Gave cat a bath...the other cat is being very aggressive! HELP!

We just gave our boy cat a bath, and then we were going to give our girl cat a bath, but she started hissing and growling, and acting VERY agressive. We don't ever give them a bath, but they are both really dirty. He tends not to groom himself. I am afraid to give her a bath now, because she may bite.

Now she is hissing at the boy cat, and hiding. They have already fought once.

What should I do??

They are both probably really stressed. My cats are brother and sister and whenever they get stressed (like going to the vet) they end up hissing at each other for a period of time.

Katie

It's may also be because the boy cat smells different!
Try wiping the female with a damp hand towel that has been washed with the shampoo you used to bathe the male. At least she will be cleaner and smell like the other cat. You may have to wait until she calms down to try to bathe her, if you still want to.

If you have vanilla extract in your cupboard, put a small amount under each cat's chins and on the base of the tail. You wiped out the familiar smell of the boy cat when you bathed him (by the way what type of shampoo did you use?) Because cats are so scent-oriented, your one cat does not recognize the smell now, so you have to neutralize the smell with the extract.

I think you mean that you're afraid to go near her? Well, have you considered using cat wipes? Those are pretty tolerable. You may just have to let her quiet down and bathe her later.

Yeah we are pretty afraid to go near her. She is acting really strange, and even hissing at my husband, but it's mainly the boy cat that she is acting agressive towards. I feel bad for him.

I don't know what to do. I have wiped them both with the same towel, and tried the vanilla. I am very worried about this. I hope she calms down and they can get along again.

Does shutting the hissy kitty in a room alone with you help calm her down? Maybe it would help, then you could take her to the bathtub once she's calm without seeing the boy cat in the transport.

try giving the other one a bath too. who knows it could work.

She is still acting agressive. I really don't know what to do. It seems to be getting worse.

Aggressive to who? Your posts are so short it is hard to fill in the gaps. If she is aggressive to the other cat, keep using the vanilla extract, it's not a one time thing. You should put it on several times a day. What did you use to bathe the other cat with?

If she is getting aggressive toward you, than just leave her be. Go to a PetSmart or order online a Feliway Comfort Zone Room diffuser and plug that in. Look into the Bach Flower Remedies. Look to Vine and give her about 4 drops in her food, or under her tongue. I don't know the history of your cats, where you got them, but often when cats are outside surviving people hurt them for fun. Near-drowning is a common way for sick people to have fun with outside cats. I'm just guessing mind you, based on my experiences with my cats-

www.catfaeries.com this site will help you with your problem

Ok here is some background, since my posts are too vague.

We have one female, and one male cat. They are brother and sister, and are between 9-10 months of age. They are spayed and neutered, and have had all of their shots. We got them from one of the people my husband works with, and the cats were well taken care of. They have never been outdoors. They are inside cats. We gave the boy cat a bath, which I hate to do, but he was filthy. He is not a groomer.While bathing him with some kitten shampoo that we got at petsmart, he was meowing really loud like he was scared. As expected. After that she started hissing and growling at him (male cat), and my husband (he was the one giving the bath) since the incident. We did not give her a bath. She is scared to go into our master bath.

We called the vet, and she said that she is acting this way because she is scared that she will have to take a bath, and because my husband is the one who did it, she is acting out at him also. And she is afraid to go near the male cat because she is afraid she will get wet.

Who knows. The mind of cats!!!!!!!

I seriously question the wisdom of giving cats baths. I am of more years than the Lord promised, and have always had cats, and bathed one once, and the other cats started using him for a chew toy, and he was miserable until he got his scent back. I will never do it again, and have seen my cats SO filthy, and the next day they are spic 'n span.

My little (?) Tico can be SO dirty from hunting or rolling in the dirt, and then an hour or so later she is ready to show, and all without ANY human interference.

Leonard.

Yeah... when Billy was put in the pound for two days, he came back and CJ was horrible to him, because he smells different. She is scared, and confused. I would suggest taking a thick towel, and throwing it on top of her, and QUICKLY grabbing her and WRAPPING her in the towel to that she CANNOT bite nor scratch you. Then, I would put her in a room with food, water, and litter, and let her calm down for a few hours. That's my 2 cents. Good luck!

