelines that help you in evaluating whether your kitties are fighting or playing.
How to Tell If Cats Are Playing or Fighting
Here are some tips that will help you with “are my cats playing or fighting?”:
Watch the body language
Are your kittens fighting always? As our cats cannot tell us directly when they are actually fighting, we need to learn something from the body language of our cats. So, when your cats are scrapping, you have to closely watch them. Cats who play and pretend to fight will have their bodies often positioned forward towards one another.
However, kitties who are actually fighting may seem defensive. Also, they will lean away from one another and puff out the fur for looking bigger with their legs raised and spine curved to appear taller.
Check if they take turns
Cats who are playing look happy and always take turns. The common sign of fighting and playing is chasing. So, if your feline companions seem to be chasing one another around you, look to check whether one cat in specific, is always chasing the other one or is more aggressive. This can be an indication of fighting instead of a friendly game.
Watch out for bites
Sometimes, small nibbles could be a mark of overexcited playfulness. However, if your cats are biting a lot and causing harm or if one cat always bites the other one, they are fighting most probably. Biting needs to be minimal among playful cats. So, watch out for bites!
Always listen for noisy cats
Are you kitties very vocal? Or are they growling, hissing, shrieking, and screaming at one another? While noise in small amounts from cats is to be taken as playful, very loud exchanges are a sign of a fight. Also, intimidating noises between disagreeing cats are common. So, you need to listen for noisy cats, especially when a cat squeals in pain.
Look for claws
Although your cats might claw and scratch on a scratching post, playful kitties should not claw at one another. Ferocious cats will have their tiny claws out often, ready to defend themselves or swipe. This is very unlikely to happen with playful cats who always withdraw their claws.
Check their eyes and ears
Eyes and ears are primary body language pointers that could tell whether cats are playing or not. Playful, happy cats will have their ears upright, slightly back, or forward. On the other hand, fighting cats may have them turned back and against their head more often. Aggressive cats will even stare at one another intensely and always ready to jump into scraps!
Watch out for stress and injuries
Friendly, playful cats should not cause any harm or injuries to one another, where even accidental injuries are rare between feline friends. In case, your cats are causing injuries or leaving one another tense, nervous, or shaken after interacting, then it is likely to be a fight!
Now, watch this video to see how to tell if cats are playing or fighting.
What to Do If Your Cats are Always Fighting
It could be tough to have unhappy kitties who do not get along well. If you see that your cats are not playing but fighting, it is very important that you break up the fight the moment you witness it. However, you should not physically intervene as your cats or you may get hurt. Indeed, you can make an abrupt loud noise like a clap or place something between disagreeing cats.
So, if your kitties seem to fight a lot, look for the reason and then, remove all the causes of conflict or stress that are impacting these cats. Also, you can use a diffuser that can reduce conflict and fight among cats. This diffuser helps in restoring harmony and reducing tension. Thus, they live in harmony. All you need to do is to plug it into the area where your kitties spend most of their time. Now, create a happy, peaceful, and calm cat environment in no time!
Conclusion
Now, you know how to tell if your cats are fighting or playing. The experts believe that the key to deciphering if cats are fighting or playing is to perceive their body language. You can look for signs that specify playing, such as minimal biting, retracted claws, no puffed-up fur, no bottle-brush tails, and always up ears. Also, even look for reciprocity. You can even look for sounds that accompany the body language of cats. Now, you do not need to think any more about “are my cats playing or fighting?”
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