Nightmare after coming home from vet

[tabbysia]

I got a new kitten a couple of months ago. My almost four year old cat hated him, and I thought she would try to kill him if left unsupervised. After a couple of weeks of keeping them separated and bringing them together for brief meetings, they were eventually able to share a space together without a problem. In fact my cat was acting like the kitten's mama--constantly grooming him and even playing with him. She had no problem with the kitten bugging her, snuggling, plopping down on top of her, etc. All was right with the world until I brought the kitten home from the vet this morning. He was neutered yesterday and had to stay overnight at the vet. When I brought him home, I expected that my cat would hiss at him a little, because of the different smells at the vet's office. I thought that because she had been like a mama to him though, that she would get over it fairly quickly once she recognized him. However, it is worse than I thought it would be. She has been hissing, growling, trying to bite him, and stalking him like prey all day. The little kitten looked so hurt when he tried to snuggle and she attacked him. They are currently separated, and I am worried that I may have permanently damaged the relationship by letting the kitten in her space as soon as he got home, but like I said I didn't think it would be that bad. I am worried that I will have to start the long introduction process all over again. It is even worse than when they met the first time. I have already tried rubbing them with the same towel (it just made my cat angry), and I am familiar with site swapping (I watch My Cat From Hell). I have not tried Feliway. I just have the kitten isolated for safety right now. Has anyone else had a similar problem when bringing a kitten home from the vet after being fixed, and if so, how long did it take for the angry cat "to get over it"? Does anyone have a cat that never got over it?

 

[catspaw66]

Try brushing them with the same brush. Another thing to try is dabbing a little vanilla at the base of the head on each of them. When you do the towel thing, stroke them with the towel, don't rub. That will keep from irritating the cat.

You are going to have to re-introduce them. Fortunately, you probably won't have to do the whole long intro. If you see the older cat is not accepting, just back up a step.

Any cat brought home from the vet should be isolated for a couple of days until the vet smell gets diluted. Silly has to be taken quite often for her Herpes related URI problems. The others always follow her around sniffing, but there is no hissing or fighting.

 

[juliek1975]

Funny my cat who is also 4 years old does not like our now 4 month old kittens either.  He randomly hisses, growls and sometimes tackles them pinning them down........like a dominance thing.  When I brought them home from the vet he acted just like you said yours did, well with Brownie anyhow, he was actually stalking her and ready to attack.  I put him in a crate in the same room as her for a few hours then just watched very carefully and everything seems to be going okay........back to normal anyhow, just loud caterwauls from him occasionally.  With Nestle there was never a problem because he was so sick we had him shut in my bedroom the first 3 days.

 

[tabbysia]

I'm really freaking out now! The kitten has been home all day and my cat is still angry and hissing. I have been taking turns having one in a cage and one out (with the towel that was in the carrier at the vet) in the same room several times today, but it still has not helped. Will my cat ever be affectionate toward the kitten again? I'm so worried that I'm about to cry. I have heard that putting vanilla on both cats works, but is it too late for that? The kitten was already in the cat's space as soon as he got home, before I separated them or thought about applying anything. At this point, I am afraid that using vanilla would add just another weird smell to the kitten, making the cat more angry. I could really use some suggestions!

 

[catspaw66]

Use the vanilla on both of them. The more they smell alike, the better they will get along. Don't try to rush things. Let them take their time. The more stress you are putting out, the more stress they pick up on.

Chill out, Sit back with a glass of your favorite beverage, read a book and let them start to work it out without interference.

 

[tabbysia]

I tried the vanilla. I put some on a paper towel and dabbed it on both of them. Unfortunately, it hasn't seemed to have made any difference. Maybe I didn't put enough on them? I was afraid to put too much in case of an allergic reaction or something. They smell strongly of vanilla though, and if I can smell it, they should be able to. Any other ideas out there? I've been up all night worrying. Should I continue to keep them separated or allow them to spend more time together and work it out (supervised)?

 

[katluver4life]

Did you use PURE vanilla extract?

You really need to calm down...breath deeply.

They will be fine given enough time. The vet scent will wear off and all will be back to normal. This is NOT an uncommon thing and almost every cat owner goes through similar when 1 cat is either taken to the vet or even the groomers. Separate them and get some sleep, start fresh in the morning.

 

[catspaw66]

If you can smell the vanilla, they definitely can too. The vet smell will dissipate in a couple of days. Keep them separated for another day or so, then do the slow reintroduction. I know you love your cats dearly, but your health and mental health have to come first. As a multi-cat owner for over 20 years, I have yet to see a cat that didn't integrate into my clowder. Even Sheba, whom I adopted as an adult, just took some time to adjust.

Take it easy, and have a laugh at Julie.

