Hi, I'm Susan and I'm a new poster with a question about my 4 cats.
I have a mom cat (Scarlett) and 3 of her 5-month old kittens, 1 female and 2 male kittens. They live with myself, husband and daughter. Mom has been spayed. The kittens are inseperable, and while there is some distance forming between them and mom as they have gotten older, they are still on good terms with her. At least they were until yesterday.
A few days ago, a strange cat showed up on our doorstep and Mom took a disliking to him through the glass front door. She hissed at him and charged the front door, and has been kind of rattled ever since. She hissed at her kittens when they surprised her the past few days, until she realized she knew them.
Then yesterday I had the boys neutered. When I brought them back home last night, mom and daughter didn't recognize them. Mom was hissing as soon as I set the carriers on the floor and wanted nothing to do with them, while daughter was hissing and cautiously curious. After Mom ran away, I let the boys out and they settled back into home. Their sister smelled the carriers and the boys and seemed to realize who they are, but would still hiss when she smelled their butts. She has settled down and is acting normally with her brothers.
Mom also smelled the carriers and the boys but was freaked out by the smell of their incisions, and is still convinced that I brought two strangers into her home. She is jumpy, hides sometimes and hisses at all 3 of the kittens. She does recognize her daughter after initially hissing at her, but not the boys. It's mostly hissing and a few swats, with a little throaty growling every now and then. They kind of shrug it off when she freaks out at them. Mom also seems to be on patrol around the house, as though she's looking for other new cats.
I've tried to offer the boys' smells to mom, either by my hand after petting them or turning their butts to her to smell, but it hasn't helped. She will smell my hand with no problem but hisses at their behinds. I've even thought of dabbing cotton balls on the boys and leaving them around the house, but I don't know if that would help.
What can I do to mend the relationship between mom and sons, or at least to help them get along? Will mom recognize them after their incisions heal, or will she always think they are strangers now?
I have a mom cat (Scarlett) and 3 of her 5-month old kittens, 1 female and 2 male kittens. They live with myself, husband and daughter. Mom has been spayed. The kittens are inseperable, and while there is some distance forming between them and mom as they have gotten older, they are still on good terms with her. At least they were until yesterday.
A few days ago, a strange cat showed up on our doorstep and Mom took a disliking to him through the glass front door. She hissed at him and charged the front door, and has been kind of rattled ever since. She hissed at her kittens when they surprised her the past few days, until she realized she knew them.
Then yesterday I had the boys neutered. When I brought them back home last night, mom and daughter didn't recognize them. Mom was hissing as soon as I set the carriers on the floor and wanted nothing to do with them, while daughter was hissing and cautiously curious. After Mom ran away, I let the boys out and they settled back into home. Their sister smelled the carriers and the boys and seemed to realize who they are, but would still hiss when she smelled their butts. She has settled down and is acting normally with her brothers.
Mom also smelled the carriers and the boys but was freaked out by the smell of their incisions, and is still convinced that I brought two strangers into her home. She is jumpy, hides sometimes and hisses at all 3 of the kittens. She does recognize her daughter after initially hissing at her, but not the boys. It's mostly hissing and a few swats, with a little throaty growling every now and then. They kind of shrug it off when she freaks out at them. Mom also seems to be on patrol around the house, as though she's looking for other new cats.
I've tried to offer the boys' smells to mom, either by my hand after petting them or turning their butts to her to smell, but it hasn't helped. She will smell my hand with no problem but hisses at their behinds. I've even thought of dabbing cotton balls on the boys and leaving them around the house, but I don't know if that would help.
What can I do to mend the relationship between mom and sons, or at least to help them get along? Will mom recognize them after their incisions heal, or will she always think they are strangers now?