Cat suddenly aggressive/fearful of other cat.

[ChunkyNaomBaby]

I have three cats, two females Chunky and Baby and a male named Naom. They are all fixed and have always gotten along very well. About a day ago Chunky started acting weirdly. Whenever she sees Naom, she will start hissing and yowling at him. He doesn’t do anything to provoke her. He just tries to walk past her and she starts yowling and hissing at him. She also kind of creeps along the floor, like she is scared of him. She is perfectly fine with her sister and all of my family members.
The only thing that has changed in our house is where they sleep at night. We used to keep them in one of our bathrooms overnight, because Naom would open all the cabinets and eat everything in sight. About a week ago we started letting them stay out at night because we are redoing our air conditioning and the bathroom is way too hot during the night. I don’t know if this has anything to do with it.
I have no idea why she acts like this. Is there anything I can do to help them get along again? Are there any pheromone spray or diffusers that will help with keeping them all calm and civil with each other?

 

[ArtNJ]

There are at least a couple of common possibilities. One would be that he accidentally hurt her while playing. Another would be that something scared her while he was nearby. It could be literally anything that caused the scare, from an outdoor animal seen or smelled, to any random loud noise. Cats have this flaw in their brain that when they get scared, they can blame another animal or person that is merely nearby and act out against that target. Its called redirected aggression. It can sometimes last a while if the initial incident leads to ongoing problems between the cats. Who knows, maybe it is a noise that happens in your house at night that they didn't used to here being in the bathroom. Or it could be that normally didn't play much in that bathroom because of the cramp, but they were rough housing now that they have more room at night, and someone accidentally got hurt a bit, or one knocked something over causing a noise which caused redirected aggression.

If it is one of these two common scenarios, it should be fine. Its only been a day; if they aren't actually fighting, they will likely work it out on their own. In extreme cases, mostly if they are fighting or it looks like they might, you might need to separate them a bit and do a shortened reintroduction process.

There could be other things going on, but I wouldn't worry about it after only a day (absent fighting). Good luck!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

A ArtNJ already said what I was going to say! I will only add that if the problem persists beyond a week, let us know and we'll start putting our heads together for a plan going forward. If the ac is currently being worked on, the sounds of the workers may well have been what set her off. Yes, even something that simple.

 

[ChunkyNaomBaby]

There are at least a couple of common possibilities. One would be that he accidentally hurt her while playing. Another would be that something scared her while he was nearby. It could be literally anything that caused the scare, from an outdoor animal seen or smelled, to any random loud noise. Cats have this flaw in their brain that when they get scared, they can blame another animal or person that is merely nearby and act out against that target. Its called redirected aggression. It can sometimes last a while if the initial incident leads to ongoing problems between the cats. Who knows, maybe it is a noise that happens in your house at night that they didn't used to here being in the bathroom. Or it could be that normally didn't play much in that bathroom because of the cramp, but they were rough housing now that they have more room at night, and someone accidentally got hurt a bit, or one knocked something over causing a noise which caused redirected aggression.

If it is one of these two common scenarios, it should be fine. Its only been a day; if they aren't actually fighting, they will likely work it out on their own. In extreme cases, mostly if they are fighting or it looks like they might, you might need to separate them a bit and do a shortened reintroduction process.

There could be other things going on, but I wouldn't worry about it after only a day (absent fighting). Good luck!

Thank you for replying! I think it is getting better. Yesterday she was full on yowling and screaming at him but today she just gives him a hiss. She just sat under my sisters bed all day until dinner, and then seemed to tolerate him a little more. I sprinkled some catnip and gave them their favorite toy, and they seemed to play very nicely. I think she will go back to normal soon. I was just really worried because my cats almost never hiss, and I have never heard any of them yell like that until now. Thank you for your advice!

 

[ChunkyNaomBaby]

A ArtNJ already said what I was going to say! I will only add that if the problem persists beyond a week, let us know and we'll start putting our heads together for a plan going forward. If the ac is currently being worked on, the sounds of the workers may well have been what set her off. Yes, even something that simple.

Thank you for your reply! It is starting to get better, she hid all day and after dinner she seems to tolerate him a bit more. They also played together with only a few hisses from her. The AC workers finished this morning, so there will be no more scary sounds coming from the ceiling. It seems like it will get better soon. Thank you for the advice and support!

 

[ArtNJ]

No problem, we are happy to help. Redirected aggression is super weird, no reason for anyone to guess it might be a thing unless told.