Cat Forum banner

Reintroduction After Spaying - Advice Needed

3K views 9 replies 3 participants last post by  catloverami 
#1 ·
Lucy, my 7 month old Maine **** got spayed on Friday. I need some advice on how to best reintroduce her to my 8 year old Sparky. They both live with me in a small studio apartment. The only room I can put one into, to separate them, is a small bathroom. When I originally introduced them I kept her in the bathroom for a day or two and did the scent swapping and feeding on either side of the door.

Sparky does not get along too well with Lucy. He is an ornery guy and a bit unpredictable. I got Lucy at 3 months and it has not been particularly smooth. This is regrettable since I got her to replace his older brother who passed 3 months earlier. I wanted her to provide companionship. They have many moments in which he is completely oblivious to her and leaves her alone. He can walk right next to her and not care. When they eat they are 4 or 5 feet apart and he does not seem to care about her. I can play with them both at the same, with birds on wands and they even bump into each other as they try to catch them. Sometimes they are both found on my couch sleeping no more than 2 feet apart. Other times he chases her around the apartment, up and down the cat tree and if he catches her he wrestles her and seems to bite her neck. She struggles away. Sometimes, she turns around and jumps him. Other times she lies on her back in a submissive posture. Often, without any apparent provocation he charges her and swats at her and hisses or screeches. Yet, after a lunge at her he retreats.

He has never expressed any real hateful violence towards her. No blood has ever been shed or fur gone flying. I am not sure if what they do is rough play or what. She at times stands right up to him, as when she will charge him and jump him (I’ve witnessed this 1/2 dozen times) and other times seems wary of him. She might choose to walk across the room via the couch if he is laying down in front of it. She’ll sometimes walk behind him warily. Yet, she is getting much bigger and as she does she seems more courageous. In short, while I would love to see them hugging and grooming each other, I am content the way things are now. She seems happy and outgoing; although, she clearly respects him.

Knowing how difficult introducing them has been, I am worried about the reintroduction. I do not want him wrestling with her or too much chasing if she is weak and vulnerable from the surgery.
I’m also hopeful her wound will heal sufficiently so that I can ditch the E Collar. Of course I’ll have to watch her with and without it and not ditch it until her wound is pretty well healed and she is not licking it too much. Her stitches are inside and self dissolving. With that in mind these are the steps I’ve taken so far. I would like any advice on what else to do and how.

She got spayed Friday. I took her from the vet today, after 3 days of boarding. She is in my neighbor's apartment. She is doing well and is energetic, but bewildered at the two new environments. I plan on keeping her keeping her at my neighbor's another 3 days at most. I do not want to impose on my neighbor, but I do want to give her time to stretch her legs and not be confined to the vet’s cage.

After that, it is back home, almost a week from the surgery. I intend to keep her in the bathroom for a day, but it will be very difficult to do that for days on end. I’ll need the bathroom myself, to shower etc., and it is small and she is getting large and very acrobatic.

While she is at the neighbor’s home I can do the scent swapping thing with towels or washcloths. I’ll continue that when she comes home. There is a fly in the ointment as Sparky was at the vet yesterday. He has developed a slight case of conjunctivitis in one eye. I am putting an antibiotic ointment in his eye twice a day. It already seems to be a bit better. However, that might completely eliminate my swapping his scent on her. I don't want to wipe his face with a washcloth and transfer that to her. I’ll need some step by step advice on who gets what scent swapped, how often, and any other tips. I’ve heard about the use of vanilla drops and some other things.

Any ideas on this is greatly appreciated. I’ve had 3 other females spayed in my lifetime, but never had the dynamic at home with the other cat as I do know. I want to do it right. Thanks.
 
See less See more
#2 ·
You're doing the right thing by having your girl in your neighbour's apt. while she recovers from her spay surgery. Even with the scent swapping, you likely should treat them the same as when they first met, by swapping them from one room to another for at least another week. Then gradually allow them together, at first feeding them in the same place they did before. Play with them together as well, and just take things easy. I wouldn't allow any rough play (yes that's what he's doing) for a while longer, but when her confidence is back to stand up to him, then it's likely OK to put them together. If you're in any doubt, it's always better to separate them, if you're not there supervise. Better to not let them get into a nasty fight that may destroy any chance of them getting along. At this point they are tolerating each other, and doesn't look like they're going to be cuddle buddies. But cats can surprise and you never know....it may happen as they get older. For quite a while my now one year old kitten was very aggressive with my 12 y.o. neuter. But he's settling down now that he's more mature, and the two actually seek out each other for cuddles and grooming, and they do have chase games that don't always end in fights as most of them did a few months ago. So, good luck!
 
#3 ·
Good Idea

Thanks for your response. I will be bringing her home Friday morning. The problem I have is that I have a small studio - one room and a bathroom. I'll keep her in there, but it is unrealistic to do it for more than a day. Neither cat can be in there when I shower. I'll trade places with them for several hours - Sparky in the bathroom and Lucy the run of the rest of the apartment. I also plan on keeping her in her soft-sided carrier, which has see through mesh on the sides. I figure he cannot hurt her and they can hear and see each other. Hopefully he won't attack the carrier.

I planned it so I can have the long holiday weekend to keep tabs on them. I plan on using the bathroom and the carrier to keep them apart and my presence for much of the long weekend to supervise. I'm hopeful it is back to what it was before the spaying by the end of the long weekend. Crossing my fingers.
 
