my 2 cats aren't getting along anymore

by Ashley
(Tennessee)

I have 2 cats that have gotten along great. One of them got out of the house and was gone for a day and a half. Now that she is back my other cat hisses at her and hides behind the furniture. I gave the cat that ran away a bath thinking it would take away any unfamiliar smells that my other cat wasn't used to. That didn't work. What is causing her to act this way?

Answer by Kate
this is known as trauma aggression and occurs when something upsets or scares one of the cats. this could be anything from a loud bang, to having their tail stepped on or even a change in routines etc which in this case would have been the absence of the other cat and perhaps your behaviour during this time which may have been anxious.
When the cat gets scared they blame this fear on something, usually the other cat and then acts aggressively. So its fear that is causing the cat to behave this way.

Your bets course of action is to go through the slow process of re introducing the cats to each other again over a few days to a week. this will help build confidence in each other again.

Please see this process here https://www.our-happy-cat.com/introducing-cats.html

best wishes Kate

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