My two cats always got along....until today.

katiemarie

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I tried to search for a similar problem...but I didn't have any luck.

My fiance and I have two cats. A 4 year old male that he's had since he was a kitten, and a 1 1/2 (or so) year old female that we adopted a year ago.

The two have always gotten along fine, which is why I'm sort of confused. I took the younger cat, Angie, to the vet today to get her shots. I dropped her off at the vet this morning, and picked her back up after work. When I got her home, the older cat, Entourage, immediately started to act really aggressive towards her. For the past couple hours, he's been hissing at her, swiping at her, and chasing her around the apartment. Angie's hiding on our small screened in porch right now, afraid to come in, because every time she tries to come back inside, Enty attacks her.

Is he just smelling other cats on her or something? I'm a little worried, mostly because I don't understand why he's being so mean to her.

Any ideas?
 

elizwithcat

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Originally Posted by Katiemarie

I tried to search for a similar problem...but I didn't have any luck.

My fiance and I have two cats. A 4 year old male that he's had since he was a kitten, and a 1 1/2 (or so) year old female that we adopted a year ago.

The two have always gotten along fine, which is why I'm sort of confused. I took the younger cat, Angie, to the vet today to get her shots. I dropped her off at the vet this morning, and picked her back up after work. When I got her home, the older cat, Entourage, immediately started to act really aggressive towards her. For the past couple hours, he's been hissing at her, swiping at her, and chasing her around the apartment. Angie's hiding on our small screened in porch right now, afraid to come in, because every time she tries to come back inside, Enty attacks her.

Is he just smelling other cats on her or something? I'm a little worried, mostly because I don't understand why he's being so mean to her.

Any ideas?
I believe it's a normall reaction, altough my cats never did that. The reason for this is she smells differently. You should make them both smell the same. I believe with a little dab of vanilla extract at the base of the tail and under the chin.
 

kathryn41

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Hi KatieMarie,

It is very confusing, isn't it? It is also a very well-documented occurence. Cats who live together develop a 'community smell' that reassures them this is a friend. They do this by rubbing up against each other with their heads, bodies and around the tail. There are pheromone generating glands in these areas and each cat 'marks' the other cat with their pheromones. You don't smell them, but cats depend on smell much more than on any of their other senses, and they recognize both their own scent, their companion's scent and the co-mingled scent. When they smell a cat that doesn't have that community smell, then that cat is a stranger to them. What has happened is that your Angie went to the vets, was handled by strange people who have handled other cats; was exposed to other odors and scents in the air that included air-bourne pheramones from other cats there - cats who are frightened and angry and stressed. When Angie came back home her fur still holds some of the scents from where she spent the morning. She no longer has the 'community smell' that she had before she went to the vets, so Enty smells that 'alien' smell and to him, she is now a stranger cat. The solution is to make them both smell the same again. So, separate the two of them for the time being. There are several tricks you can try. One is to take vanilla extract and put a small dab on both cats at the top of their heads and another small dab above the tail. Another is to take powdered brewer's yeast, sprinkle some over each cat and then rub/pet them down so it permeates their coats. It is safe and healthy for them so it won't hurt when they eventually lick it off. Third is to take a blanket or towel or piece of clothing that they have both slept on and rub Angie down with it, taking care to rub her face, neck and around the tail thoroughly. If both cats like to be brushed, you can start by brushing Enty, then without cleaning the brush, go and brush Angie, then go back and brush Enty again. You are not just grooming them, you are transfering their body scents to each other. Whatever you do, you may wish to keep them separate for the night so that they both calm down and have a chance to relax, then you can try resuming your normal routine in the morning, feeding both cats together and seeing what happens. You may get some initial hissing, but allow Anty to smell Angie, and once he realizes who she is again, things should be fine. It may take a day or two, though.

I know it is frustrating and worrisome, but you will need to keep using positive reinforcement with both of them and not punishing Enty for being aggressive or Angie for being nervous. Spend your time this evening with them separately taking care of getting Angie's 'vet' scent off of her and restoring their familiarity again.

Kathryn
 

goosehazel

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I had this happen Monday night actually. I took Daisy to the vet because she is limping and when we got home Lucy hissed and swatted at her. It only took them a couple of hours to get over it and then they were fine. Lucy was not a happy camper for the evening. It was weird. But they're fine now.
 

hissy

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Just a correction to Kathryn's post, the vanilla extract goes under their chins, not on the top of their heads.
 
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