Change in cat #1's behavior after cat #2's visit to vet

We have two very healthy, very well-adjusted cats (one male, one
female) who are both ten years old, and who have been raised together
from the age of eight weeks. The only time these cats ever see the
vet is for their yearly checkup; they've just never had any other
medical problems. They always go to the vet together, in one
carrycase, and come home together.

During our recent annual checkup, we found that the male had an
unhealthy buildup of plaque and tartar, requiring dental work under
general anasthesia. Our vet is very good and never recommends
unnecessary procedures, so we scheduled the dental work and took the
cat in this morning.

All went well, and we picked up the treated cat this evening after the
general anasthesia had completely worn off. He was stumbling a bit,
so we took all the necessary precautions (closing off access to
stairs, watching if he jumped up to his usual heights that he could
also get down, etc.). The female cat shied away from him when we
first came in, and we figured it was the usual "vet smell" reaction,
and maybe also she was frightened that he was walking strangely. But
we were completely shocked later on in the evening when we heard a
hissing and a low growling. The male was standing very sweetly and
placidly near the female, and she was behaving very aggressively, like
he was a strange cat! We ended up having to watch them all through
the evening, because the male was trying to engage in normal behavior
with the female (they were raised together, and so often groom one
another, play, playfully fight, chase, etc.), but anytime he got
within sight of the female she crouched down low and her pupils
dilated and she hissed and growled low in her throat.

The female, who is _quite_ large and loves her food, is apparently so
freaked out by the male that she wouldn't even walk past him earlier
to get to a dish of tuna.

This is now hours later, and we're wondering whether we're going to be
able to sleep. He wants to make friends; but she's likely to tear him
apart if we take our eyes off of them.

Is this normal? Is there anything we can do to prove to the female
that this is the same male who left the house this morning? We've
been picking him up and petting him, and he's been rubbing against us
since coming home, so he's definitely loaded up on our smell again.
I'm just anxious that we're going to wake up and find her behaving the
same way toward him tomorrow...

Thanks in advance,

Amy

in article , Aisling Grey at
wrote on 1/6/04 9:40 PM:

We have two very healthy, very well-adjusted cats (one male, one
female) who are both ten years old, and who have been raised together
from the age of eight weeks. The only time these cats ever see the
vet is for their yearly checkup; they've just never had any other
medical problems. They always go to the vet together, in one
carrycase, and come home together.

During our recent annual checkup, we found that the male had an
unhealthy buildup of plaque and tartar, requiring dental work under
general anasthesia. Our vet is very good and never recommends
unnecessary procedures, so we scheduled the dental work and took the
cat in this morning.

All went well, and we picked up the treated cat this evening after the
general anasthesia had completely worn off. He was stumbling a bit,
so we took all the necessary precautions (closing off access to
stairs, watching if he jumped up to his usual heights that he could
also get down, etc.). The female cat shied away from him when we
first came in, and we figured it was the usual "vet smell" reaction,
and maybe also she was frightened that he was walking strangely. But
we were completely shocked later on in the evening when we heard a
hissing and a low growling. The male was standing very sweetly and
placidly near the female, and she was behaving very aggressively, like
he was a strange cat! We ended up having to watch them all through
the evening, because the male was trying to engage in normal behavior
with the female (they were raised together, and so often groom one
another, play, playfully fight, chase, etc.), but anytime he got
within sight of the female she crouched down low and her pupils
dilated and she hissed and growled low in her throat.

The female, who is _quite_ large and loves her food, is apparently so
freaked out by the male that she wouldn't even walk past him earlier
to get to a dish of tuna.

This is now hours later, and we're wondering whether we're going to be
able to sleep. He wants to make friends; but she's likely to tear him
apart if we take our eyes off of them.

Is this normal? Is there anything we can do to prove to the female
that this is the same male who left the house this morning? We've
been picking him up and petting him, and he's been rubbing against us
since coming home, so he's definitely loaded up on our smell again.
I'm just anxious that we're going to wake up and find her behaving the
same way toward him tomorrow...

