Yes, that's fighting. We've been going through the same thing for the past six
months. We adopted a stray cat, and she and one of our other cats just do not
like each other. Our older cat, whom we always thought of as a big coward,
turned into the aggressor eventually. Three times we've had to treat the new
cat for scratch wounds that swelled up and she licked them into a bloody mess.
I wish I could say it's getting better--we thought it was--but the latest
scratch was just a couple weeks ago.

Our problem is that our older cat gets furious when the new cat invades her
territory--things like playing with one of her toys, drinking from the water
bowl she considers hers, or sleeping in one of her favorite places. Okay, I
realize this isn't very helpful to you, but on the other hand our third cat
just stays out of the whole thing. So one out of two of our original cats have
gotten used to the new one. The most they ever do is offer a token hiss when
walking by each other, but they don't fight and most of the time share things
amicably.

A book I'd recommend is Anitra Frazier's The New Natural Cat. There's a long
chapter on how to introduce cats successfully. Unfortunately we didn't follow
it but we originally planned to adopt out the new cat to a friend.

Another thing you could try is Feliway, a feline hormone spray or diffuser you
can buy at Petsmart or similar. I think it has helped somewhat, at least in the
room we have the diffuser installed.

You might also want to read Dr. Nicholas Dodman's book, "The Cat Who Cried
for Help".  There are a couple of chapters that deal with cat integration.

circa 13 Feb 2004 03:21:17 -0800, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav, RW
(newmarr@hotmail.com) said,

That doesn't sound like play.

Laura

Yes, what you have described is fighting.  It is not at all like the
"pouncing" I described (or intended to describe) between Holly and Duffy.
One of them (usually Duffy) will pounce on the other, they will roll around
for a very short time, then break free, and often do it again.  But it is
not aggressive as you described.  They often play in a way that reminds me
of the childhood game of "pattycake."  They will sit facing each other, each
will raise a paw high, and they slap each other's paws 3 or 4 times.  Again,
it lasts for a short time, and in each of these situations they will stop
quickly and will end when one of them turns and moves away or possibly when
they each drop to the floor and lie down close to each other.  Duffy will
often drop to the floor in front of Holly and wave his front paws at her in
a sort of invitation to play.  They may leave some loose fur on the carpet
as they roll around, but I have *never* seen fur simply flying or fur
attached to skin.  The sound you described, the intense staring, etc. -- all
of this sounds like fighting.  And being the "guest cat" does *not* mean
that Arwen would necessarily be shy.  I described Holly as a "black tornado"
in past when she would *violently* attack other cats.  This happened when I
visited my sister in another state for several weeks and took Holly with me.
The resident cats were totally intimidated and Holly took the offense.  We
had to keep them completely separate when I visited.  It was after that that
I learned I had made all sorts of mistakes by trying to put the cats
together too soon.  In fact, I learned a lot about what *not* to do.
Likewise, I think it is very important for you to completely separate your
cats at this time and start all over again -- very slowly and gradually.

MaryL