Lion Cut Has Created A Relationship Problem

[terischlem]

Hello everyone!!!
I am a groomer myself, but never knew that bringing home our male Mainecoon cat home after his lion cut would destroy the relationship with his sibling sister. Very sad, because they got along great before this. It’s like we brought home a brand new cat & who is not welcomed by his own Mainecoon sister!!!! Never saw this coming...

When my husband & I finally realized what was happening we decided to separate the cats, but that wasn’t until we went to bed. We had picked up our male cat after a day long grooming session to get the mats that were starting to pelt on him. Even though I’m a groomer myself, my husband & I couldn’t hold this cat long to shave him.

We also have a small terrier mix dog who looks at this cat now as either a rodent or new unwelcome cat in the household.

I called our Vet, & he felt bad this was happening & suggested using Feliway diffuser. So we did that & got the Feliway spray & spritzed all different areas where they hang out in the house.

We also dabbed pure vanilla extract under their chin, back if neck & base of tail areas, on both cats.

They hung out most of the day together yesterday, but they are not yet happy together. Some staring & hissing & slight aggression going on. So sad to see these siblings who were once pals now estranged.

Today we have decided to completely separate them. Let poor Andy (the one with the lion cut), spend the day in the guest bedroom. Let Zoey have the run of the house. Going back to the basics of introducing a brand new pet into the household. Sure hope we can get all the pets friendly & happy again. I would hate to have to choose one over the other to keep & find a new home for the other. The dog (Reggie) isn’t quite as bad as the Zoey, but I don’t really trust him alone with Andy yet.

Bottom line is, that Andy has come home a stranger after his not so fun lion cut.
And by the way, Andy is a much happier cat after getting his lion cut!!! . All the mats are gone & he is one happy camper, except now he is estranged from his sibling & the dog.

So weird & not cool this is happening!!!
Thanks for listening!!!
Teri
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[Furballsmom]

Hi!

I would hate to have to choose one over the other to keep & find a new home for the other

Gracious sakes no, time alone will do a lot with this - did Andy get a shampoo as well? You said he was there all day? He picked up all sorts of different scents.

And even if they don't ever become best buddies again (which I'm sure they will eventually) it's absolutely not requiring re-homing a cat from his own environment for this.

Take a cloth, gently rub it over Andy, then take that cloth and rub it over your other kitty. Do the same with another cloth, rub it on Andy, then rub it on the dog. This isn't much different than bringing a cat home from a vet visit and having everyone else freak out.

Then maybe let Andy out so he can roam

Try some music - there's the app Relax My Cat, or MusicForCats . com. It hopefully will help

You're already past some of the suggestions here, but maybe there's something else in the article that might help;
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats

 

[imjustacatmom]

I also wouldn't put vanilla.on them as it's not their scent...and I agree with furballs.mom...he most likely picked up all kinds of scents being at groomers and both animals are not used to that...give it some time I'm sure they will be back to themselves shortly

 

[rubysmama]

Hello and welcome to TCS. Sorry you, and Andy, are dealing with the non-recognition issue since his grooming. Hopefully separating them, and doing re-introductions will help.

Here's another article which might have some tips:
How To Fix An Unsuccessful Cat Introduction

Good luck.

 

[ArtNJ]

I think this was implied by the posters above, but I'll state it directly: it isn't the haircut, it is the strange smells. A lot of cats experience this after coming back from the vet or the groomer. I imagine a groomer without best practices could make it worse by using stuff that smells like other animals, but it seems to sometimes happen regardless because even the most cleanly groomer is never going to get rid of all the animal scents in the air. One thing you could recommend to your clients is that they have a blanket with the animals scent ready; then when home after the session before seeing the other pets they can rub it on their pet to overpower the new smells with the familiar.

 

[Columbine]

Hi T terischlem Welcome to TCS

Whilst I agree with the other posters that the primary issue here is scent-based non-recognition, its possible that the drastically different sillhoute has exacerbated matters.
How do cats recognize us? – Way of Cats blog

At this point, though, your best option is to start a gradual reintroduction. With a bit of luck, though, it may be a shorter process than an introduction between two strangers. I remember a thread about a similar issue from a while ago, and things progressed fairly smoothly once the cats had both been in their home for a few days.
Nightmare after cat grooming

Basically, stay calm, hang in there, and trust that with time and patience order will be restored
How To Deal With Non-recognition Aggression In Cats

 

[alisad1981]

Daphne would spend a couple days hissing at Elmo every time he came home from the vet, and he didn't even have a bath. Somehow, spending 20 minutes in the clinic changed his scent. Things should improve soon.

 

[rubysmama]

T terischlem : It's been a few days since your post. How are things going now?

 

[jen]

I also wouldn't put vanilla.on them as it's not their scent...

I disagree. Using the vanilla (pure vanilla) makes them smell alike and this is a commonly recommended technique when cats don't get along.

Also if all the cats are doing is hissing at each other I wouldn't worry. Give them a few days and they will be fine. Any time one cat leaves and comes back, even if it just goes outside the house, it smells different than before. Cats are all about smells and his friend suddenly smells "different". Just chill out and give them time.