We left for a few hours and they hate each other now... happened to anyone else??

[GoldHazel]

Yesterday evening I heard something that might be helpfull. A friend of mine has two cats. When one of the cats got really afraid of some loud noises the others started to hiss at him and they were attacking eachother. This lasted for more then a week. Finally my friend went to the vet and the vet said the cat who was afraid probably still had the "fear smell" on him. He suggested to bath him. My friend did so and after a new slow introduction everything was fine again.
Really don't know if this makes any sense but I wanted it to share in case it does make sense.

Hope Leo and Molly will be friends again soon.

@Toa and Ross very interesting.

 

[Nicolemorgan]

So it has been 2 steps forward, 1 step back. They were playing on either side of the door, had treats on either side of the door, no real reactions. Fed them in the hallway 4 feet apart with hubby sitting between them. A bit of staring, but all good. So Leo wanders into the spare room and Molly follows a few seconds later... waiting to see what happens. All hell breaks loose, hissing snarling and crying. Hubby grabs Molly (who peed all over him) and he got some nasty scratches. Both get separates again... sigh. Will try more through the door stuff tmrw.

Something about seeing each other unrestricted is freaking them out. Molly saw herself in the bathroom mirror and started hissing at her reflection. I had to knock on the mirror and touch it to try and show her it wasn't real.

Awh, sending you many hugs!
Hoping that Molly and Leo will bet better soon!

 

[MollysMom]

Yesterday evening I heard something that migstores. helpfull. A friend of mine has two cats. When one of the cats got really afraid of some loud noises the others started to hiss at him and they were attacking eachother. This lasted for more then a week. Finally my friend went to the vet and the vet said the cat who was afraid probably still had the "fear smell" on him. He suggested to bath him. My friend did so and after a new slow introduction everything was fine again.
Really don't know if this makes any sense but I wanted it to share in case it does make sense.

Hope Leo and Molly will be friends again soon.

That is a great idea. I had been putting off baths because I didn't want to give them any more stress... but that sounds like it might help. Thanks!

 

[Toa and Ross]

That is a great idea. I had been putting off baths because I didn't want to give them any more stress... but that sounds like it might help. Thanks!

Hope it helps!

 

[GoldHazel]

Hope it helps!

Me too...hope it helps @MollysMom

 

[NinaGato]

Sending good thoughts..hope the bath thing helped. We are rooting for you all from here

 

[lealea]

Hmm, sometimes if 1 cat is sick, the other picks up on it and you can have them stand off against each other instinctively trying to protect themselves. When 1 of my furry girls had a chest infection after her spay, my calico would hiss and spit at her a lot. As soon as Monita got better, all went peaceful again. Maybe one of them is brewing a bug or something :depressed:

 

[Xandria]

I am so sad to read this. Did the bathing help? Poor little mufffins. Sending you positive vibes.

 

[MollysMom]

Haven't had a chance to bath yet... final day of my practicum for school is today so life should be back to normal after that! We have kept them separated still, they take turns having run of the house for a few hours at a time. Leo seems totally fine now, it is just Molly who is still hissing and spitting nails when we left them peek through the door. We might try the vet in the next few days here if they are still having problems. I was reading about the benefits of some temporary psych meds in these types of situations. Our kitties have never had any bad behaviour, litter box issues, or anything like that. It is less stressful now than it was before somehow. Like keeping them separate has become more normal.

 

[GoldHazel]

Haven't had a chance to bath yet... final day of my practicum for school is today so life should be back to normal after that! We have kept them separated still, they take turns having run of the house for a few hours at a time. Leo seems totally fine now, it is just Molly who is still hissing and spitting nails when we left them peek through the door. We might try the vet in the next few days here if they are still having problems. I was reading about the benefits of some temporary psych meds in these types of situations. Our kitties have never had any bad behaviour, litter box issues, or anything like that. It is less stressful now than it was before somehow. Like keeping them separate has become more normal.

@MollysMom well hopefully you can try the baths before getting the meds at the vet's office. Anything simple is worth a try first.

 

[MollysMom]

Just writing to update... almost another week has passed and they still haven't made improvements. On Tuesday, they were looking at each other through the door, with no reaction. Then I wrapped her up and held her in my arms standing up while he was on the floor. Still no reaction. So I put her down on the stairs, and let him out of his room about 5 feet away. He IMMEDIATELY took off like he was going to kill her. Howls and growls and crying and hissing from both of them. She ran to the kitchen, and he sat in the hall ready to go after her again. I had to throw a blanket over him to be able to pick him up and separate them.

No marking or peeling outside the box... they have had each others scent switched lots. And they take turns being out roaming the house.

We have a vet appt today at 4... hoping he can shed some light on it all

 

[Nicolemorgan]

Awhhh, I am sorry to hear that there hasn't been much improvement @MollysMom.
And you are doing so much, with the switching blankets, etc.
Hoping that your vet can give you some input, and is able to help.
Keep us updated and let us know how the vet visit goes.

Sending lots of hugs to you all!

