Non-recognition Aggression Continues Two Weeks after Surgery

[labouts]

Hi, I made an account specifically to ask for advice on this problem.

I have two sibling cats, a male and a female. The male was a cryptorchid, so his neuter surgery was rather hard on him. His sister was distressed by the surgery smell and the cone he had to wear so we kept him in our room until he could get the cone off and groom. We took the cone off a week later, gave him a little rag bath and waited a day before showing him to his sister.

His sister was still very aggressive, so we've been diligently doing the standard reintroduction techniques. We keep them in separate room, switching room occasionally, have them eat wet food on opposite sides of the door, bring him out in a carrier once in a while and give her treats near him and play with her near him, rub them with the same rag several times per day to spread their scent, let them peek at each other through the door occasionally, spray calming pheromones, try to reward her the few times she acts better than normal, and have her smell his tail under the door. After about a week of this, there doesn't seem to be any improvement.

The male is never aggressive toward her in response; rather, he seems absolutely heartbroken. He is meowing is strange ways at the door and frequently tries to get through the door to see her. If I hold him in sight of her, he purrs unless she starts hissing. She doesn't completely try to ambush and attack him, but when she sees or even hears him, she stalks in his direction then growls and swipes. The whole situation is becoming really strenuous. My wife suggested I go to a forum to ask if anyone has any advice outside the typical reintroduction stuff that could be applicable to these specific circumstances.

If you've successfully dealt with a similar situation, I've love to hear any advice.

 

[rad65]

You can try putting a dab of vanilla extract on both of them, one on the base of the tail and the other near the head, or rub some talcum powder on both of them. This will make them smell the same and should help them get back on good terms with each other.

 

[labouts]

I had heard that one before and ignored it because I didn't see anyone who had personally seen it work. I just tried it and they managed to eat less than a foot from each other with no serious attacks and much less growling. Useful bit of witchcraft, thank you.

 

[presto]

I started a very simlar thread about a month ago. My petite female was kept overnight for GI problems, and when I got her back she really smelled bad (to me)!  It was a typical "kennel" smell, and the other cats treated her like a new comer, with hissing and avoidance.  Since there was no actual agression towards her, I just kept careful watch.  After several days of self grooming, the smell was gone, and all returned to normal.  But if your cat needs a cone-collar, then she isn't able to groom herself, and the process will probably linger until she can either groom herself, ot the smell dissipates on its own.  So, if the other cats are just hissing, but not attacking, I would relax and let nature take its course.

 

[night0wl]

Labouts, how are things going with your two? I know it's been a couple of month now. Are they getting along now? I hope so.

I'm having a similar situation, but I'll create my own thread. It's so stressful. I feel helpless.

 

[labouts]

My cats are perfectly fine now. I used Feliway for a week, then did the vanilla dab. This made the female able to get within a couple feet of the male before hissing and running. Once I had that, I feed them wet food every day in separate bowls.

Each day I had the bowls closer together. Eventually, I started sliding the bowls next to each other after they were eating. After a week or two of that, they were willing to eat out of the same large bowl. A few times sharing a bowl without fighting resolved their issues.

If you try something like this, always have a blanket nearby to throw on them if they start to fight.

 

[night0wl]

Great news! I'm so glad to hear that!

We fortunately haven't had any fighting, just growling and hissing. The cat (Nermal) who stayed at home during the vet visit is very, very slowly coming around. They can somewhat be in the same vicinity. They can even eat next to each other or be right next to each other if they are really interested in something. The one who was at the vet (Sookie) doesn't retaliate or respond at all. She just looks confused and hurt. I feel bad for her. I'm just hoping it passes soon. It's only been since Wednesday. So it's still early, but I just worry about them because they were so close before the vet visit.

Did you use the Feliway spray or diffuser? I bought a diffuser today and put it in this afternoon when I came home from work. I know it says it's supposed to take a while for that to start working. They both have went up to it and smelled it like they were interested in it. So hopefully is starts working sooner than the company says it takes.

Also, thanks for responding. It's always frustrating when I see a thread on the internet where someone doesn't respond to answer if the problem had been resolved. It's very helpful to find out what happened. Thanks!