Oklahomarose, thanks for the suggestion. I guess I can say I'm doing something "sort of similar." Rocky spends his nights in my downstairs bathroom. He doesn't seem to mind at all....he goes in readily, and doesn't make a sound until he hears me stirring upstairs in the morning. He is in and out throughout the day. The other cats are confined to the upstairs and attic when he's in the house; when he's out, the downstairs is open to them as well. Rocky seems perfectly happy with this arragement, the other cats less so, and me not very much. I don't like that the other cats seem on edge much of the time, nor that one or more of them (I know it's not Rocky) keeps marking their territory--in the living room and dining room. And although I try to give each of them one-on-one attention, I worry that it's not enough. Some of the cats' nervousness may be a reflection of my own. I was thoroughly spooked by the fight and my injury. The sutures are out, BTW, but the hand doctor predicts the nerve damage will take about six months to heal. I also worry about Rocky outside. He hasn't fought with Bonesy or run her off; in fact, there's been no negative interaction with any other outside. But unfortunately, thanks to an infuriatingly negligent neighbor, plenty of other strays have been coming around, including a tomcat that mated with a small female. Rocky lets this female have his food on the porch, and I was nervous when the tom showed up and loudly declared his intentions. I need to talk to the neighbor, but I know from past experience she'll deny any knowledge of the other cats, which now number six. I'm not sure what I'll do next. A friend recommended Bach Flower Remedies for pets, and I may try this with Rocky and Annie. I still see Annie as the root of the problem, and Rocky's good behavior with the outside cats has reinforced this. A close friend's adult son is thinking about getting a cat. He had one for many years, and the whole family are cat lovers. It would be a good home for Rocky. And painful for me to contemplate. Rocky is such a great cat, and he and I are so bonded. If my friend's son and his wife agree to take him, I'll have to deal with it. If they don't, I'll have to deal with it.

Treats work wonders. Get them in the same room and start doling out the treats, getting them closer together as they eat them. It will take time, but they will realize that being face to face with their enemy means treats! Do this all over the house so they don't associate the treats and praise with just one room, they are safe in all rooms. Also, our cats bonded over catnip. We were laughing so hard, all four of them rolling around on their own sprinkling of catnip and not giving a care in the world about what the others were doing. Minutes before it was a hiss-fest, then it looked like a love den!

Thank you both for your responses. I have 3 litter boxes & it's been that way all along. 2 are covered & 1 is open. I'm certainly not opposed to getting 1 or 2 more. Thank you, I will try that. There have been no changes to the household. No new people or furniture. I do have a climbing tower with 2 perches for sleeping and a cubby for hiding but only 1 cat actually uses it & it's neither of the 2 that are fighting. Of the fighting cats, 1 likes to sleep high (on top of the fridge or back of the couch) & the other likes to sleep low (the foot rest of my recliner or an end table beside the couch). The 1 that was not injured has not been checked by the vet recently. The 1 with the eye infection has to go back in 5 days for a follow up on his eye. I'll call & see if I can bring them both. This is the vet that did the neuters so I'm sure he will tell me they were complete. The vet has suggested that perhaps they are fighting over food or my affection but that doesn't seem to be an issue with either of them. There is dry food out all the time for them & everyone gets their own can of food every morning. Thank you again for your suggestions! I will get a couple more litter boxes & maybe another tower in the hopes that something will work.

It's a fuzzy dark blob. Judging size of animals is hard unless you can spot them against an object that you can later measure ... unless you can get a good photo with something for scale in the background, it's just a UFO (unidentified feline outdoors). Intact male domestic felines can have sideburns, especially if they have a bit of longhaired ancestry.