 

[MollysMom]

The vet was just as baffled as I am... we talked about meds, and he wrote a Rx for an anti anxiety med for both of them to try for 2 weeks. I am going to give it a few more days of trying to get them together, then we will try the meds to see if that works.

 

[Nicolemorgan]

The vet was just as baffled as I am... we talked about meds, and he wrote a Rx for an anti anxiety med for both of them to try for 2 weeks. I am going to give it a few more days of trying to get them together, then we will try the meds to see if that works.

Hmm, so odd! Well, we are continuing to think about you guys and sending positive thoughts your way that they start to get better!
HUGS! @MollysMom

 

[NinaGato]

Still pulling for you all from here. Was thinking of you all today when Udo caught sight of himself in the mirror and hissed. Then he ran away from himself.
Fingers and toes crossed.
I have used anti anxiety drugs for rehabilitation of rescues. Can I be so bold as to ask what the vet recommend?

 

[MollysMom]

Still pulling for you all from here. Was thinking of you all today when Udo caught sight of himself in the mirror and hissed. Then he ran away from himself.
Fingers and toes crossed.
I have used anti anxiety drugs for rehabilitation of rescues. Can I be so bold as to ask what the vet recommend?

Thanks... it was clono-something, woul have to look at the Rx again. Going to try putting them in their carriers tmrw and have them facing each other from a distance to see how they do. The vet thought that would be a good way to try, since they can't get at each other.

 

[GoldHazel]

Still pulling for you all from here. Was thinking of you all today when Udo caught sight of himself in the mirror and hissed. Then he ran away from himself.
Fingers and toes crossed.
I have used anti anxiety drugs for rehabilitation of rescues. Can I be so bold as to ask what the vet recommend?

@NinaGato Udo made me laugh. I could just picture him hissing at his reflection and then running for the hills. LOL

 

[GoldHazel]

@MollysMom did you ever try bathing them?

 

[MollysMom]

@MollysMom did you ever try bathing them?

Yes, I did. It did not make a difference

 

[MollysMom]

Another update... we have been trying since the vet appt to have them exposed to each other, sitting in their carriers, held on the couch with a blanket while we watch tv, etc. Molly hisses and Leo gets a stare on at her. Well, last night she pushed the door open to his room (it didn't get clicked shut). He took off after her again trying to basically kill her.

So the good news is we can now see that he has the aggressive/ predatory behaviour, and she is showing defensive language. He is like a crazy evil cat that acts purry and lovey to us, and does nothing when they are contained next to each other. It is the second he gets a chance loose with her that he goes crazy after her.

My husband is driving me crazy, being so negative about everything. So I am going to try the meds on them and see how they do this weekend. I am also going to revamp both rooms that they are in so they have the most stimulation in there - toys, more perches, etc.

We had to cancel our trip this weekend because we don't want to stress them out further with strangers in the house pet sitting.

Any other crazy suggestions? Re-homing will never be an option, and if meds and vet don't work out, we will likely get a behaviouralist in to see them.

 

[GoldHazel]

Another update... we have been trying since the vet appt to have them exposed to each other, sitting in their carriers, held on the couch with a blanket while we watch tv, etc. Molly hisses and Leo gets a stare on at her. Well, last night she pushed the door open to his room (it didn't get clicked shut). He took off after her again trying to basically kill her.

So the good news is we can now see that he has the aggressive/ predatory behaviour, and she is showing defensive language. He is like a crazy evil cat that acts purry and lovey to us, and does nothing when they are contained next to each other. It is the second he gets a chance loose with her that he goes crazy after her.

My husband is driving me crazy, being so negative about everything. So I am going to try the meds on them and see how they do this weekend. I am also going to revamp both rooms that they are in so they have the most stimulation in there - toys, more perches, etc.

We had to cancel our trip this weekend because we don't want to stress them out further with strangers in the house pet sitting.

Any other crazy suggestions? Re-homing will never be an option, and if meds and vet don't work out, we will likely get a behaviouralist in to see them.

@MollysMom speaking of behaviorist, have you scanned through Jackson Galaxy's information about this?

 

[Nicolemorgan]

Oh, we really feel for you @MollysMom! HUGS!
This type of situation cannot be easy for you and your husband to be going through.
It truly sounds so odd, I wonder what it was that made them want to behave this was to each other, if it was the windstorm or what.

Hopefully the meds might work, and help level them out.
Sorry you had to cancel your trip as well.
We are thinking about you all everyday and just hoping that Molly and Leo will get along.
I know what you mean about re-homing, that would never be an option. And I think a behaviorist would be a wonderful option if the medications don't work.

Please keep us updated, and Nicole and I will continue to keep thinking of you all and sending healing vibes to you all!

-Morgan

 

[fuzzy bare]

Will have to dig out the Feliway. Good suggestion! Yes @Nicolemorgan we are in Spruce Grove. The wind has been nuts here since last night.

What is Feliway?

 

[Catzzzmeow]

@fuzzy bare here is some on it Feliway Diffuser / Feliway / Feliway

 

[Yoda mom]

@fuzzy bare , if you have / get a diffuser to start out -
these refills - very cost effective and easy to store -
I stumbled across them on Amazon - it's a refill 6 pack only * no diffuser