Help, have I made a big mistake?

[Cosmic76]

Hi all. I really need some advice. I've done something awful.

Bit of history, I have 2 females and 1 male cat. All neutered.

My male cat is soppy as hell, gets on with everyone, usually the peace keep in my house.

Two females are okay but not great with 'imposters'.

So, last month I brought home a rescue cat. I didn't know before I got him, but he was half Main Coon. Absolutely gorgeous boy, so sweet and loving. I kept him isolated for two weeks and scent swapped, etc. Now, for context we had a mini heatwave in the UK and I don't have air con so I had to break the isolation a bit early. I let my three have eyes on him for the first time and well, it didn't go as planned. Unknown to me, Ronnie (new cat) was EXCEPTIONALLY friendly to other cats, so much so he behaved like a puppy and bounded straight up to them and wanted to play immediately. My three were NOT impressed. The 2 females just made themselves scarce and only came in while he wasn't around (i.e. upstairs when it was cool). My male however took it very badly. He left and never came back. I knew he was around because neighbours kept tabs on him for me. For the last couple of weeks he's been in around 3 times, scoffed a load of food and gone again. In the meantime, I rehomed Ronnie. It wasn't going to work (and I feel awful about it, but his vibes would mean that I could never get all 4 on the same page). He's happy, so please don't worry about him.

Back to mine, he came in last week and I tried locking him in so I could at least check him over. He was very unhappy about it, growled a lot, and attacked one of my others which he has never done. I let him go again once I knew he was in good condition (eats a lot of rabbits). He's just come home again this evening, and I decided to try locking him in again now Ronnie's smell should have dissipated a bit and see if I can change him mind. He's being very aggressive to my other cats. He's calming down slowly, I've sprayed pet remedy around and got my valarian diffuser going to try and soothe him, but it's not having much effect.

To you guys, where do I go from here? Is this reversible??

 

[Elphaba09]

He likely still smells Ronnie. Their scent lingers longer than you would expect. Did you get rid of the litter box he used? Did you uses a pet odor eliminator around the house?

 

[Cosmic76]

Thank you for replying! Yes to the first, his box has been cleaned with bleach and out in the shed now. I haven't used any odour eliminators, but I think I will now. He come this evening so I locked the cat flap for a while to feed him and see how he is, he was flip flopping between being very affectionate with me like he usually is and hissing/growling at me. I definitely need to do some smell ridding... Can you recommend any products? Or at least the ingredients in the product I need to get? My mum has advised baking powder or bicarbonate of soda but if there's something better I'd rather do a proper job of it.

 

[Elphaba09]

You are welcome! I would wash and wipe down whatever you can in diluted vinegar (1:1 ratio) and then use an enzyme-based cleaner on anything you can wash or spray. Typically they are used for urine removal, which you did not seem to have an issue with, but they can be helpful in removing general cat scents that we are not able to smell. I used to foster cats and kittens (We stopped because we have 12 cats of our own!), and after the fosters would leave, the vinegar and enzyme wipe down was part of our routine.

This is one we have used in the past: Amazon.com : Simple Solution Extreme Pet Stain and Odor Remover | Enzymatic Cleaner with 3X Pro-Bacteria Cleaning Power | Spring Breeze, 32 Ounces : Pet Supplies

We have hardwood floors, so we also use the hardwood formula of the same brand.

I am sure your other cat will calm down once everything has been wiped and sprayed with these and is given time to understand that the other cat is gone. He would eventually calm down even if you did not do these things, but it should help speed things up. Good luck!

 

[Cosmic76]

You are welcome! I would wash and wipe down whatever you can in diluted vinegar (1:1 ratio) and then use an enzyme-based cleaner on anything you can wash or spray. Typically they are used for urine removal, which you did not seem to have an issue with, but they can be helpful in removing general cat scents that we are not able to smell. I used to foster cats and kittens (We stopped because we have 12 cats of our own!), and after the fosters would leave, the vinegar and enzyme wipe down was part of our routine.

This is one we have used in the past: Amazon.com : Simple Solution Extreme Pet Stain and Odor Remover | Enzymatic Cleaner with 3X Pro-Bacteria Cleaning Power | Spring Breeze, 32 Ounces : Pet Supplies

We have hardwood floors, so we also use the hardwood formula of the same brand.

I am sure your other cat will calm down once everything has been wiped and sprayed with these and is given time to understand that the other cat is gone. He would eventually calm down even if you did not do these things, but it should help speed things up. Good luck!

That was such a great answer, thank you. I realised I still have some enzyme cleaner in the back of the cupboard from when two of mine were widdly kittens. I will grab some vinegar from the shop tonight. You are a star. Thank you xx