Aggressive cat towards sibling cat after vet visit

by Ken Sparling

One of our cats was at the vet for a couple days and is home now and his brother is afraid of him and aggressive toward him. We think it's the smell from the vet's office. Is there a product we can use to get the smell out of our cat?

Comments for Aggressive cat towards sibling cat after vet visit

Click here to add your own comments

Sibling kittens with trauma aggression
by: Anonymous

My female cat has hissed and not wanted anything to do with her brother after he returned from getting neutered. The moment we brought him into the house from the vet’s, she started hissing. She has been aggressive and just evades him. It has been 3 days and it has continued about the same. So sad as they were very loving to each other prior
What about aggression toward owner?
by: Cathy

Took my female cat to vet, upon return my 9 year old male went nuts... towards ME! I haven't let the cats near each other because he hissed and attacked me when I approached him upon our return. Even after washing, changing clothes and using vet recommended pheromones, he's still aggressive 24 hours later. I've kept the cats (and me) separated since the first incident, leaving the angry cat upstairs alone. When I checked on him the next day, he still acted the same.

HELP!!! It's breaking my heart and I don't know how to help my poor baby!!!!
vet visit and agression
by: tony

Our siblings loved each other totally. We took the boy (9 months old) to vet to get groomed because it is long hair and had poop getting in fur. Only gone a few hours and upon return the sibling female hisses and swats at him. We have petted each alternately with towel, used a small amount of vanilla in each nose. and have used non scented wet wipe on each alternately. It has been a day and a half and the girl is still hissing, growling and swatting. What can we do? They got along so well.

Comment
this is a common issue and there is a page on the site all about it. It is called aggression trauma. use the search button to find the article.
After Visit to the Vet
by: Anonymous

I have three cats?Dusty, Chase and Rocky. Rocky, on his way to the vet, banged his nose on the carrier so hard that it was rubbed raw and almost bleed. He also exhibited real fright this time out by scratching, howling, and banging his head on the carrier. When Rocky arrived home, Chase hissed and growled as if not to know his little pal. I then placed Rocky in a ?saferoom? for two hours. Once released, Rocky and Chase sat at opposite sides of the room and all appeared to be okay until Chase once again hissed and then displayed an aggressive posture. Back in the saferoom Rocky went until my husband opened the door and let him out. Shortly thereafter, Chase and Rocky lifted their heads as if to touch noses? WAM! Chase sucker-punched Rocky with claws extended right across his wounded pink nosed. Before Chase could do anymore damage, I collected Rocky and put him in my home office with me where I have been reading articles on the web ever since? Apparently, there are several factors going on here?(1) Chase can sense or smell the wound on Rocky?s nose and is for some reason affected by that. (2) Chase can sense Rocky?s fear and for some reason is unhappy with that. (3) Rocky is reacting differently to Chase because his visit to the vet was so stressful and so now, Chase doesn?t recognize him as the cat he?s known for over a year??? (4) Chase can smell the other cats from the vet?s office and for some reason feels aggression from that? okay, geez... Well, that?s all fine and dandy, but what the hell do I do now? Integrate them all over again? Oh, please say its not so?that took weeks! Moreover, Chase is also showing aggression towards me?just like the time when I first brought Rocky home. An online article says that I should hiss back at Chase, grab him by the back of the scruff of the neck and ?gently? press his head towards the floor just as his mother would have?ha ha and ha!?any thoughts?

Answer by Kate
First of all i don't like the sound of that last article you read. it sounds more like instruction for dog training to me.

As for what to do about your two cats. yes you will have to integrate them again but it should only take a few days this time.

Follow the instructions for the introduction method, where they are introduced in a safe environment. Also try rubbing chase all over with a clean towel then rub the towel all over rocky to transfer the scent this may also help to calm chase down.

here is the page about the introduction process.

https://www.our-happy-cat.com/introducing-cats.html

best wishes Kate
your persians
by: Anonymous

Hi, our cats eventually went back to getting along and are fine now. Now that you mention it, the brother who went to the vet got parts of himself shaved, the fronts of his paws and a big patch on his side for a pain patch. Don't know if that had any effect.

Hope your persians go back to their old friendly selves.
Cat behavior after vet visit
by: Jay

I have two 12-year old Persians [siblings] and they have never had any problems getting along...until one of them [the male] spent two days at the vet for ingrown nails and a shaving [because his matting was impossible to correct]. Anyway, from the moment he got back home his behavior had changed and no longer got along with his sister. They fight whenever they are in close proximity to one another. This has been going on for a month. My vet suggested that I separate them for periods of time until they adjust but the behavior continues. What I have learned from this is that I will NEVER shave my cats again!
Answer
by: Kate

Hi,
this sounds abit like trauma aggression. It's not that your cat smells of the vet but that when he came back he may have been scared about his visit and has been reacting differently to your ther cat. This change in behavior is what is causing your other cat to react aggressivily towards them. Usually the behavior will right itself after a while s they both calm down and get used to each other again. If the behavior continues you will have to go back to introducing them again as if they had never met. See my page on the cat training pages about introducing cats.

Click here to add your own comments

Return to Cat Questions Archive One.