Cat won’t readjust after traumatic experience

[Pumpkin 2018]

i don’t know what to do. I have 2 cats and a dog. At night, the dog sleeps in a kennel and the cats sleep in a bedroom. About 10 days ago, the boy cat, Pumpkin, got a plastic grocery bag stuck around his neck and the had a parade all through the house trying to get it off, knocking down lots of stuff. He was moving so fast, I could not catch him. I finally found him under the bed in the room both cats sleep in. I was able to get the bag off him while he hissed the whole time.

For about two days, the girl cat, Panther, who normally is not aggressive began hissing at Pumpkin And chasing him around the house. Pumpkin is usually the aggressor so it was strange to see them switch roles. The hissing I heard was very different and something I never heard before from these two. Pumpkin would hide for hours. I now have them sleeping apart and both cats are very affectionate when not in the presence of the other.

Fast forward a few days and the girl has calmed down and is no longer chasing the boy; however, whenever the boy sees her, he hisses and runs off and hides and get aggressive with everyone in the house. I have thought to put them in a room and have them work it out but I don’t want them to kill each other. It has now been 10 days and no change. I don’t know what to do. Hard to believe this all started from a grocery bag. Also, the two cats are brother and sister and are normally very nurturing to each other.

 

[Elphaba09]

You might need to reintroduce them. I know that they are brother and sister and have been around each other, but, because of the even and the current behavior, you might want to separate them completely and slowly bring them back together over the next week or so.

 

[Pumpkin 2018]

I have tried that but as soon as he sees her, he hisses and then retreats to a hiding spot or to the top spot on the cat tree. He won’t let anyone touch him at that point. I was thinking of holding the girl while my kids let the boy into 5he room. The boy is normally closest to me.

 

[Pumpkin 2018]

Right now, each night the sleep apart and when I introduce them in the morning, it starts all over again.

 

[Elphaba09]

I would keep them apart longer and introduce them a lot slower. It may take more than a week. If that does not help, contact a vet.

My neighbor's daughter's cat was the only surviving animal from a house fire two years ago. She was burned pretty badly and suffered horrible PTSD. The daughter moved back in with my neighbor, who has several cats and dogs. It took four months after she had healed physically for her to be okay with other animals in the same room with her. The vet gave her medication for PTSD.

 

[KittyCatCove]

I've had cats get stuck like that before, but once the bag/box was removed, the cat was okay in a few minutes. He must be associating the other cat with the traumatic experience of being trapped in the bag... perhaps Pumpkin thinks Panther was responsible (??).

Time should take care of this problem.

Similar story...
My one female Blackie thoroughly enjoys the sticky sheet lint roller rolled on her once a day. A few years back the roller was really sticky and one of the sheets held on to her fur, as I tried to take it off she took off like a bat out of hell and ran downstairs under the couch. She was also hissing at my male cat Buddy, who she normally got along great with. I finally was able to take the sticky sheet off of her after 2 hours. That traumatized her for about 6 hours. The next day they were getting along fine.

 

[Pumpkin 2018]

I will give it a little more time. It’s just sad to see when they are normally so affectionate towards each other. Thanks for all the advice.

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry though for the situation that's brought you here.

It does sound like they are having a bit of either non-recognition aggression or re-directed aggression. In both cases, the recommendation is to keep them separated and slowly re-introduce them.

TCS has these 2 articles with more info:
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles
Re-directed Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Good luck.

 

[Pumpkin 2018]

Thank you so much

 

[rubysmama]

Keep us posted, please.

 

[Pumpkin 2018]

I purchased some calming spray like a glade plug in. I hope it helps. Petco said I can bring it back if it doesn’t work. I put one where the boy sleeps and another in a well traveled hallway.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

And do be aware that this will take time. Even the reintroduction can't usually be accomplished in a few days. I'd hunker down for the long-term, and think in terms of "a few weeks." If you try to rush things, you will go backwards. It is not hopeless, however, and this can be done!

 

[moxiewild]

Yes, make sure you’re doing introductions properly too. Lots of articles and threads on this site with information on that.

Purchasing a baby gate or pet gate can help.