Female cat hissing at our kitten after his neutering

[kittymcg]

Hi there,

The problems with our kits seem endless. The latest problem we are having is that we finally managed to get our 7 month old OSH kit neutered last week. We had hoped to get him fixed early but he has had some health issues and the vet wanted to wait for a clean bill of health (makes sense).

ANYWAY....
He came home last week from the vet and our 1.5yr female cat won't stop hissing at him. We had teething trouble with their initial introduction but they were getting along well and playing together. Occassionally if she felt overwhelmed by his playfulness she would hiss or swat him, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Now she literally can't be anyway near him, she hisses and runs away and if he trys to play with her he gets a good smack. If she sees him she growls. She's so stressed she's had a herpes flare up and has a swollen wet eye, poor dear.

I thought maybe he smelled funny so I've been rubbing him with her blanket and switching their bedding around, this doesn't seem to make a difference though. It's been three days.

I read somewhere that feral cats will cast out injured cats to keep predators away, and she may have been a farm cat before we got her from the humane society in our city. Could this be the problem?

What can I do? I feel so bad for them both.

 

[mews2much]

She is hissing because he smells like the vet.
My cats did that every time someone had surgery.
Wrinkles hated Oreo for 3 weeks after she had surgery a few months ago.
It will stop.

 

[kittymcg]

I really hope so. I was so pleased when they accepted each other and hope they can go back to that (minus his occasional attempts to mount her...).
Thanks for the reply

 

[mews2much]

Try putting vanilla on her nose.
It helps sometimes.

 

[kittymcg]

Really? It that to mask his new scary scent?
OK, I'll give that a go. Willing try try any sensible suggestion.
Treats, scent swapping and reasoning with her is making no difference

 

[hissy]

It's not on the nose, it is under the chin and at the base of tail. Make sure it is pure vanilla extract and not the imitation kind. It needs to be done between 5-6 times a day, because the kitties like the taste and they will lick it off. Your neutered cat has a signature scent change and brought back some scary pheremones on the fur- this is common for overnight stays at the vets. The extract will neutralize the odor and allow the cats to accept each other again. ALL the cats in the house need this treatment- not just one.

 

[blueyedgirl5946]

There is always something new to be learned. Thanks to both of you for the vanilla advice. I don't need it for now. Who knows, someday I might. That is what I like about this site. There is much knowledge because of the people here who have their own cats and have years of experience, or those who work in shelters, or foster, etc. Thanks for a job well done, cat site members.