Thanks in advance,

Amy

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

in article , Aisling Grey at
wrote on 1/6/04 9:40 PM:

We have two very healthy, very well-adjusted cats (one male, one
female) who are both ten years old, and who have been raised together
from the age of eight weeks. The only time these cats ever see the
vet is for their yearly checkup; they've just never had any other
medical problems. They always go to the vet together, in one
carrycase, and come home together.

During our recent annual checkup, we found that the male had an
unhealthy buildup of plaque and tartar, requiring dental work under
general anasthesia. Our vet is very good and never recommends
unnecessary procedures, so we scheduled the dental work and took the
cat in this morning.

All went well, and we picked up the treated cat this evening after the
general anasthesia had completely worn off. He was stumbling a bit,
so we took all the necessary precautions (closing off access to
stairs, watching if he jumped up to his usual heights that he could
also get down, etc.). The female cat shied away from him when we
first came in, and we figured it was the usual "vet smell" reaction,
and maybe also she was frightened that he was walking strangely. But
we were completely shocked later on in the evening when we heard a
hissing and a low growling. The male was standing very sweetly and
placidly near the female, and she was behaving very aggressively, like
he was a strange cat! We ended up having to watch them all through
the evening, because the male was trying to engage in normal behavior
with the female (they were raised together, and so often groom one
another, play, playfully fight, chase, etc.), but anytime he got
within sight of the female she crouched down low and her pupils
dilated and she hissed and growled low in her throat.

The female, who is _quite_ large and loves her food, is apparently so
freaked out by the male that she wouldn't even walk past him earlier
to get to a dish of tuna.

This is now hours later, and we're wondering whether we're going to be
able to sleep. He wants to make friends; but she's likely to tear him
apart if we take our eyes off of them.

Is this normal? Is there anything we can do to prove to the female
that this is the same male who left the house this morning? We've
been picking him up and petting him, and he's been rubbing against us
since coming home, so he's definitely loaded up on our smell again.
I'm just anxious that we're going to wake up and find her behaving the
same way toward him tomorrow...

Thanks in advance,

Amy

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

I've always found that it takes about 3 days before things are normally
although it gradually gets better. I agree that it's more than jsut the "vet"
smell, it's probably the smell of the gas that was used for his anesthesia.
They'll be back to their old selves in a few days but, yes, it's very sad to
watch the one cat be treated badly by the other cat and I'm sure they find it
confusing to be hissed at. Maybe if you put vanilla on both of them it will go
away faster. I forget where you're supposed to put it, though, on the backs of
their necks? Just a drop.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

I've always found that it takes about 3 days before things are normally
although it gradually gets better. I agree that it's more than jsut the "vet"
smell, it's probably the smell of the gas that was used for his anesthesia.
They'll be back to their old selves in a few days but, yes, it's very sad to
watch the one cat be treated badly by the other cat and I'm sure they find it
confusing to be hissed at. Maybe if you put vanilla on both of them it will go
away faster. I forget where you're supposed to put it, though, on the backs of
their necks? Just a drop.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

in article , MacCandace at
itter wrote on 1/6/04 11:25 PM:

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

I've always found that it takes about 3 days before things are normally
although it gradually gets better. I agree that it's more than jsut the "vet"
smell, it's probably the smell of the gas that was used for his anesthesia.
They'll be back to their old selves in a few days but, yes, it's very sad to
watch the one cat be treated badly by the other cat and I'm sure they find it
confusing to be hissed at. Maybe if you put vanilla on both of them it will
go
away faster. I forget where you're supposed to put it, though, on the backs
of
their necks? Just a drop.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Anesthesia smell lasts a long time compared to other smells. I read
something about that once, in humans. It really takes a bit to get it out.

