Suddenly territorial cat, never was before

[ariesprincez24]

Hey guys,

I was wondering if anyone ever ran into the problem I am having. I have two male cats, Crosby is going to be 4 and Chance is about 10 months. We have had Chance for the last 4 months and the two had been best buddies. They always cuddled and licked each other and slept together. This past week I took Chance to get declawed so he was out of the house over night. When we brought Chance home the following evening, Crosby suddenly became very mean to him. He hisses and growls at Chance all the time. He also doesn't like to share their favorite window seat or chair anymore. Is it possible Chance just smells funny from the surgery, the vet's office or the ointment and it makes Crosby upset? Has anyone ever seen anything like this? Think it will go back to normal?

 

[rad65]

It's probably the vet smell. Rub talcum powder over both of them, making sure to get their rumps and heads especially since that's where cats sniff each other. They'll be fine within a few minutes. It works every time I bring one of my cats back from the vet. I have actually never heard about it not working, and I've recommended it to lots of people on this site.

Also, just to warn you, there's probably going to be an onslaught of people outraged that you got your cat declawed. If you do a forum search for "declaw" you'll see what I mean.

 

[ariesprincez24]

I know I was very worried that people would be upset that he was declawed. I never used to get my cats declawed but my Frisky (who I lost in Dec.) had a nail that grew around and into his pad and got infected. He wouldn't let us trim him nails and so we had a lot of problems with him got caught on stuff and ripping them and the above incident. I see how it hurts them when it is done but Crosby seems better off for it. Chance had been scratching Crosby when they played and I didn't want him always injuring Crosby.

Anyway off topic. I will try the talcum powder. Thanks!

 

[livs2laff]

My 2 year old male has become increasingly territorial with our 6 year old female. We had him for 6 mos before we adopted her and they got along great before, but now he is attacking her and biting her! I've since separated them while we are away and am using Spirit Essences' Peacemaker and Comfort Zone with Feliway for cats in hopes that these products together will get him to calm down. He's always been rough & tumble from the moment we brought him home (biting). Will he grow out of this anytime soon? They are both spayed. Also.... something I have never seen before is what he does prior to going on attack. He corners her and they swat at each other and then his ears go back and he does this weird thing with his mouth. It looks like he's trying to talk or is choking on saliva. The girl looks at him like he's crazy and I get the water bottle and squirt him before he can actually lunge at her, but I am very curious what he is doing with his mouth. It's not the quivering cats will do when they see prey...it's different than that. Any answers will surely help.

Thanks!

 

[callista]

OP, I have had problems with cats' claws getting caught on carpet; and I found that clipping their claws solved the problem. Highly recommend that you clip their claws as an alternative--it is very possible, even when the cat is an adult, to teach a cat to let you clip its claws. And, if worst comes to worst, you can always stuff them into a pillowcase and pull a paw out to clip them that way. That's how I give Tiny his pills, and he's one of the trickiest, most pill-resistant cats I have ever met in my life (he lets me clip his claws without the pillowcase, though). Next time you are considering declawing a cat, would you be willing to try clipping them instead? I think Kitty's paws will thank you.

Regarding the vet smell, yeah, I'm pretty sure that's why. You can alleviate the problem a bit by switching their bedding around like you might with introducing cats in the normal fashion. Vanilla extract has also been recommended (use it like the talcum powder mentioned in that second post).

 

[ariesprincez24]

Callista,

On the clipping I tried and the I tried Soft Paws. I do feel bad for him but he is getting along very well noq.

I had trouble finding plain Talcum powder. My mom says it causes breathing problems so I may not be able to find it.  I have baby power, would that work? I think I have vanilla extract too. Do I just put dropped of it on them?

It has been a week and a half and they are getting a long a little better, but I can tell Crosby just doesn't like him right now. I hope it is only the smell and not the fact that Chance seems to like people's affection now. (He never did before). I don't know how to deal with a jealous cat.

 

[night0wl]

Baby powder has talcum powder in it. Most doctors don't recommend regular baby powder any more because of the reason you mentioned. They recommend baby powder with cornstarch or plain cornstarch. I'm glad I read your comment about that because I was going to try baby powder on my two kitties, but I don't think I will now.

 

[rad65]

It has the potential to cause breathing problems if you pour it into your hands in the same room that your cats are in. To solve that, you pour it into your hands and rub them together in one room, then go find your cats and pet them normally. That's what I do, and I make sure to not put too much powder on my hands. Cats have extremely strong noses, so they don't need to be caked with powder for it to work.