How can you tell the difference between cats play fighting or actually fighting?
The general rule is that fighting is noisy and short and rough playing goes on for quite a while and is fairly quiet. There will be a lot of hissing and growling in a fight, it will not last long, and the loser will run way, often with an injury to one of their rear legs. One way to try and determine who lost a fight is to look for a wound to the cat’s back legs from the winner taking a good swing at the loser, with their claws out. The loser is not always the one with a rear leg wound, but it is the case almost all the time. In a fight, the cats’ ears will probably be laid back, close to their heads, to protect them, and the cats may crouch down low and try to look as threatening as possible. Before resorting to actual violence, the cats will attempt to end the altercation with noise and threat and many times one of the cats will back down. If that does not end it, they will use their claws and teeth to settle matters. Roughhousing can be remarkably quiet and can go on for what seems
