Making Our Cats Like Each Other Again

[roger_ramjet]

G'day all. We brought one of our cats back from the vet after a three-night stay, and we've found that our other brat has been growling and hissing just about every time she sees him. He's been home for three days now and we've kept them pretty well separated during that time, but we'd like to know what experiences others have had in this situation.

We realised that this would occur, but we're not sure how to get them back on friendly terms without our recently hospitalised cat being attacked or stressed in the process. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[alliecats]

Last time it happened to me, I was told it was the vet-smell factor. We took a t-shirt, rubbed it all over vet kitty, then all over snarly face. Worked like a charm, they both smelled antiseptic!

 

[Nancyg56]

It is the vet smell. We had it happen to our cats, and we have 4. It was a lot of posturing, but nothing more than that. I did not separate them, just kept an eye. It didn't last too long. I wish I had thought of alliecats suggestion.

 

[roger_ramjet]

Thanks for the tips. We tried the t-shirt thing, but at least for now I am not sure it worked. In fact, after we tried that, she-devil critter started getting a little more hissy and growly - so maybe that will work with time. It seems like the more contact they have, the better, but at the moment he is still recovering from his ailment so we don't want to add any more stress that might exacerbate his problems. Hopefully time will heal

 

[Not so Dumbo]

This happend to ours when one of them was accidently locked out of the house over night. We gave them both baths and locked them in their room together. They got over it in a matter of hours.

 

[alliecats]

I'm sorry the t-shirt thing did not work. My vet told me to do it the minute I got home, so the smell was probably a lot stronger then, on her, than it is on your little guy after a few days. Probably hissy face has already recorded that smell and just remembers a scary vibe when she sees him even though she can't smell it anymore. But I bet this will calm down in a couple of days and she will stop it.
I know how stressful this is when you have one who needs to heal.

You didn't say what was wrong with sick kitty, but my fingers are crossed he makes a full & speedy recovery. Sounds like he has a great kitty dad in his corner.

 

[Eeyore'sthebest]

Give it a little time. Something new has been introduced (vet smells). They will get over it in another couple of days. They won't keep hissing forever.

 

[roger_ramjet]

I'm sorry the t-shirt thing did not work. My vet told me to do it the minute I got home, so the smell was probably a lot stronger then, on her, than it is on your little guy after a few days. Probably hissy face has already recorded that smell and just remembers a scary vibe when she sees him even though she can't smell it anymore. But I bet this will calm down in a couple of days and she will stop it.
I know how stressful this is when you have one who needs to heal.

You didn't say what was wrong with sick kitty, but my fingers are crossed he makes a full & speedy recovery. Sounds like he has a great kitty dad in his corner.

I thought that it might have been because the smell had worn off. At the moment I am trying to just let see them see each other, and perhaps eventually they will become acclimatised. So long as she doesn't attack him we should be in good shape!

Sickie came down with a urinary tract blockage - not a lot of fun at all for any of us - and he got attacked by she-devil when she sensed he was sick last week, so we're trying to stop a recurrence of that. We're doing our best to get them back to normal again! Thanks again.

 

[PaulaSB12]

I had that when my two kittens where neutered. Socks's mum didn't like the smell, her answer was to bite him just where the vet got him poor boy. They got over it after a few days though.

 

[teacherforhi]

Euri and Annie are going through this right now!

Euri was spayed last week. When she came home on Wednesday, Annie growled and hissed. She's still doing it. She hasn't actually attacked Euri though, so I'm letting it go.

Oddly enough though, Emelia doesn't seem to care. Sometimes I wonder about her sense of smell though. (It would explain why she thinks it's okay to eat litter.)

 

[wdwmom2]

This is going to sound gross, but, how about taking some canned cat food or tuna, rub some of the nasty stuff on your hands. Just enough to smell, no chunks need to be involved. Then rub it all over the nice kitty. Feed the two kitties in the same room all the rest that is left over. Maybe nasty kitty will forget why he isn't liking nice kitty.

OMG, I think I have lost it ! Although, it is something that I probably would try out of despiration!

 

[emmabelle]

I just had it happen two weeks ago with my kitten and adult cat. I had only been at the vet with the kitten for an exam and shots. I did try rubbing the kitten with one of those cat cleaning cloths, it may have helped a bit. It took my two a couple of days before the adult left her alone. I'm dreading the spaying because I know Emma will flip out on Lily again and Lily won't be in any condition to protect herself.