#4 ·
An update

Here’s an update on my reintroduction of Lucy to Sparky after being spayed.

I brought her home this morning from my neighbor’s apartment. She is healing well and I sent photos of her incision to the vet. She gave the OK to remove her collar for good. I put a towel which Sparky had laid on for days into her carrier and put a towel she had laid on in Sparky’s favorite place. I put her in my small bathroom in her carrier and the litter box and food and water. I opened the carrier and left her in the bathroom.

Sparky was and is very leery. He heard her crying and he retreated a fair distance from the door. I kept her in there for several hours. She was not happy. Eventually I brought her out in her carrier and placed it in view of Sparky. He stayed away. After awhile I managed to pick up Sparky and put him in the bathroom. When I closed the door I let Lucy out of the carrier. She immediately went all over the apartment and was obviously happy to be home. When Sparky would cry in the bathroom she would go to the door.

After several hours I got Lucy in the carrier and opened the to the bathroom. Sparky would not leave the bathroom; although, he wasn’t happy there. I closed the door again and put the carrier in the kitchen. When I opened the door he warily walked by it and gave a few hisses in its direction. When he was clear I put the carrier in the bathroom and let Lucy out.

As it is now, it seems to me that Lucy is not leery of Sparky, but he is of her. I intend to play the carrier and kitty switch for another day and also swap scents with a sock on my hand. Neither one likes the washcloth on their face, but a soft sock will do the trick.

Any ideas how long I have to keep this up? I am only good for another few days. Eventually I’ll have to go to work. I hate to keep either one locked up for any length of time.

I suspect Sparky will never get totally used to her - he wasn’t exactly her buddy before the spaying. I think if I get it back to his occasional hisses or lunges and her being able to get away, will be OK by me. Even their rough play would be ok. If it is as it was before they will have long stretches of tolerance (mostly by Sparky as Lucy seems fine with him.)

Any suggestions or comments? This past week from her spaying to boarding to staying with a neighbor and now with the kitty shuffle has been a huge drain on me.
 
#5 ·
So Far So Good

I just let Lucy out of her carrier. Sparky is on the top perch of his cat tree, eyeing her intently. He has not hissed or taken any steps towards her. On the other hand, she is walking around the apartment and looking up at him. She hasn't moved toward him. That Sparky hasn't chased her is a good sign to me. That she is respecting him and keeping her distance is also a good sign. I will not let them out together tonight and will let them out again tomorrow.
 
#6 ·
This sounds like good progress to me. Another thing you could try is to have a second cat tree. Having more vertical space in a small apartment is the way to go. Some people put up additional shelving on the walls, but if it's a rental you likely can't do that sort of thing, but another cat tree would help a lot. I would continue what you're doing, and keep them separated when you have to go back to work. Switch them every other day in the bathroom like you're doing, as your girl is still healing and you don't want her to get into a heavy duty tussle with your boy at this stage.
 
#7 ·
Mission accomplished

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

It looks like things are OK. I let them both roam the apartment last night. I sensed, correctly, that Sparky was not going to go after Lucy. He seemed reticent but respectful of her. She was a bit wary of him, but outgoing.

During the night both came to visit me on my bed at different times. In the past Sparky would hiss and chase Lucy off the bed. He spent most of the night under the bed. In the morning they were back to their old routines, except for Sparky who refused to come out from under the bed for breakfast. I couldn't lure him out with treats or toys or laser pointers. Eventually I managed to catch him at a moment when he left the area and I was able to close the bed to its daytime couch configuration. Without the bed to hide under he just hung out. Eventually he ate.

Once when he was sitting next to me on the couch she walked past him and he hissed at her, but no lunging. Actually, it seems better than before she was spayed. I don't care too much if they aren't all hugs and kisses. The constant lunging at her and occasional wrestling to the ground with bites on her neck was troubling to me - probably more so than to Lucy. That leads me to a question. Does her having been spayed alter their interaction? Was he able to tell that she was a female from the time she arrived at 3 months until last week, and now he can't? Was part of his aggression to her because she was a female? He is an altered male from 6 months old and he never exhibited unaltered behavior.

I'll come back and post after a few more days. I'll be eyeing them carefully. At the very least I am no longer fearful that he will hurt her or that their relationship would be such that I'd have to separate them for good. The funny thing is that I got her for him as a companion.
 
#9 ·
Is This Really Aggression?

I've written before about my 8 yr old mixed breed spayed male - Sparky , and my 7 month old Maine **** recently spayed female Lucy. Sparky is whiney and unpredictable and an ornery guy. He goes from complete indifference to Lucy to rough playing with some wrestling and neck biting, to aggressive lunges and hisses and swats.

Since coming back from being spayed last week their interaction is much the same as it was before. I haven't seen them chase each other and wrestle; however, that's not to say they don't while I'm not at home. Today when Lucy was lying near him he charged her and hissed and swatted at her face three quick times. Lucy just laid there and hardly flinched. Usually when he does this he immediately retreats. Its almost like a charging gorilla thumping his chest and just stopping when he gets to the intruder and then backs off. I was amazed that he swatted at her face from very close - three times - and she didn't flinch. It was then that I realized that he never actually connects with her. If he had hit her face it should have drawn blood, if not a reaction from her. With all of his aggressive behavior toward her he has never really hurt her. She does respect him and will sometimes eye him warily as she walks near him.

So, since he isn't really hitting her or scratching her, what is it? I think Lucy has it figured out way before I did.
 
#10 ·
Just exerting his dominance....by bluffing.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top