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Sibling rejection/aggression

post #1 of 5
Thread Starter 
I have 2 neutered 6 mo. old brothers. They were inseparable until one ate sewing machine thread and had to have surgery to remove it. He returned home after 2 nights away and his brother doesn't seem to know him. The brother is hissing and growling whenever he comes near. This is unusual for the brother as he Is usually friendly and made up quickly with my daughters Maine coon cat and my sons 2 grown cats when they visit. Not sure why the big change in only 2 nights away.
post #2 of 5
How long has he been home? It is not unusual for cats to act like they don't recognize each other after they've been to the vet, for one thing they smell totally different and are giving off stress signals. Some people have luck with bathing both animals so they smell the same but that's probably not an option if he just had surgery (you could maybe use waterless bath wipes though).
I've also heard of dabbing vanilla extract on both cats.
post #3 of 5
Thread Starter 
Things have improved but not perfect. As soon as his stitches are out I will give them both a bath. Meanwhile, I will try the vanilla. I suspected it was odor since we all smell a bit funny after surgery. It was probably worse to almost think he knew him but he didn't smell right. I also ordered feliway so I will have that on hand for any future stressors.... Thanks for your suggestion.
post #4 of 5
That happens a lot. When our youngest male was neutered, his best friend, Parker wanted nothing to do with him for a few days. All those yucky vet smells.
The wipes would be good too. I never thought of that!
post #5 of 5
actually very normal. when my siblings [brother, sister] went in for spay and neuter, they came back and my boy was so intent on just killing his sister! Hissing, growling, chasing her around the house. And he's twice her size. I was so stressed out, especially since the sister was just so dumbfounded, she just wanted to hang out with him.

It ended in 24hours, so just give it time.
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