Cats too aggressive after a vet visit

[Susav]

Hello,

I have 2 male cats. Pablo is a Blue Russian 3 years old (neutered) and Hugo Ragdoll 1 year old (not neutered). We noticed a lump on Pablo, and we took him to the vet for a checkup. After we returned home we let him out of his cage and he behaved normal, but Hugo got very aggressive and started attacking him with such aggression, I couldn't even imagine. We quickly stopped them and thought it was just a 1 time thing, but he kept attacking him until a point Pablo was too terrified to be near him, so we separated them in different rooms. We latter learned it was our fault for letting them together so quickly after the vet. But sine then (2 weeks) Pablo can't even look at Hugo without growling and hissing. 1 week after the incident we took Hugo to get neutered as well. Hoping that it would help. Since then we've been trying to get them together a little at a time, by holding them in the same room, at safe distance in our arms (my wife and I), in hopes they will get used to each other again. Hugo seems passive and half curious but shows no sings of aggression, but Pablo is same as from the start. We even got some cat pheromones to help, but no progress. He curls up in a ball, stiff and nonstop growling and hissing (attempts last from 10min to 30 min). We fear they could kill each other if we lose track of them for 1 second. We also tried feeding them within eyesight of each other but nothing worked.
We are desperate. Any ideas or suggestions we can try would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

[Ruth B]

Welcome to the forum and it sounds like you have two beautiful cats there, I admit I have a soft spot for Ragdolls.

You made a mistake, we've all done it at times, now it's just a case of settling things down again.

When you stop and think about it Pablo was dragged away from the place he knows and feels safe, i'm not sure how long he was at the vets for tests (I'm hoping the lump was nothing serious), but when he got back he was no doubt feeling picked on and possible pulled about and under the weather, the moment he thought he was back somewhere safe, someone who he thought was safe attacked him viciously for no reason. As for Hugo, Pablo would have smelt entirely wrong, smelling all of the vets, a scent that many animals dislike even if they have never been there, thought it was an intruder and being unneutered at the time the Testosterone kicked in full wack and he did what was natural and defended his territory. Having him neutered (I was glad to read he had been done, I was all ready to start stating all the reasons why it was better if he was neutered) will help, but it does take a few weeks for all of the hormone to get out of his system so to Pablo he still smells like an aggressive male cat.

My advise would be to go back to stage one introductions with them. Separate them into separate rooms if possible, give them both time to calm down and recover from their respective vet visits and then start introductions as if they were new cats, going through all the scent exchanges, letting them hear and smell each other through closed doors, if you can have them in separate rooms then let them time share the rest of the house so they get used to each other's scent again with out there being any aggression. Hopefully then Pablo will realise that Hugo is no longer going to attack him and will stop feeling the need to be defensive all the time.

Once Pablo is used to Hugo scent on things and doesn't react to it try feeding them with a barrier between them if possible, something they can see and hear each other through but can't actually get to each other through, Pablo will probably growl and hiss at Hugo, but if Hugo isn't being aggressive any longer then hopefully he won't react to Pablo. The hard part it to leave them to it, as long as they can't get to one another they can't hurt one another. You then have to step away so to speak and let them accept each other, while you are anxious Pablo thinks there is reason to be scared and it will make him carry on acting defensively, if you can act as if there is no danger then he should pick up on that and accept that Hugo isn't a danger, one of you might have to be with Hugo to give him a fuss if he gets upset about being growled at, but again just try and act as if you are just giving him a fuss and not concerned about Pablo's growling.

Once they have accepted each other with a barrier between them then try letting them into the same room together, have something close to hand to separate them in need be, a cushion or a pillow, you don't want to end up at A&E if things go wrong, but hopefully by this point they will be friends again.

As with any introduction this could take anything from a few days to several weeks the main thing is not to rush each stage, make sure that everyone is happy and confident with how things are and then move on to the next step.

I'm sure they will settle down again and become the friends they once were, hopefully you can let us know how it goes and put up a few pictures of them together.

[Susav]

Hey thanks for the reply.
Yeah we definitely made a mistake, we had no knowledge of non-recognition aggression before. The reason Hugo wasn't neutered before is that we were waiting for him to be 1 year old, which he just turned recently. The main problem we are having is that Pablo definitely recognizes Hugo, but because of the previous attack doesn't want to give him a chance to make up.
We are trying to let the roam the house and sit in each others spots, beds etc, and keep 1 locked in a separate room so there is no chance of accidental encounter. When we do get them in the same room Pablo curls up in a ball and growls and hisses while Hugo sits calmly in my wifes arms, giving Pablo the "OK signals" such as slow eye blink, exposed belly etc. Pablo isn't trying to attack, but if we let Hugo free he will walk up to him, which makes Pablo panic to the extreme, so we avoid letting him walk free. We will just have to very slowly keep trying to let Pablo calm down.
But that raises another problem. As it turns out the lump is a cancerous tumor, caused by vaccines no less. So now he needs an operation and will need chemo therapy, making him go to the vet frequently, meaning we could be back to square one every time
His operation is tomorrow so hope all goes well, tumor didn't spread to the lungs yet.
As for the photos, you can have a look as their Instagram account
https://www.instagram.com/hugoandpablo/

Thank you

[Ruth B]

They are a gorgeous pair, and fingers crossed the treatment for the tumor goes well, I'd heard of cats having reactions to vaccines but not ones that caused tumors before.

It sounds like what you are doing is right and it will just take time, more so than normal due to the added complications.

Trying to reintroduce them while Pablo is having treatment is going to be difficult, but it sounds like Hugo has typical Ragdoll attitude and just wants to be friends now. I'd try and stop Hugo going over to Pablo and encourage Pablo to approach Hugo when you can. When Pablo comes back from his op keep him separate until he is over the anesthetic and obviously back to feeling himself, then start them them meeting again. If you have a cloth or towel that you can rub Hugo over with then rub it over Pablo it should help prevent any reoccurence or the initial return from vets problem. You can also get Cat Wipes, a wet wipe that is designed to use on cats (I found them when my old Ragdoll was getting to the stage he had problems grooming to help him out a bit), which might help mask the scent of the vets, just make sure you get unscented ones. Again the tumor is probably making Pablo feel unwell and defensive which won't be helping, and of course when he starts Chemo he will probably be feeling even worse, I've not know anyone cat or human that didn't have a reaction to Chemo.

Give them both a big fuss from me, and fingers crossed that tomorrow goes well.

[Mayday21]

Hi & welcome. 1st +ve thoughts for Pablo’s op & treatment. He’ll smell strange to Hugo so pls consider Ruth’s comments & I’m sure others will post advice. It’s a worry when things go from serenity to chaos. And on that note, be proud of yourselves for persevering & looking for advice & support which you’ll need through this time. Keep us posted on things. Lots of fusses to Pablo & Hugo. Vivian

[Susav]

Thank you all for your advice, I'll try everything I can, appreciate it.