Sometimes you'll get a couple of cats whose personality just do not click. I've had the same situation here for almost 9 years now, ever since I got Simba who was 1 year old at the time.

My original cat is Samantha, who is 9 years old. When she was about 6 or 7 months old, a friend gave Simba to me. He was a little over a year old then. A beautiful Himalayan mix, and quite the lover boy to everybody, he and Samantha never did really get along. She was pregnant (I wasn't too smart when I got Samantha, who was my first cat), and he was neutered. Over time, he and one of Samantha's daughters, Katrina, became the best of friends. But Samantha and Simba would constantly fight. And the older they got, the worse the fights got. I've come home from work with fur all over the front room. Many times, I've had to take one or the other to the vet for an injury from a cat fight. I have salve for Samantha's eyes that I still have to use when I forget to separate them when I leave for work. So this has been going on for almost 9 years and it doesn't seem to get better as they age. Actually it's a lot worse now. In addition to not getting along with Samantha, he also picks on KatyKatt. She stands her ground. When I'm home, I'll hear either Samantha or KatyKatt call me "MEOW". When I turn around to look, he's sitting right beside them with his nose almost touching theirs and with a threatening paw up. Katy and Samantha both stand their ground. And now that they are both full grown, both Samantha and KatyKatt are larger than Simba, but he still challenges them.

And he grooms Katrina, Samantha's other kitten, who is full grown now. She's actually the smallest cat too. She weighs about 11 lbs, Simba is around 12, Samantha is 18 and KatyKatt is 18 1/2 lbs.

I think that the way that your parents are dealing with their two cats is the perfect solution. There is no way that a person can force them to get along so you have to make adjustments so that they can live together in the same house in harmony.

I separate the two pairs of cats as much as possible when I leave the house. It works out great for us. My only problem is, my daughter's family moved back in with me about a year ago and they don't pay much attention to where the cats are when they leave the house.
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Ruby and the Kitties
Simba, Samantha, Katrina & KatyKatt
Meow!! Meow!! Meow!! Meow!!

How wonderful to do nothing and then rest afterwards. Meow!

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