[synax]

We took both of our 6month old kittens, Raja and Jasmine to the vet Thursday to be spayed. Raja and Jasmine are sisters who got along very well from birth. Today when we picked them up from the vet, they said Raja had been hissing and very mean to Jasmine and that they had to seperate them. When we got out the carrier, they couldn't beleive we brought both of them in one. We ended up needing to borrow a second carrier just to bring them home.

It seems as though Raja is the aggressor. Jasmine was always a bit timmid, at about 2months she had 4 broken ribs and a broken foot(our 3yr old accidently closed the door on her). Now when they get within 4-6 feet of each other, Raja starts hissing at jasmine.

My question is, is this normal behavior after surgery? If so, how long till they are back to normal? Is there anything we can do to help them out? Right now we have them sleeping in seperate rooms. This is not normal as they have been together since birth.

Any assistance will be greatly appreciated

 

[Wayne]

I personally do not beleive that their attitudes will last long. Remembering when I took Happy and Chrissie cats to be neutered last year. Normally, they get along with each other OK, however, when I went in to pick them up the next morning, Happy, ( a flame-point Siamese) was attacking Chrissie (a brown over white marble swirl tabby). So, I had to borrow another carrier in order to bring them home. Afteer about 24 hours they were back to their normal selves, and I have never seen neither of them becoming hostile toward each other. I suppose that your one kitty's aggression may last until they heal and become normal-feeling again. Yet, I was surprised to see Happy's attitude towared his house-mate, as neither of them are particularly aggressive in nature. What had me upset the most was that Chrissie was the slowest about coming out of the anesthesia, and could not defend himself. Now, both of them are back to normal and both are becoming large cats. Between the two of them their combined weigh is about 30 lbs.

 

[Ioana]

Hello Synax
First of all it is so soon after the surgery therefore your kitties are still recovering. Since Raja has more dominant features she is now being susceptible towards Jasmine because she may not recognize her anymore.
The kitties had to deal with a strange place where they picked up tons of smells (originating with other pets) + the trauma of a surgical procedure; plus- don't forget the temporary influence of the drugs they were administered.
Now back to the smell - since the kitties have already gone through a lot there is no poing giving them a bath. But do rub a few drops of vanilla on the back of their necks - and the reason is = so that they smell the same again ; not to mention that they will smell delicious!
Keep posting and let us know how it goes!

 

[Ioana]

(what a nice surprize - it is good to see you Wayne ; I hope all is well with you!)

 

[Jessica]

I am a vet tech and speaking from my own experience I can tell you this is a very common occurence. There's been many cats I've work with who come in as pairs in one carrier to be fixed and have to leave in two the next day.

The combination of the stress they've been put through and the different smells on each other set them up for this behavior but you should see them settling down within a couple days.

 

[Wayne]

Ioana, it has been a long time since I have heard from you. It is definitely good to hear you are doing OK.

 

[CatLover]

I don't beleive that's normal, as I have had no problems with my 2 girls. However, we took them to the vet at seperate times, Penny was adopted & Sammie was a stray. So as I said I don't beleive this behavior is normal, but it will not last. She is probably doing this because of the stitches. Have they been removed yet? Sammie didn't like anybody even close to her before we had the stitches removed. When we took her to the vet, she only had one stitch left, because she had taken them all out herself. So that's another thing to watch out for. Basicly what I'm saying is that this behavior exibited is not normal, but will only last until the stitches are taken out, or when they heal completly. Note this is only a guess, but from past experiances I'm pretty sure that's what's going on.