A friend of mine recently confided that her two cats Lupin (he's on top) and Swarley co-exist without much rivalry, but they occasionally break out in fights for no apparent reason. In fact, Lupin has a fat lip in this photo from fighting with Swarley. It's generally understood that competition between felines in multi-cat households is common (and even unavoidable). The Humane Society of the United States goes so far as to say: 
If the battles between your feline family members are anything like the struggle between Cain and Abel, there are a few things you can do to prevent the "sibling rivalry" from reaching biblical proportions. Of course, it's almost impossible to guess how well any particular pair or group of cats will ultimately tolerate each other; some unusually territorial cats may never adjust to sharing their house, and may do best in a one-cat family.
Do your furry friends get along or do they have a sibling rivalry?
Fendi
Alexander McQueen
GUESS
Among the four of them - they fight, they play, they fight, they play - it's vicious cycle.
1Of the six cats that have come through my parents house all but two have gotten along just fine. Then Zoe entered the house. A cat my parents adopted when my grandfather passed. She was allowed to roam the woods in New Hampshire all she wanted but there are no woods in PA near where she lives. Who knows how she behaved in NH but she is a trouble maker now. We think she has a crush on poor Rexie who used to live peacefully in the house. But is now picked on by Zoe. The funny part about it is that Zoe ignores Freddy the other cat that was adopted from my grandpa.
2They fight occasionally. Mostly they love to cuddle and lick each other, but once in awhile, they'll break out into a fight for no apparent reason.
3We have three cats -- two that are around 2 years old, one that's almost a year (we think). The baby loves to torment the others, but they started fighting back. Our hurricane Katrina rescue LOVES our brown tabby and is always snuggling up next to get/ getting groomed .
... now, when we foster kittens, it's a different story! None of them like the bratty like 6 week old cats!
4We have a dog and a cat, and sometimes they get in random fights. I break it up when I see it. Mostly I worry about the cat's claws hurting my little dog.
5My cats are from the same litter, brother and sister...they love each other and do a lot of playing and cuddling. Of course, they play fight and wrestle sometimes, but you can usually find them curled up together snoozing.
6They fight, but it's more of a play fight. It took a long time to decide to get a second cat because #1 was so clingy and needy. I was very, VERY glad when they got along. They have different personalities, so they annoy each other at times. I truly knew they loved each other when I took them to the Veterinarian together once, and there was a cat wandering around the lobby. Cupid & Opal were not happy about a strange kitty sniffing them through their carrier. Opal hunkered down and Cupid put his body on top of hers to protect her. I knew then what their true feelings about each other were.
7My cats are sisters and can usually be found snuggling up to each other. Occasionally a fight will break out, but it's usually trying to scramble away from our Heeler!
8play fighting, they get along fabulously.
9I have two cats. They both live outside and own seperate parts of the garage. Sugar and Emmi are both strays. Sugar is much older and we've had her for about 10 years. Emmi is somewhat new and we've had her for 3 years. They don't fight so much as they hiss at each other when they feel their personal space is being invaded. They used to fight much more often but now it's rare and short lived. Generally they ignore each other as much as possible.
10The kitty "sibling rivalry" at my house is much improved since I purchased a taller cat tree. Now they spend most of their time in front of the window on separate levels, watching squirrels ruin the bird feeder. For anyone experiencing cat spats regularly, I can't recommend a nice, tall, multi-leveled cat tree enough!
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