Karen

in article , MacCandace at
itter wrote on 1/6/04 11:25 PM:

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

I've always found that it takes about 3 days before things are normally
although it gradually gets better. I agree that it's more than jsut the "vet"
smell, it's probably the smell of the gas that was used for his anesthesia.
They'll be back to their old selves in a few days but, yes, it's very sad to
watch the one cat be treated badly by the other cat and I'm sure they find it
confusing to be hissed at. Maybe if you put vanilla on both of them it will
go
away faster. I forget where you're supposed to put it, though, on the backs
of
their necks? Just a drop.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Anesthesia smell lasts a long time compared to other smells. I read
something about that once, in humans. It really takes a bit to get it out.

Karen

This exact thing happened when my friend had her two male kittens neutered.
One had a bad reaction to the anesthetic and had to stay at the vet's a
little longer. When they brought him home the other cat wanted nothing to do
with him. It took about a day for them to readjust to one another. Please
let us know how your guys are doing!

Judy F

"Karen" wrote in message
.. .
in article , MacCandace at
itter wrote on 1/6/04 11:25 PM:

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the
same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

I've always found that it takes about 3 days before things are normally
although it gradually gets better. I agree that it's more than jsut the
"vet"
smell, it's probably the smell of the gas that was used for his
anesthesia.
They'll be back to their old selves in a few days but, yes, it's very
sad to
watch the one cat be treated badly by the other cat and I'm sure they
find it
confusing to be hissed at. Maybe if you put vanilla on both of them it
will
go
away faster. I forget where you're supposed to put it, though, on the
backs
of
their necks? Just a drop.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye
other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Anesthesia smell lasts a long time compared to other smells. I read
something about that once, in humans. It really takes a bit to get it out.

Karen

This exact thing happened when my friend had her two male kittens neutered.
One had a bad reaction to the anesthetic and had to stay at the vet's a
little longer. When they brought him home the other cat wanted nothing to do
with him. It took about a day for them to readjust to one another. Please
let us know how your guys are doing!

Judy F

"Karen" wrote in message
.. .
in article , MacCandace at
itter wrote on 1/6/04 11:25 PM:

It can be. I would separate them for now. Rub them both down with the
same
towel several times. He just smells *really* funny and scary to her. I'm
sure they will calm down when the anesthesia smell goes away from him.

Karen

I've always found that it takes about 3 days before things are normally
although it gradually gets better. I agree that it's more than jsut the
"vet"
smell, it's probably the smell of the gas that was used for his
anesthesia.
They'll be back to their old selves in a few days but, yes, it's very
sad to
watch the one cat be treated badly by the other cat and I'm sure they
find it
confusing to be hissed at. Maybe if you put vanilla on both of them it
will
go
away faster. I forget where you're supposed to put it, though, on the
backs
of
their necks? Just a drop.

Candace
(take the litter out before replying by e-mail)

See my cats:
http://photos.yahoo.com/maccandace

"One does not meet oneself until one catches the reflection from an eye
other
than human." (Loren Eisely)

Anesthesia smell lasts a long time compared to other smells. I read
something about that once, in humans. It really takes a bit to get it out.

Karen

On Wed, 7 Jan 2004 9:12:15 -0500, Judy F wrote
(in message ) :

This exact thing happened when my friend had her two male kittens neutered.
One had a bad reaction to the anesthetic and had to stay at the vet's a
little longer. When they brought him home the other cat wanted nothing to do
with him. It took about a day for them to readjust to one another. Please
let us know how your guys are doing!

Thanks so much to all of you for the fast replies!

I wondered if it was something to do with the anasthesia, since that was
really the only new thing about the situation...

We did all manage to sleep a bit last night -- the male crawled under the
blankets between us, us he always does, and the female seemed fine in her
place at the foot of the bed and _above_ the blankets. Maybe because she
couldn't actually see him there. This morning, during feeding, the female
forgot for a minute or two that she was bothered by him, but after breakfast
she was back to hissing. But I'm taking it as a good sign that she was fine
for a little while.

Thanks again -- what a great, friendly newsgroup!

A