Redirected Aggression and Changes in Behaviour

[CatsAtStGeorges]

Hello all,

Two of my cats are having problems since one of them went to the vet last Tuesday. Prior to the vet, they were best friends, always playing together and sleeping together. Now non vet cat started hissing at vet cat when he came home. Since then we have made some progress, they have started play fighting again on occasion (instigated by both cats) and licking each other, however non vet cat won’t let vet cat sleep with him anymore. They used to sleep together all the time and I’m devastated to see poor vet cat constantly rejected, he looks so sad all the time. I have read all of the resources and nothing seems to be helping, is this going to be it for us now? I really can’t bear it. I’m at home all day every day atm and it’s really negatively impacting my mental health

[Joe_Danger]

With three, now four cats myself, this is one of my biggest fears.
Unfortunately this happens and if you've read and tried everything, all you can do is be patient and be happy they're slowly starting to be friends again, even if they don't sleep together it doesn't mean they won't like each other. If they're grooming/licking each other that's a very very good signs things are ok, it's just non vet cat is still irritated by the vet smell.

I'll give you an example with mine.
Mom Mila loves her boy Casper to pieces, except last year Casper got some kind of a minor cold and one of his eyes started leaking more than usual.
Whenever Mila would see his face she'd hiss at him, it was starting to make Casper very sad, he couldn't understand why his mom hates him all of a sudden, the stain on his face freaked her out to a point where she couldn't stand being near him if she saw his face. She'd sometimes groom him from behind, he turns around, stain pops into her view and she freaks out

One the stain started fading, Mila stopped being afraid of her boy and everything has been fine since then

So your cats will come around, if they're grooming one another, that's fantastic progress.

EDIT: If you haven't already, do try and apply some vanilla to their butts, cats don't mind the smell of vanilla, they even like it and if they both smell the same it might speed up the re introduction process.

[Maywaters]

With three, now four cats myself, this is one of my biggest fears.
Unfortunately this happens and if you've read and tried everything, all you can do is be patient and be happy they're slowly starting to be friends again, even if they don't sleep together it doesn't mean they won't like each other. If they're grooming/licking each other that's a very very good signs things are ok, it's just non vet cat is still irritated by the vet smell.

I'll give you an example with mine.
Mom Mila loves her boy Casper to pieces, except last year Casper got some kind of a minor cold and one of his eyes started leaking more than usual.
Whenever Mila would see his face she'd hiss at him, it was starting to make Casper very sad, he couldn't understand why his mom hates him all of a sudden, the stain on his face freaked her out to a point where she couldn't stand being near him if she saw his face. She'd sometimes groom him from behind, he turns around, stain pops into her view and she freaks out

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One the stain started fading, Mila stopped being afraid of her boy and everything has been fine since then

So your cats will come around, if they're grooming one another, that's fantastic progress.

EDIT: If you haven't already, do try and apply some vanilla to their butts, cats don't mind the smell of vanilla, they even like it and if they both smell the same it might speed up the re introduction process.

If you have multiple cats that are constantly fighting, you may want to try using vanilla extract. Cats are very sensitive to smell, and the scent of vanilla is known to be calming. Simply put a few drops of vanilla extract on a cotton ball and place it near the area where the cats typically fight. You may need to experiment with different amounts and locations to find what works best, but eventually, the cats should start to avoid each other.

Personally, my two cats joy and Berlin have been buddies for over 16 months, but Berlin had surgery 3 months ago and when she returned home, joy never wanted to see or play with her.

I had to separate the both of them, so that Berlin could heal without complications. Last money, I tried getting them to play together, but the aggression set in again, I was lucky to stumble on this post and it worked like magic.