male cats not getting along post-surgery

Some background. In March 2007, my now-husband moved into my house
with his 4-year old male cat. With my 10-year-old male cat already
living here, we did cat introductions over a period of 2 months by the
book, and it paid off. They got along well, grooming each other and
in general staying together in the house throughout the day. There
would be the occasional scuffle, but it would be mostly play and
nothing serious.

A few days ago we took my husband's cat to the vet as he had been
urinating outside of the litterbox for a few days and walked in a
hunched position indicating he was in pain. The vet discovered he had
a rather large (1 cm square) bladder stone and it was removed via
surgery yesterday. We brought him home last night. From the start of
his return, my kitty has been hissing at him. We understand he may
smell funny to my kitty, but would like to keep him to minimal
discomfort while he recovers (he'll experience some pain for another
day or two) and he does experience some distress when his old friend/
step-brother hisses at him. Today, my kitty has been growling at
him. This worsens when I pay attention to the other kitty. While I
understand this to an extent, I can't ignore my husband's kitty all
day long when he's recovering from surgery and needs some TLC. I'm
not ignoring my kitty by any means and have been giving him a lot of
love as well. My giving his kitty attention was never an issue
before.

My question is - how do we react when my kitty hisses or growls at his
kitty? Should we ignore it? Reprimand him? Give him attention (this
doesn't seem right)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Kitty Momma

This is a classic case of misdirected aggression. The older cat
smelled the vet's office on the younger cat and since he can't attack
the vet, is hissing/growling at the younger cat.

I have this happen every time one of my three goes to the vet's. My
oldest one does the same thing.

My advice to you is to separate them for a few days until things calm
down. Rub a towel on the older cat, then rub it on the younger cat, to
redistribute the smells. S-l-o-w-l-y reintroduce them. Be very
positive if there is any hissing. Try to distract the older one if he
hisses by playing with him/throwing a toy/talking to him in a happy
voice (hey XX, come over here). Do not reprimand him, as he may get
angry and turn his aggression toward the younger cat.

Good luck.

Rene

"Rene S." wrote in message
...
This is a classic case of misdirected aggression. The older cat
smelled the vet's office on the younger cat and since he can't attack
the vet, is hissing/growling at the younger cat.

I have this happen every time one of my three goes to the vet's. My
oldest one does the same thing.

My advice to you is to separate them for a few days until things calm
down. Rub a towel on the older cat, then rub it on the younger cat, to
redistribute the smells. S-l-o-w-l-y reintroduce them. Be very
positive if there is any hissing. Try to distract the older one if he
hisses by playing with him/throwing a toy/talking to him in a happy
voice (hey XX, come over here). Do not reprimand him, as he may get
angry and turn his aggression toward the younger cat.


Excellent advice. Put more simply, recovering kitty smells funny.

Cats recognise each by their scent and as you say, your husband's cat smelt
funny so your cat would treat hím like a stranger.
I would follow Renes advice, keep them seperate, exchange scents from the
chin and face glands and reintroduce them slowly. Buy some Feliway plug in
diffusers too.
Alison

--
Alison

"CabrioGirl" wrote in message
...
Some background. In March 2007, my now-husband moved into my house
with his 4-year old male cat. With my 10-year-old male cat already
living here, we did cat introductions over a period of 2 months by the
book, and it paid off. They got along well, grooming each other and
in general staying together in the house throughout the day. There
would be the occasional scuffle, but it would be mostly play and
nothing serious.

A few days ago we took my husband's cat to the vet as he had been
urinating outside of the litterbox for a few days and walked in a
hunched position indicating he was in pain. The vet discovered he had
a rather large (1 cm square) bladder stone and it was removed via
surgery yesterday. We brought him home last night. From the start of
his return, my kitty has been hissing at him. We understand he may
smell funny to my kitty, but would like to keep him to minimal
discomfort while he recovers (he'll experience some pain for another
day or two) and he does experience some distress when his old friend/
step-brother hisses at him. Today, my kitty has been growling at
him. This worsens when I pay attention to the other kitty. While I
understand this to an extent, I can't ignore my husband's kitty all
day long when he's recovering from surgery and needs some TLC. I'm
not ignoring my kitty by any means and have been giving him a lot of
love as well. My giving his kitty attention was never an issue
before.

My question is - how do we react when my kitty hisses or growls at his
kitty? Should we ignore it? Reprimand him? Give him attention (this
doesn't seem right)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.


Kitty Momma

cybercat wrote:
"Rene S." wrote in message
...


Excellent advice. Put more simply, recovering kitty smells funny.



We had the same problem when the Old Gentleman had his teeth cleaned -
according to the vet, the anaesthetic can hang around for about a week.

He and the Young Lady eventually got back to their usual relationship.
Unfortunately she managed to swipe him one on the back of the neck at
some point, and he then scratched at the itchy spot, which meant another
trip to the vet to get the resulting bald patch looked at.

Patience is the key - that and not blinking!

--
Dave

not-me should be djw001 and there's no need for any wossname