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Two brothers now hissing at each other post vet trip

post #1 of 8
10/30/10 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 
Hi,
I have two male cats who are brothers and about 19 months old. they've pretty much been together since birth, and I've had them for about 17 months. a couple of weeks ago I took Shoes to the vet - his brother Socks was too smart for me to catch and take at the same time. Today I took Socks to the vet, and since I brought him back, Shoes has been hissing at him every time he gets near. I thought this was a temporary thing and would settle down quickly, but it only seems to be getting worse as the day has worn on. I'm home on the weekend, but starting bright and early monday morning, I won't be, and I'm concerned that Shoes will continue to get more aggressive, and really at a loss as to what to do since I haven't ever had to deal with this. The boys have hissed at each other during play, and usually the hissing is on Shoes' part. Socks just seems confused and has been walking around with his tail between his legs. Shoes is meowing at me, and he usually is the silent type. How common is this and how concerned to I need to be? What can I do to help them be friends again?

Thanks for any help or advice!

- One anxious human and two weirded out felines
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post #2 of 8
10/30/10 at 8:37pm
Very common. It might take a few days, right now Socks smells like a stranger, and nasty vet smell to boot.

You can put some cooking vanilla on the nose, chin and root of tail of both cats, this will make them smell the same to each other and it may help.

But don't despair if it takes a couple of days for things to get back to normal.

Welcome to TCS, please let us know how it goes.
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post #3 of 8
10/30/10 at 8:49pm
You want pure vanilla extract, not the imitation and it goes under their chins and at the base of their tails. You will have to apply it several times a day, but it will work and neutralize the alien scents they picked up at the vets.
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post #4 of 8
10/30/10 at 8:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by hissy View Post
You want pure vanilla extract, not the imitation and it goes under their chins and at the base of their tails. You will have to apply it several times a day, but it will work and neutralize the alien scents they picked up at the vets.
IMHO the best stuff for this issue... saved me alot of time and trouble
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post #5 of 8
10/30/10 at 8:52pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you so much for your quick responses - really appreciate it! Right now Socks is hiding under the bed, and Shoes is enjoying his role as king of the jungle on my bed. Tomorrow I'm off to get some vanilla extract. Maybe I'll do some baking with it too!
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post #6 of 8
10/30/10 at 11:09pm
yep, real common in our household

we have one NM that has the best nose, and is really sensitive to different odors - and, when someone comes home from the vet he gets so upset!!!

the last time, hissing lasted for a couple of days - they worked it out

I dread having to take one of the cats to the vet because of Simon's reaction - he gets so stressed.
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post #7 of 8
10/31/10 at 11:44am
Thread Starter 
thanks for the support. things are a little calmer today. they are both sleeping off a restless night under the bed just a foot apart - usually they'd be curled into each other but things are calmer, so hopefully they're on their way to working it out.
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post #8 of 8
10/31/10 at 3:41pm
Thanks for the update! By tomorrow they'll probably be back to normal. I have a friend whose one female cat hated the smell of vet on her boy kitty, though they were inseparable otherwise. She would be hostile to him for weeks after.

That boy kitty has gone to the Bridge now, and she adopted two kittens who are now 2 years old. Oddly enough the older kitty does not have the same reaction to either of the "kittens" smelling like vet. It was only her dear beloved boy whom she objected to when he smelled wrong.

I'm "lucky" in a way, some of my cats are special needs and spend so much time at the vet it's a familiar smell around here, so no one pays much attention.
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