Kitties fighting

ciera23

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Hi there all! Been a while since I have been on here. Last time I had been moved into a new house and both my kitties (Salem - boy & Spook - girl) were doing just fine. They are brother and sister and seemed to have a ball playing together. Things have been fine over the past year up until now. I recently had to move to my mom's for a short time because my lease was up and I didn't have another apt ready. My mom has two greyhounds in the house so there is dog smell all over including in the bedroom that I am staying in. So, the night I was going to stay here, I had both kitties in their cage together. After about an hour, I opened the door for them to come out and sniff around. I had the bedroom door shut so the dogs couldn't get in. Salem came out and looked around but Spook didnt. I got her out and held her thinking that would help her relax. After about 5 minutes she went balistic!! She started hissing, growling, yowling and scratching me. She jumped out of my arms and in the meantime, Salem climbed up my back and was hissing and growling. I think he was attacking me because he thought I was hurting his sister. I finally got a hold of Spook after she ripped through the bedroom and I put her in a carrier. Then I put Salem in the cage. They were so upset! So, I thought I would take them back to the old house for the night to let them relax. I had to carry them in separate carriers because Spook was growling and hissing at Salem now. Not sure why? We got to the old place, I let them out and she still was hissing and growling at Salem. After about 2 hours of this, I had them in my old bedroom with me thinking they would finally settle. Nope! Spook kept chasing after Salem yowling, hissing, etc. and Salem was acting scared. Needless to say I got 1 hour of sleep that night. I finally ended up putting them in separate rooms to keep them from fighting. In the morning, I took Spook up to the vet to make sure something wasn't wrong medically. They did a full checkup including blood work and said she was fine. In the meantime I had brought Salem down to my mom's where I will be staying. He was fine, he got out of the carrier, sniffed around and layed on the bed purring. When I got Spook home, she was still doing the same things. I feel so sad that she is so upset and that she is so mean to her brother after they used to get along! He doesn't know what to do. So, I now have to huge cages that they each stay separately in while I am at my mom's. I get one out at a time to let them walk around (I hate having them in a cage) and Salem is fine but Spook is just still so mad!! Salem tries to come by her cage to see her and she goes off. I am trying to find a place to live but it might take a couple more weeks.
Is there anything else I can do?
Should I not get them out at all?
Do you think they will eventually get along again?
Why did this happen where she is mad and he isn't?
I am so afraid that even when I get settled somewhere they might not get along and I don't want them to fight. I don't even know how I would break a fight up.

My vet said that if she doesn't settle down then I need to put her on prozac.
You all have had such amazing advice before and that's why I came here to ask my questions.
Thanks so much in advance for any advice.
Sincerely,
Aimee

Sorry for such a long post!!!
 

hissy

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Aimee it is more than likely the move, the smell of the dogs that is upsetting them. I would buy a comfort zone room diffuser, plug it in the room and just let them roam your bedroom. I wouldn't confine them in a cage, when kitties are stressed and you put them together they will fight with each other. Their desire is to hide or go to the highest level of the room so they can feel safe. Do they have a cat post there? It is also reasonable to assume that the dogs may have peed on your carpet in the room and thus set them off, even old pee stains can do this. They are confused and frightened and you should leave them be or you might get bit.
 

maherwoman

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Ok...you don't have to put your cat on prozac, don't worry!

The basics are the following:

Cats go more on scent than on sight. They both came out, and smelled dog, and bingo!...there was indeed another animal there, and it smelled like dog (because, well, EVERYTHING DID), so they felt threatened and freaked out thinking the other was a dog. Your little Spook sounds like she's just more sensitive about such things (as is our girl, Sunny). It's totally natural.

I would suggest going back to your mom's and trying to air the place out as much as possible, and shampooing the carpets, maybe spraying around an enzyme-based cleaner on the carpets and furniture to try to fully get rid of the dog smell. I agree with Hissy about getting a comfort zone room diffuser.

Also, bring over a lot of their things and put them around the space they'll be living in so they know they're safe.

They key is getting the dog smell out as much as you can...it's what triggered things. Maybe talk to your vet and ask him/her what they recommend to air out and take away the scent so your cats are more comfortable...and don't be afraid to call around to different offices and ask, so you can have a second opinion. It sounds like your vet was WAY too quick to rush into the Prozac idea...she really doesn't need it...she just needs to feel secure again.


Let us know anything else we can do to help...we're here for ya, and your kitty babies.
 
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ciera23

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Thanks so much to both of you!!!! I really appreciate you listening and giving advice. I spent the day cleaning the room out and trying to get the dog smell out of everything. It won't be long until I am moving again so hopefully once I get settled somewhere they will be ok again with each other. I feel so bad for them. I hate that they are so upset, it just breaks my heart.
I hate more that they are not getting along. I hope that they will be friends again.
 
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ciera23

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Hi all, it's me again. Update....Spook is no longer hissing or growling at Salem and when one is out, the other comes up to the cage and sniffs and they bat at each other playfully. Should I try letting them out together or no?
 

maherwoman

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Originally Posted by ciera23

Hi all, it's me again. Update....Spook is no longer hissing or growling at Salem and when one is out, the other comes up to the cage and sniffs and they bat at each other playfully. Should I try letting them out together or no?
Sorry for the late reply...lol...

As far as getting them out together, yeah...trying it every now and then is a good idea. Eventually, they'll be just fine.


P.S. Now that it's been a while...how are they doing?
 
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ciera23

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Thank you!! Well I got them out together for a little bit at a time and now they are back to normal again. WOOHOO!! I am so relieved and happy.
 

maherwoman

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Originally Posted by ciera23

Thank you!! Well I got them out together for a little bit at a time and now they are back to normal again. WOOHOO!! I am so relieved and happy.
YAY!! That's wonderful!!
 
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