Aggression post-spay

I have two cats who are never allowed to go outside. The older cat, a male, is six-years-old and neutered. About two and a half years ago, we brought a female kitten into the house. All this time, they have been best buddies, playing, grooming each other, etc. No territorial or food sharing issues. The only time we saw any aggression was when one of the cats saw an outside cat. We had a few minor episodes of displaced aggression by one or the other of them from outside cat sightings, but that's it.

Two months ago, we had the little female spayed. A few weeks after her surgery, she became extremely aggressive toward the male. It's really bad--we are living in a war zone unless we keep them separated because we have no idea what sets her off. The weird thing is, when she doesn't hate him and attack him, she goes back to the old playing and grooming behavior with him. Then she will suddenly turn on him. She is not aggressive towards people, at all--at least not yet. In fact, of the two of them she is affectionate and playful one. This definitely happened as a result of the spay because nothing else in their environment had changed. She was fine when she first got home from surgery, but as her hormone levels changed, she got aggressive. Her health is good, we just had her checked. I'm at a loss about what to do. Is this common after a spay?

No, it's not normal after a spay. I agree - this is weird.

The only thing I can think of is that something healed strangely with the spay - even if it looks OK, maybe she's in pain? Aggression is often a sign of pain. I would consider a vet appointment, though I think, quite frankly, it's a bit of a long shot.

Apart from that, I'd consider purchasing some Feliway spray. It often helps calm a multicat household (it's worked with our six feral rescues). I'd consider the plug-ins if you can afford them - otherwise there is a spray available. You have to respray every three days or so. You may also want to consider Flower Essences - they work for some cats, not others. Both are available at http://www.catfaeries.com

The other thing to try is to give your girl 10 - 15 minutes of extra play time. This helps relieve stress. I'd also consider rubbing your male kitty all over with a towel, and at the end of your daily alone play time with your female, putting treats out on it for her on that towel that smells like the male. You can also consider taking another towel or rag and rubbing it all over the male and putting it under whatever food dish your female eats out of. The idea is it get her to associate good things with the scent of the male - this may help with the aggression (if the problem isn't pain).

I'd also consider keeping a can of coins around. When she gets aggressive, shake it loudly to startle her out of it. Maybe consider putting her in the bathroom for a time-out for 3 - 5 minutes. The idea is to get her to associate her "inappropriate aggression" with being ignored.

However, on the flip side, she needs to understand what you want - so she needs to be praised to the high heavens when she's interacting well - playing appropriately or whatever - with the male. Maybe keep some new toys around and give them to them when she's playing nicely with him. Or praise them for being such good kitties - and put treats out for them (put hers on the towel that smells like him).

Hope these ideas help,

Laurie

Thanks Laurie. I'll try the Feliway spray. Must admit I'm getting pretty discouraged. She loves the other cat half the time and viciously attacks him the other half. Now the male is starting to become preemptively aggressive in preparation for her bizarro behavior (which kitty will it be this time?), so we live in a war zone. For a while we could get away with putting one or the other of them in the laundry room, but now she tries to attack through the door so they have to be in separate crates in separate rooms. Not much of a quality of life for either of them.

The vet says her spay healed perfectly and can find nothing else wrong. I wonder if she could have gotten too much anesthetic and had some minor brain damage or something. The vet suggested that we consider finding her a home with no other pets, as she was quite aggressive with other animals, even in her crate, at the vet's office. I suspect we'll have to consider this option, but she is the sweetest, most playful little thing with us that the thought breaks my heart.

Very glad to hear this is not a common post-spay thing. I was feeling guilty, although I still think it's the right thing to do overall.

It hasn't happened to me, but I have heard 2 other people say their cats turned 'mean' after they were spayed. Personally I would be more in favor of 'tube tying' and 'vasectomony' if the main reason to spay/neuter is to stop breeding. It does seem like that by depriving a cat of its natural hormone balance it may not always be a good thing.

Originally Posted by TabbyTail

It hasn't happened to me, but I have heard 2 other people say their cats turned 'mean' after they were spayed. Personally I would be more in favor of 'tube tying' and 'vasectomony' if the main reason to spay/neuter is to stop breeding. It does seem like that by depriving a cat of its natural hormone balance it may not always be a good thing.

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I had a problem with 2 of my cats being aggressive towards the third after they were spayed. I used Feliway diffusers and the vanilla extract trick. It took time but they are getting along fine.


TabbyTail... you are half correct. Spaying is partly to stop breeding but when my 2 were spayed the vet told me it also helps prevent cancer and other illnesses later on in life