Kittens Not Getting Along after Spay on Monday

[Karebear0210]

We have 2 kittens that are sisters that we rescued together at 6 weeks old. They were best of friends and couldn't stand to be apart even for a few minutes. They are 6 months old and we took them in together to get spayed on Monday (5 days ago). When we picked them up Honey was hissing and being mean to Cinnamon. Contacted a lady at a local rescue and she said they were in pain from their spays and hormones were running wild so to crate them for their safety so they don't herniate their spay incision. So we took to big metal dog crates and crated them in the same room. We have been getting them out 1 at a time in a separate room to play. Last night we put them in a room together and played with them and Honey is still hissing and swatting occasionaly at Cinnamon. Poor Cinnamon is just walking around confused and doesn't understand why her sister hates her. From what i am reading it seems we are dealing with Unrecognized Cat Aggression. We have 2 other cats in the house and 3 dogs so we cannot keep these 2 apart for forever. Has anyone been through this and how long did it last? Also, any pointers on speeding up this process? I really don't think they would get in a huge fight and hurt each other, but poor Cinnamon looks terrified and I don't want her to be stressed out. Thanks in advance!

 

[FeebysOwner]

It does sound like it could be non-recognition related. And, not always, but typically the younger the cats the quicker it will pass. Scent swapping is probably the most common attempt to try to stop the behavior - rubbing a towel on the aggressor and then using it on the one being attacked, so that they smell closer to the same. It could also be exaggerated from the vet visit/spay procedure and any related pain.
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

 

[ArtNJ]

Usually there is no long term or serious problem unless one of the cats hurts each other. So as long as you prevent them from actually fighting, this should be a temporary thing.

Between the topical stuff used to clean off the incision area and all the random animal smells floating around the vet, they might still smell off. So first you try "rescenting" the cats as suggested by FeebysOwner , maybe paired with a separation of say 3 hours. If that doesn't work, try a separation of 2-3 days. In rare cases, you might need to almost do full reintroduction process over several weeks.

I last had this when one of my indoor only cats escaped and was outside in the rain for several hours. I expected rescenting + a few hours of sepration would do the trick, but it was surprisingly vexxing and time consuming to get them back to normal. It can be a little random that way. But again, as long as they dont actually fight, its usually not overly problematic.

Edit: I'm assuming that 5 days out, pain is probably not a continuing issue. However, I assume Honey is a girl, and the female surgery is a bigger deal than the male. So its not impossible that continuing pain will prevent Honey from getting over this right away. Don't be too worried if you need to separate them this weekend.

 

[FeebysOwner]

However, I assume Honey is a girl, and the female surgery is a bigger deal than the male. So its not impossible that continuing pain will prevent Honey from getting over this right away.

The cats are sisters. But, nonetheless, you would think pain shouldn't really be an issue after 5 days.

 

[Karebear0210]

Thanks everyone for the replies/advice. We kept them together under supervision all day in my bedroom. They did ok. Still hissing and mild swatting occasionaly, but nothing to aggressive. I did crate them again tonight since they are still recovering from their spays and I don't want them to start fighting while we are asleep. Their crates are right next to each other , but both cats can retreat away from the other one. We will let them spend all day tomorrow together again under supervision and hope for the best. I think Honey is a pretty high strung cat and I expect issues with her getting along with all our other pets. I just didn't see her behaving this way with her sister. We did order a Felliway diffuser. Has anyone had any luck with those?