Odd post-surgery behavior in other cat

I have two black and white "tuxedo" cats, both female, ages six (Tux) and five (Sweet Pea). Two weeks ago, Tux went through surgery to remove a fibrosarcoma tumor in her side. The tumor was quite large and the incision is about 10 inches long (she's a big cat: 21 lbs.). Ever since Tux's surgery Sweet Pea hasn't been so sweet: growling and hissing at Tux whenever she sees her and even growling and swatting at my husband and I. I figured that maybe it was an attention thing but we have been giving them equal attention as we always do (except for when we had to give Tux her medications, which stopped three days ago). Tux's scar is pretty much healed up (her stitches were removed this past Tuesday), however it will take a while for all of her hair to grow back. Tux's behavior towards Sweet Pea hasn't changed, there is no ill will that I have witnessed. Has anyone experienced this before? Will this behavior fade away? I'm flabbergasted because they were the best of friends.

It's pretty normal, Tux has a different smell to her now.
It should go back to normal around there, in the mean time, you can try to mingle their scents.
Get a dirty shirt that either you, or husband has worn and rub both kitties with it, rubbing your scent and theirs back and forth so that both cats will smell similar to each other.

It's so stressful when they do this, isn't it?
I had the same problem when my male cat had FUS problems and had to go to the vet a few times. Every time he comes back from the vet his sister hisses at him and acts as though she's never seen him before. It usually takes about 3 days before she stops it. The first time it happened I was so flabbergasted--we didnt even think she knew how to hiss! They are the best of friends and have never fought.

I have lots of faith that your two cats will once again become friends.

Thanks for your input. It's easy as humans to forget how cats rely so much on scent - it makes a lot of sense to me now (no pun intended!) I just got worried because of the length of time Sweet Pea has been acting this way. Hopefully the shirt tactic and patience will do the trick!

Something that someone suggested in another post about vanilla extract (which you might want to read to get the exact information) is that you can put it on both cats (like I said, read the post to find out where to put it) and it will make them smell the same, thereby eliminating the threat that your Tux's different smell is creating for Sweet Pea. It does have to be actual vanilla extract, not imitation. Hope that helps!

Edit: Ok, got the info...let's see if this quote works...

Originally Posted by valanhb

Actually, it works best to use real vanilla and not the extract because the alcohol will evaporate too quickly.

The "Vanilla Trick" as we call it here is when you dab a small amount of vanilla on two kitties' chins and at the base of their tails on their backs. You do this during introductions, when one has been/is sick, or when one has been to the vet and the other kitty is VERY unhappy. Cats recognize each other by scent, so if one smells different (vet smell or illness) they will see each other as invading their territory. The vanilla makes them smell alike, which they view as being friendly.

I'll move this to Behavior.

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heh, we used to use my husband's colone (sp?). I can't stand the smell of vanilla (dont know why, but never liked it) and still wanted to be able to cuddle my cats, and since i like the way my husband smells, i used that instead. Worked the same way.

Good luck!

-Jade

Yes - make them smell the same. When our older cat had a tumor removed, the younger one just didn't recognize her. It was sad because the younger one was hissing at this "stranger" and then wandering around looking for her older sister.

Originally Posted by katachtig

Yes - make them smell the same. When our older cat had a tumor removed, the younger one just didn't recognize her. It was sad because the younger one was hissing at this "stranger" and then wandering around looking for her older sister.

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We've had the same experience with our two. They're brother and sister from the same litter, and have been inseparable from day one. But when we got each of them fixed (Hobbes, our boy, was mature at four months, Sunny at six...so they went in at diff times), Sunny would treat him like he was an enemy, instead of the brother she loves so much.

I wish I'd known about the vanilla trick then...would've saved both of them so much heartbreak. The sad thing was that Sunny would do the same thing...go crying around the house looking for Hobbes...when he was right there. (They do this occassionally anyway, when they haven't seen each other for a couple hours, but this time it was so sad.)