View media item 171878

 

[lehighluke]

Wow, I have never heard of this issue before...re-introduction after the vet.

I have to take my almost 5mo old male to get neutered next month, I hope this doesn't happen to me.

...I had a thought....to get rid of the vet smell...why don't you just give the kitten a bath?

Also, get some feliway, its helped me before for sure

 

[catspaw66]

Giving the kitten a bath would introduce an even newer smell. It would wash off all the pheromones that they share.

You have never had a cat come home from the vet and had the others hiss and growl at it?  Some cats are more sensitive to the vet odors than others.

The best thing to do after you bring your kitten home next month is to do some scent-swapping before you let them interact.

 

[tabbysia]

I used Mexican vanilla, which is supposed to be even stronger than regular vanilla extract (not sure if that is true). Anyway, things seemed to be slightly better today. My cat will allow the kitten to lay beside her (but she does still growl a little). She even started grooming (licking) him again today, but then the strangest thing has been happening. She will start licking him and will be fine, and then all of a sudden, she will stop and remember that she is angry and begin to hiss and bite. (I always monitor and pull the kitten away before she can hurt him). I was told that the vet had used an injectable anesthesia when neutering the kitten instead of a gas. I wonder if there is still some sort of leftover chemical smell at the site of the injection. I am not sure where he was injected, but it seems like the cat has a bad reaction when she gets to the back neck area of the kitten. Any thoughts?


By the way, I had another cat that died a few months ago and had many, many trips to the vet the last couple years of his life. My cat never had a bad reaction when he came home. Of course he was 15 years older than her, instead of 3 1/2 years younger like the kitten.

 

[catspaw66]

Mexican vanilla may contain coumarin, which is a toxic substance banned in the US. If it has the word vanillin anywhere on the label, it has tonka beans, which are the source of coumarin. Please use only pure vanilla extract. It may cost more, but is much safer. The reaction your cat is having may be because of the Mexican vanilla.

 

[tabbysia]

Thanks for the warning. I got the bottle and looked at the ingredient label. It contains water, alcohol, and vanilla bean extractives. It actually says on the front of the bottle "This product does not contain coumarin," so hopefully it was okay for me to put it on them. I don't know if the alcohol is an issue or not.

 

[tabbysia]

F.Y.I-- It actually says "cumarin" instead of "coumarin" on the bottle, but when I was typing ,my phone autocorrected and spelled it the way that you did. I hope those aren't two different substances.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I'm glad to hear things are getting better!  My 2 have spent up to 3 days having periods of hissing at each other after just simple vet trips.  Even when I take them together!  Only Noodles does the hissing.  Mooch doesn't get rattled that easy and I can't remember the last time she went off on Noodles.  I've gotten used to her antics over the years. 

I would thing just a little more time and things will be back to normal.  Keep us updated! 

 

[catspaw66]

F.Y.I-- It actually says "cumarin" instead of "coumarin" on the bottle, but when I was typing ,my phone autocorrected and spelled it the way that you did. I hope those aren't two different substances.

No, they are the same. I was going by the way the FDA spelled it. I had never heard of the substance until I googled "Mexican versus pure vanilla" So I read the article and checked out several others on the subject. Advising on here has been a real education for me. That is OK, because I am an information junkie.

The alcohol should not be an issue, as little as you used.

 

[cocodrea]

I'm really happy to hear things are calming down some. Continued good luck and keep us posted.

 

[jjvvvtribe]

This has happened to cats I have owned many, many times. I recently took my long haired cat to get a lion cut and they gave him a sedative in order to do it so when he came home 2 of the cats hated him and kept trying to attack him and one had no problem with him at all. It took about a week and all was fine. Some of the nicest cats can become monsters to the cat that comes home smelling wrong. In all the cases I have experienced it doesn't take long for them to get over it. A week or 2 tops.

 

[mewlittle]

i say re introduce and have you tried playing with both cats with DA bird toy?

my 2 cats Blanket 13 at the time (15) and brandon 7 at the time (9) now each other since 2004 the yr brandon was born and after i bring brandon back from the vets after his uti treatment blanket attacked him then the next day he attacked her it was a mess for a week tell i blown up i yelled HAY!!!! at both of them when they was hissing and growling at each other now they dont fight they never done that before to each other will a occaisanol both hissing at each other but i yell haay at them every time they stop and run lol

 

[juliek1975]

She will start licking him and will be fine, and then all of a sudden, she will stop and remember that she is angry and begin to hiss and bite.
 

Coconut does the same exact thing with our kittens, well mostly Brownie, he doesn't seem to mind the male as much.  I actually thought maybe it was a hormone thing and had hoped once she was spayed it would stop, but no such luck as of yet.