Need cat help!!

[Carolyn 1]

Hi all,

I have two sweet kitties, male and female littermates. They were the best of friends until yesterday--I took the girl kittie to get spade. She was gone for 10 hours and seems to be recovering well. The problem: her brother doesn't recognize her! He just hisses and even seems like he wants to bite/claw her!

The vet tech warned me that he might not recognize her scent due to the anesthesia, but I'm worried that they will never be the same again. It just breaks our hearts...she tries to go up to him and be sweet, and he just hisses menacingly at her--like she is some strange, horrible creature that has come into his home.

Any idea how long this might last?

Carolyn

[Ban Hammer 13,113]

Hi all,

I have two sweet kitties, male and female littermates. They were the best of friends until yesterday--I took the girl kittie to get spade. She was gone for 10 hours and seems to be recovering well. The problem: her brother doesn't recognize her! He just hisses and even seems like he wants to bite/claw her!

The vet tech warned me that he might not recognize her scent due to the anesthesia, but I'm worried that they will never be the same again. It just breaks our hearts...she tries to go up to him and be sweet, and he just hisses menacingly at her--like she is some strange, horrible creature that has come into his home.

Any idea how long this might last?

Carolyn

i've seen something along the lines of putting something with a scent on the cats in question that will confuse their sense of smell. so please hold - our resident cat experts will be along shortly to advise you further with this matter.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Same thing happened to a friend of mine who has 3 cats

took like 3 days for them to get back to normal, but then they did

Caro

[Carolyn 1]

Thanks--good to know!

The poor things just seem suspicious and a bit miserable around each other (my husband insists on trying to get them back together--I'm inclined to giving it a little time).

[Ban Hammer 13,113]

Thanks--good to know!

The poor things just seem suspicious and a bit miserable around each other (my husband insists on trying to get them back together--I'm inclined to giving it a little time).

just a thought in the meantime - pet each one and alternate hands, so the scent of each one gets on the other until our cat experts show up.

[Jasman0717 9]

[Donna A 4]

sorry i dont have any answer for u because i just became a first time cat owner myself and still am clueless.

[JVKn'CVO 11]

Thanks--good to know!

The poor things just seem suspicious and a bit miserable around each other (my husband insists on trying to get them back together--I'm inclined to giving it a little time).

Right, give them some time (my friend separated them in different parts of the house the first 2 days)

Can't hurry love

Saludos,

Caro

[Mags 112]

Yeah, your kitty just smells of the vets and other various animals that were there the same time as her.

There are various methods available to help, some involve spraying the cats with stuff - which I don't agree with (they then lick their fur and ingest it which is scary to me). What Charles said is a very good idea; keep petting them and changing hands so they have each others' scent on each other.

Give it a couple of days or so and they'll be back to their old ways; just be patient and try not to get too stressed. Once your cat starts to smell of "home" again it'll sort itself out.

[Jenn! 918]

Please post an update here in a few days! I also have male and female littermates and they're due to get fixed in about a month.

[Mephys 2]

my kitties are littermate as well, and they got spayed/neutered together the same day so nothing happened with them, they were back to normal as soon as they got back home, so I recommend that to jenn3539 if possible.

for Carolyn, again like other said, they should be alright in 2-3 days, just give her the time to smell normal again, petting then alternatively is a good idea as well, and keep them seperate for 1-2 days and then let them see each other again. Don't stress too much about it they will become the was they used to be again, specially since they are both babies. I had 2 other cats and they were 5 years apart, the older one always hissing at the kitty female for about 1 month, and after that they were the best friends in the world and were always cuddling up together.

Edited August 31, 2007 by Mephys

[Ladylethal 12]

Cats recognize each other by their scent, when you took her to the vet she came back home with a different scent that the other cat doesn't recognize, you can try using catnip or the feliway spray to prevent them from fighting until she gets her normal scent back.

One tip I was given is to take both cats when one has to visit the vet, so both come back with a different scent and won't have problems with each other.

[LondonGooner 0]

Try using a brush to groom the male cat and then use the same brush on your female cat without removing the hair from it. To me that would be an easy way to transfer scents from one to the other not only that but the cats will really enjoy the grooming!

I miss my kitty. I left him in London with my Momma. That cat is the best dog I've ever known.

[Carolyn 1]

Good morning everyone!

Here's the update: I am now letting them be in the lower level of the house together while supervised...no hissing that I've seen, but they aren't their usual affectionate selves, either. One very cute moment--they did sit together in the window! I think I'll still leave her in the spare bedroom while we're at work, just to be safe (we don't need him licking her wound, either!).

Thanks for all your reassurance!

Carolyn

P.S. I tried to post a picture of my kitties on here, but I only see how to upload a picture from the web...any idea how to post a pic off my computer?

[MrsBruce5 0]

Don't worry. It will pass with time-it is completely normal, but I can help you speed it along.

Rub her ALL OVER with a piece of clothing you wore-old T-shirt, etc.

Then, give him the T-shirt to sniff and a treat. Do this several times a day...

I have done this with integrating my new ferrets with the existing ones, and it is very helpful...

Good Luck...