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Reintroducing bonded cats (weird problem)

post #1 of 5
8/9/11 at 12:15pm
Thread Starter 
I have two cats, a mother and a son, whom I adopted together four years ago. They are a perfectly bonded pair, copycats, etc. They eat, sleep, and bathe together. Neither have behavioral issues, and the only conflicts they ever have arise when the son wants to play a little too rough. These cats have never been further than a few yards away from one another since the son was born.

Last night, the mother cat brushed her tail against a lit candle and singed the fur on her backside. She's perfectly fine -- I checked her for burns and found none, and she showed no signs of irritation or distress.

The son's reaction, however, surprised me very much. He immediately howled and lunged at his mother, attacking her very aggressively. I managed to separate them and to clean the mom's backside, brushing out the burnt hair, but the son simply does not recognize her any more. Every time he sees her, he howls and hisses and scares her away. She is naturally very confused.

I assume this has something to do with the son not recognizing his mom's scent since her backside was burnt (I didn't realize how much burnt cat hair smelled...). Is this a common problem? Will it go away with time, or will I have to somehow reintroduce my cat to his own mother?

I'd appreciate any advice! Thank you!
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post #2 of 5
8/9/11 at 12:45pm
Hmm...maybe cut off what you can of the singed hair ends and bathe her...then try wiping a damp cloth on the son (to get his scent) and wiping it on the mom...do the same with the son (wiping the mom's scent on him with a cloth)... Maybe that will work..

I've never dealt with a similar problem, but since it's scent-based the above might work.

Artgecko
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post #3 of 5
8/9/11 at 5:48pm
I had a similar problem. I have siblings, a girl and a boy. When they went for neuter/spay and came back, boy freaked out. He hissed and growled at his sister, like he never met her, she was just confused, and kept approaching him only to be swatted away. It lasted good 24hrs. I kept brushing him, then her with same brush, kept a blanket I rubbed on him, then on her, kept petting both with same hand, so it stopped. They are best friends once again.
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post #4 of 5
8/10/11 at 9:31am
Thread Starter 
Thanks so much for your advice!

I cut out any fur that I thought might be remotely offensive to the son, and bathed her. I rubbed them down with the same towel and used the same brush on both of them. This did not seem to work -- confronted with her scent, the son would begin to howl even when she wasn't in the same room.

I came to realize that the problem was largely me. I was being over-protective of the mother, showering her with attention and rattling my keys a little at the son in her defense when he looked like he would swat her. The son, for whatever reason, was simply too upset to adjust to... well, whatever he needed to adjust to.

I changed strategies and started paying more attention to him and petting and coddling him when he was upset and violent, rather than warding him off. I wagered that he wouldn't swat, bite or otherwise hurt me, and luckily I was correct. This strategy worked wonders. Eventually he began to get closer to his mom, and even though he howled and was upset, he was improving.

This morning he chased his mom around for a while and eventually made up with her. They even kissed noses! Such a relief. I have no idea what this whole ordeal was about!

Again, thanks for the advice!
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post #5 of 5
8/10/11 at 9:51am
I'm really glad that you posted the solution! This could be a great help to others, and I'm glad it worked!!!
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