Let me preface this by saying that I have owned cats my whole life (I'm 33) and feel like I have a pretty strong connection with the feline world.
I have two beautiful (spayed) girls who are about 11. They are indoor cats and even though they are litter mates, have two separate personalities and have simply learned to tolerate eachother. They are not my problem, however.
Late this summer, a kitten arrived at my deck one day. I do bad things by feeding the strays in the area; I know I'm a terrible person. However, upon finding this deck of safe haven, food and water, the kitten never left and started using the deck as his litter box; he wouldn't leave. Kitten was very VERY cute and won over both myself and my husband. I knew my girls wouldn't be pleased, but we made the decision to adopt him; he was only about 9 weeks old. He couldn't belong to anyone, he was emaciated and crawling with fleas to the point he was anemic.
Took him to the vet to get his shots, flea bath, medicine, etc. All healthy, and while the girls aren't loving him, they are tolerating him...until...
I took Artie (out new little boy) to be neutered two weeks ago. Ever since I've brought him home, he's very aggressive with one of the girls, and it almost appears her's trying to mount her! He's also taken to getting into EVERYTHING that isn't his. He's unresponsive to "butt taps," yelling, loud noises (sometimes this works), and while he stops what he's doing when squirted with a water bottle, he goes right back to it.
I'm most concerned about the aggressive behavior. Could this be caused by a jump in testosterone upon being neutered that will eventually wane into nothing and I'll have my sweet kitty back? Or is this something that should give me pause and make me considering finding him another home? I just don't feel like it's fair to my girls (especially the one constantly attacked).
Sorry so long, I just wanted to make sure the story was laid out in it's entirety. Thanks!!
I have two beautiful (spayed) girls who are about 11. They are indoor cats and even though they are litter mates, have two separate personalities and have simply learned to tolerate eachother. They are not my problem, however.
Late this summer, a kitten arrived at my deck one day. I do bad things by feeding the strays in the area; I know I'm a terrible person. However, upon finding this deck of safe haven, food and water, the kitten never left and started using the deck as his litter box; he wouldn't leave. Kitten was very VERY cute and won over both myself and my husband. I knew my girls wouldn't be pleased, but we made the decision to adopt him; he was only about 9 weeks old. He couldn't belong to anyone, he was emaciated and crawling with fleas to the point he was anemic.
Took him to the vet to get his shots, flea bath, medicine, etc. All healthy, and while the girls aren't loving him, they are tolerating him...until...
I took Artie (out new little boy) to be neutered two weeks ago. Ever since I've brought him home, he's very aggressive with one of the girls, and it almost appears her's trying to mount her! He's also taken to getting into EVERYTHING that isn't his. He's unresponsive to "butt taps," yelling, loud noises (sometimes this works), and while he stops what he's doing when squirted with a water bottle, he goes right back to it.
I'm most concerned about the aggressive behavior. Could this be caused by a jump in testosterone upon being neutered that will eventually wane into nothing and I'll have my sweet kitty back? Or is this something that should give me pause and make me considering finding him another home? I just don't feel like it's fair to my girls (especially the one constantly attacked).
Sorry so long, I just wanted to make sure the story was laid out in it's entirety. Thanks!!
