We have 2 cats. Both female, both spayed. Our older girl, Nikki (short for Nikita) is about 6 years old, and was our first cat. Our youngster, Poppy, is about 5 years old, and came along about a year after Nikki joined us. They got along from day 8 (Poppy was 9 weeks old, and isolated for a week to make sure she was flea-free), and would often be found together, grooming each other.
About a week ago, Nikki got sick with some sort of bug which had her vomiting all night. She went to the vet, got a shot of an anti-nausea medication which made her paws and ears swell up, then she started drooling during the night. We had her isolated in a spare bedroom, so that she didn't have to worry about Poppy or Dixie (our geriatric dog who basically slept through the whole episode) or Benton, our toddler, bugging her. She continued to drool all day the next day, and we took her back to the vet's on day 3 because she hadn't eaten, drank or used to box in 24 hours, and was very withdrawn. The vet gave her an appetite stimulant and a special calorie-packed food, and it was like she flipped a switch. Nikki was social to the point of almost being frantic, started eating, drinking and using the box again. We were SO relieved!! We thought everything was back to normal. It wasn't. Poppy apparently took offence to Nikki's new-found enthousiasm and started hissing at her. A stern "hey!" and clapping of hands sent Poppy into hiding for the rest of the day. The hissing (seems to be mostly at meal times or when we're near the food dishes) has diminished in the last couple of days, and Poppy isn't hiding for quite so long, but we'd like them to be buds again. We're also not scolding them when they hiss at each other anymore, so that we don't add to their stress. Each on their own, they're fine, and Nikki's energy level has leveled off, but if she approaches Poppy, or Poppy doesn't see her (she catches her by surprise), Poppy will lower her body, flatten her ears, turn her head, hiss, and take off. As far as I understand it, she's submitting to Nikki, right? When Nikki sees Poppy, she'll sit up, stare at her, and her body will be tense and stiff. That's a challenge, no?
Do we have to isolate them and re-introduce them again, like when Poppy was a kitten? Or is this something that will sort itself out, given time?
About a week ago, Nikki got sick with some sort of bug which had her vomiting all night. She went to the vet, got a shot of an anti-nausea medication which made her paws and ears swell up, then she started drooling during the night. We had her isolated in a spare bedroom, so that she didn't have to worry about Poppy or Dixie (our geriatric dog who basically slept through the whole episode) or Benton, our toddler, bugging her. She continued to drool all day the next day, and we took her back to the vet's on day 3 because she hadn't eaten, drank or used to box in 24 hours, and was very withdrawn. The vet gave her an appetite stimulant and a special calorie-packed food, and it was like she flipped a switch. Nikki was social to the point of almost being frantic, started eating, drinking and using the box again. We were SO relieved!! We thought everything was back to normal. It wasn't. Poppy apparently took offence to Nikki's new-found enthousiasm and started hissing at her. A stern "hey!" and clapping of hands sent Poppy into hiding for the rest of the day. The hissing (seems to be mostly at meal times or when we're near the food dishes) has diminished in the last couple of days, and Poppy isn't hiding for quite so long, but we'd like them to be buds again. We're also not scolding them when they hiss at each other anymore, so that we don't add to their stress. Each on their own, they're fine, and Nikki's energy level has leveled off, but if she approaches Poppy, or Poppy doesn't see her (she catches her by surprise), Poppy will lower her body, flatten her ears, turn her head, hiss, and take off. As far as I understand it, she's submitting to Nikki, right? When Nikki sees Poppy, she'll sit up, stare at her, and her body will be tense and stiff. That's a challenge, no?
Do we have to isolate them and re-introduce them again, like when Poppy was a kitten? Or is this something that will sort itself out, given time?