Originally Posted by winwin

I seriously question the wisdom of giving cats baths. I am of more years than the Lord promised, and have always had cats, and bathed one once, and the other cats started using him for a chew toy, and he was miserable until he got his scent back. I will never do it again, and have seen my cats SO filthy, and the next day they are spic 'n span.

My little (?) Tico can be SO dirty from hunting or rolling in the dirt, and then an hour or so later she is ready to show, and all without ANY human interference.

Leonard.

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Believe me. I will NEVER give either of these cats a bath again! I felt really bad for her because she seemed so angry and confused, and I felt bad for him because she was being mean to him. No more baths for either of them. I dont care how dirty *I* think they are

She has gotten better since Sunday. She finally calmed down by Monday, and stopped hissing and growling at my husband. Today, the two cats have been play fighting, and chasing each other around in a playful manner. Which is their usual afternoon behavior. She is still hissing at him ocassionaly, but I am sure she will get over that eventually. I think it will just take a little more time, but it has been such an improvement since it first happened!

Thank you for all of your help!

Rose

Originally Posted by RDusenber22

Believe me. I will NEVER give either of these cats a bath again! I felt really bad for her because she seemed so angry and confused, and I felt bad for him because she was being mean to him. No more baths for either of them. I dont care how dirty *I* think they are

She has gotten better since Sunday. She finally calmed down by Monday, and stopped hissing and growling at my husband. Today, the two cats have been play fighting, and chasing each other around in a playful manner. Which is their usual afternoon behavior. She is still hissing at him ocassionaly, but I am sure she will get over that eventually. I think it will just take a little more time, but it has been such an improvement since it first happened!

Thank you for all of your help!

Rose

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If I may suggest bathing wipes. I use them on CJ and Billy, and I get it done so quick that they smell alike, and haven't had a single problem.

Originally Posted by CJandBilly

If I may suggest bathing wipes. I use them on CJ and Billy, and I get it done so quick that they smell alike, and haven't had a single problem.

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Thank you for the suggestion!

I am definetly open to suggestions, since neither of them will be getting a bath in the near future!

Well, the wipes work like a charm! Absolutely NO WATER and they aren't very wet, and they smell nice, and get a lot of the dirt off of them.

I have the same problem. I only bathe them when they have fleas. We recently adopted a little feral kitten who hide under and in my husband's car while he was running errands during a downpour (she managed to get in between the tailpipe and chasis but that's another story). Anyway, it took only a few days for my older, male cat to fall in love with her. But when it came time to give her a bath, all the love and affection he had bestowed gave way to hissing and growling. I was so upset! After a day or so he went back to loving her again but I think it was due to the change of scent. So this time, I bathed him around his head only (instead of subjecting him to a full bath) and it worked like a charm. So if, like me, you can't use the same towel because the bathing was flea related, you might want to try wetting the other cat's head and chin so they have the same scent.

neeren said:

I have the same problem. I only bathe them when they have fleas. We recently adopted a little feral kitten who hide under and in my husband's car while he was running errands during a downpour (she managed to get in between the tailpipe and chasis but that's another story). Anyway, it took only a few days for my older, male cat to fall in love with her. But when it came time to give her a bath, all the love and affection he had bestowed gave way to hissing and growling. I was so upset! After a day or so he went back to loving her again but I think it was due to the change of scent. So this time, I bathed him around his head only (instead of subjecting him to a full bath) and it worked like a charm. So if, like me, you can't use the same towel because the bathing was flea related, you might want to try wetting the other cat's head and chin so they have the same scent.

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Welcome to TCS. The thread you are replying to has been dormant for 8 years. I invite you to start a new thread. Why don't you introduce yourself and your cats in New Cats on the Block. Be sure to include a pic or two of your babies.

how long did this go on for? I am experiencing the same thing right now I brought them to a groomer and they were both bathed. male cat is doing fine, seems unfazed. female cat is hissing. I separated them (first time ever) while I go to work. I'll only be gone 3 hours, then try to put them together again. she is crying and hissing on the other side of the door