after bath, cat pal doesnt reconize him??

I have 2 cats Baxter & Lil Puss. Baxter is 2, lil puss 11 months. I gave Baxter a bath for the first time cuz he had poo on his bottom. Needless to say Baxter cried bloody murder during the bath, but was ok after. When Lil Puss saw him all wet, Lil Puss Hissed and growled at Baxter, Baxter looking puzzled turned and ran and hid. Baxter seems so upset and confused as to why his lil buddy is acting so mean now. Its been 4 days and still Lil puss acts like he doesnt know Baxter. Before the bath, both cats had a wonderful relation, playing, loving, bathing each other. And Baxter seemed so protective of Lil puss.
We loved to watch them interact. I feel HORRIBLE i have spoiled such a good friendship. I have never seen this behaviour before. Any help would be appreciated.

Most cats do this. They go by smell and now the cat you bathed smells really different plus he is totally stressed out so he smells different anyways.

Put pure vanilla extract on both of them around the neck and tail area and give them a week or so.

I agree - lil Puss didn't recognise Baxter as his buddy because he didn't smell the same. They will be friends again but it may take a while. My older cat was the same with my kitten when he came back from being neutered at the vets and it took over a week for them to get back to normal.

wait, so how come my cats recognize me even after i shower/smoke a cigarette/put on cologne? are they just used to my variations? what happens if i switch shampoos or something?

Jen - why vanilla extract? That's very interesting....

I am having a hard time as well. I've had 3 cats for 2 years now, they seem to get along pretty well... the third cat has been in the hospital for almost two weeks now (surgery, male obstruction), anyhow, he was home briefly before getting an infection last weekend, and the older of the two females kept hissing at him, and the other cat jumped on top of the cabinets and did not come down until we took the sick cat back to the vet. He's supposed to come home tomorrow... I am nervous as well.

Our female kitty did this to our male kitty (they are litter mates so it was the last thing I ever expected) OUr male kitty had to spend the night and a day at the vet and when he returned home his sister hated him! she would hiss and growl and swat at him. I felt sooo bad, my poor little guy just did nto understand. After a few days she was ok until she smelled under his neck (the vet shaved under his neck to take blood and give an IV) once she smelled that spot it was hiss hiss swat swat. It took about a week but they are now back to normal, playing together and sleeping together. It just takes time

Cats are scent driven, change that scent and you essentially create an alien cat that the others do not recognize. To neutralize that scent you can use pure vanilla extract not the imitation. the right spots to apply just a dab is under each cat's chin, at the middle of their shoulders and the base of their tail. You will have to reapply this about four times a day because it does fade pretty quick. Another trick is to dust each cat lightly with brewers yeast, or squirt your perfume/cologne in the air, wave your hands in the mist and then rub all your cats.

The reason that cats don't react that way with us when we change scent is because we always smell different and they become accustomed to that.