[****** Mom]

I have 2 female litter mates that are 4 1/2 years old. They have always gotten along perfectly; they would curl up together to sleep and you couldn't tell whose paw and whose tail was sticking out. Then I did something stupid and I'm kicking myself.

A few days ago I invited a friend to bring her 2 cats over to my house--we were going to see if they would get along with mine, so when my friend goes out of town I could keep her cats at my house. My cats ran under my bed the whole time my friend's cats were over (about 2 hours). After the strangers were gone my 2 cats came out, they have been fighting ever since. One hisses at the other one when she gets within a few feet of her.

It seems to me like every time it's the same cat that does the hissing, and the other just reacts to it. The one that hisses doesn't attack though--she waits for the other one to make a move. The one that gets hissed at wasn't even paying attention up until the hissing started, but once she's hissed at she doesn't back down (in fact she becomes the aggressor).

I realize now that it was a mistake to bring the strangers over (and they won't be back). I'm just trying to figure out what to do. I'm keeping my 2 girls in separate rooms when I leave the house. Even when I'm home I have to watch them and separate them a lot. I've started carrying one with me if I go to another room to make sure they don't go at each other. I miss having them both on the bed with me at night, too, but I have to kick one out of the room or they fight. All night long I hear crying from outside the door, no matter which cat is outside. Two different friends have told me just to let them fight it out, but that doesn't sound right to me--esp. since they were always together.

This might sound silly, but now that the 2 strangers are gone now, why don't things go back to normal with my cats? I'd appreciate any suggestions....thanks.

 

[Lori]

First things first, welcome to the forum!
I have only ever had one cat, so I really don't have any personal experience with this. I am sure some of the others will be of more help. I can't help but think that your cats will get over this, it will probably just take time. It must be frustrating though.
Don't be too hard on yourself. I know many cats who accept other cat as visitors to their home with no problems. You had no way of knowing how they would react.
Good luck!

 

[queen of the nile]

Have you vacuumed since the "intruders" left? Sometimes the residual smell may cause your cats to be owly. I remember when I took Levi for dental surgery, Lucas would hiss everytime he came near him. The strange part is that he would see Levi and be fine but as soon as he got close and smelled the "hospital" smell, he would hiss and run away. My advice is just to clean the areas where the strangers were really well and just wait a bit. Your babies might also need just a bit of time to get over the shock!

 

[Jeanie]

I think it's a combination of the visitors being there and the scent they left. Make sure (as well as cleaning well to remove their scent, as queen of the nile said) your cats have the same odor by rubbing both cats with the same towel. Keep them separated, but able to smell each other and communicate--under a door, for example, and when the hissing stops put one at a time in a carrier in the same room as the other for a short time. I'm sure they'll be friends again soon!

Don't feel bad; you couldn't have predicted this.

 

[****** Mom]

Thanks

Appreciate the welcome!

I did the vaccuming on my own, but it was really quick so I'm going to do it again. I tried the towel idea, too. And I've been putting them in carriers right next to each other. It hasn't worked yet but I'm learning a lot watching them. One cat definitely seems to have a bigger problem; she's the one hissing but she takes the defensive posture and doesn't actually attack. The one who doesn't hiss attacks first...she even tried it one time from inside the carrier!

The only idea I haven't tried is taking them for a bath, which I'm going to try to do Saturday. I hope the trip to the vet doesn't make things worse but since everyone thinks the smell has something to do with it I figured I'll try it.

At least nobody here said to let them fight it out, which I didn't thing was a good idea.

So please keep the ideas coming and thanks to all.

 

[AngelZoo]

*mom:

Good suggestions from every one here. And with some cats it will take longer for them to go back to normal. However with some cats, their personality will change a little or a lot every time a new animal such as a dog or a cat which would directly interact with them, and some may also change a little when said animal leaves. I have one of my own, and as a foster mom I've seen it repeatedly.

Do a good vaccuming again, and try to use some type of carpet freshener, there is one out for Pet's and it has the "pet hair release" on it, so it will loosen hair fibers on carpets and furniture to help get rid of that cause for lingering smells.

Yes, you can also try a bath, but try some pet wipes on them first, or even a baby wipe. You can also dab a little vanilla extract on the top of their noses, so that they only smell neutural scents, (aka themselves and everything smells the same).

 

[****** Mom]

Update

Well, I used that carpet stuff that gets out the pet hairs and vaccumed again. That stuff leaves a room smelling great by the way! I also took the 2 kitties to the vet for a bath and that helped the most, I think. When they were at the vet they were put together for a little while to dry, and maybe because it was a strange place they cuddled together. By the time I got them home they were much nicer with each other....some hissing but no fighting. That was yesterday. There was even less hissing today. I think we're going to make it! I learned my lesson though--no more new cats in the house. Thanks for your great suggestions.

 

[Jeanie]

I'm so glad the problem is lessening!