Why is my cat hissing at my other cat after spay surgery?

[blondiinitar]

I brought my youngest cat home after being spayed on Saturday and our other cat ran up to see her and she started hissing at her. She is acting like she don't even know her. They were  friends before she got her surgery. Fortunatelly they haven't got in a fight but I feel so sorry for my youngest. She seems so unhappy because of her hissing friend. I am worried already. It has been few days now and she still acting arrogant.

Is this normal feline behavior after surgery and will it pass? 

 

[banana queen]

Mine have done the same, I think it is likely because your cat smells differently, like the vet, instead of her normal scent.

 

[iszcross]

We went through something quite similar this weekend.  We took one of our cats to get a summer shave.  When we got him home his playmate began hissing and acting aggressively towards him.  They were buddies before we took him in for a shave and couldn't believe that she was doing this because she didn't recognize him.  Truth be told, she didn't recognize his sent so she was acting very territorial.  We read that putting vanilla extract on their chins, back of their necks and base of their tails should calm things down considerably and should take care of the problem in it's entirety fairly quickly.  We administered the vanilla extract to both cats yesterday morning and this morning all hissing had stopped.

Hope this helps!  

 

[sivyaleah]

 
I brought my youngest cat home after being spayed on Saturday and our other cat ran up to see her and she started hissing at her. She is acting like she don't even know her. They were  friends before she got her surgery. Fortunatelly they haven't got in a fight but I feel so sorry for my youngest. She seems so unhappy because of her hissing friend. I am worried already. It has been few days now and she still acting arrogant.

Is this normal feline behavior after surgery and will it pass? 

Very common for cats to get antagonistic with others after any kind of vet visit where they went separately.  It has to do with smelling different and/or behaving different.  The anesthesia can cause them to behave oddly for a few days.  If you are able to separate them for a short period of time, and do some scent exchanges I'd think in a day or so all will be well again.  Or, try the vanilla extract trick as @Iszcross  suggests.  Luckily, no fighting has broken out so most likely they will work it out themselves but can't hurt to help.

 

[blondiinitar]

Thank you so much. I will try vanilla extract. I hope this will work.

 

[robertaatl]

I had success with the vanilla extract and wanted to share the story in several places I read about it.  It's upsetting to see a once peaceful house turn upside down after a vet visit.

Our 2 cats are litter mates and the best of friends. One of them (unsure which one) ingested a poisonous plant so both had to go through 48 hours of de-tox. After the vet, one of them continuously hissed at the other. We watched several days and it didn’t pass. I put extract at the base of their tails and a little on back of head a few times. (don’t put it near their privates because the alcohol can cause irritation!) Unbelievably it worked, almost right away. It still took a few more days to get back to their normal but it worked.  BTW, both were successfully de-toxed and neither showed signs of kidney damage, Phew.

 

[createfirst]

I have had the same thing happening for just over two weeks now. My youngest cat, Jinxy, developed an infection in her uterus so she had to be spayed immediately. When I brought her home, her father, Fluff, was fine with her and still is, but her mother, Mykie, began hissing and running away from her. This has escalated over the last two weeks to Mykie hissing, growling, and even chasing and attacking with claws fully out. I figured at first it was because Jinxy smelled of the vet and other animals, but it's been over two weeks and it is still happening. I tried giving Mykie more one on one time, but it doesn't seem to be working. She's actually biting me now. Now in a harmful way, more like maybe she's trying to assert dominance over me. She'll lick my hand or arm a couple times then bite on and hold still for a few seconds before she lets go. She had no problem with Jinxy prior to her surgery. I don't know what to do, for now I'm using a spray bottle with water to stop her from attacking. It's not really working though. 

 

[Leximomma78]

We went through something quite similar this weekend. We took one of our cats to get a summer shave. When we got him home his playmate began hissing and acting aggressively towards him. They were buddies before we took him in for a shave and couldn't believe that she was doing this because she didn't recognize him. Truth be told, she didn't recognize his sent so she was acting very territorial. We read that putting vanilla extract on their chins, back of their necks and base of their tails should calm things down considerably and should take care of the problem in it's entirety fairly quickly. We administered the vanilla extract to both cats yesterday morning and this morning all hissing had stopped.

Hope this helps!

How much do you put on each spot and do you just do this to the spayed cat?