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	A friend of mine has two adult cats that have been together since birth. One day there was a loud noise that scared one of the cats to make a sudden turn and run into the other cat. This started a fight between the cats, which they had to be separated, Since then they have not gotten a long. This incident happened six months ago, and they still cannot be in the same room together without fighting. My friend has tried everything, any suggestions. I'm not sure what your friend has tried, but this is what I would do. I would be sure to have two separate areas for each cat. Each with a litter box, food, water dishes and scratching posts, etc. That way, each cat has its own sanctuary to retire to. Then it's up to the individual cats to socialize in the "neutral zone." If they feel that they want to socialize, they can make the decision. Only time will tell. Sometimes it just doesn't work. I have three cats at home that refuse to socialize with the other four. Therefore, three cats live upstairs and four live downstairs. And that's just the situation that we've come to live with!

Marc, do you have any suggestions for a cat who may have developed a litter-box aversion? She has decided to have accidents. Any suggestions on stopping this behavior? There are no problems with her, just her behavior. That's a rough question to answer. It's always easier if the cat has a physical problem that is causing this. You say that you are certain that it's a behavioral one. With cats and litter boxes, remember these things: cats insist on a clean litter box. Some cats will not use a litter box even if they've only used it once! Cats want an accessible litter box and we seem to do our best to make it inaccessible as possible for the cat like putting it down in the basement and other such places. Some cats are choosy about substrates in the litter box. Try changing to a different litter such as recycled newspaper. The most cut and dry answer I can give you is if your cat insists on using one particular corner of your house, put a litter box in that corner. Sometimes you can't fight city hall! I bought my cat an expensive scratching post but he refuses to use it and claws my furniture instead. If I cannot get him to use the post my husband is going to get him de-clawed. Your cat is using the furniture because it feels more comfortable using that instead of the post. First make the post more accessible to the cat. Put it right next to the furniture if that is what it takes. Then make the furniture unattractive to the cat by using a cat repellent spray or strategically placing pieces of double-sided tape on the furniture. Cats don't like the way it feels and you can remove it when you have company over. You should also get one of the many cat repellent sprays available in pet stores. Now that you have made the furniture unattractive, you must make the scratching post attractive to the cat by rubbing catnip all over it. Once the cat has chosen to use the post of its own violation, you can slowly move it away from the furniture.