Oliver had a vet appt yesterday.
When we returned home Jax wanted to kill Oliver and still does.
So much aggression towards his pal
Has anyone experienced this?
What can I do?
I'm so distraught
Please help I am heartbroken- non recognizable aggression
Please help I am heartbroken- non recognizable aggression
My two cats Oliver & Jax have been buddies since they were 8 weeks old. Now 2.5 yrs old
Oliver had a vet appt yesterday.
When we returned home Jax wanted to kill Oliver and still does.
So much aggression towards his pal
Has anyone experienced this?
What can I do?
I'm so distraught
Oliver had a vet appt yesterday.
When we returned home Jax wanted to kill Oliver and still does.
So much aggression towards his pal
Has anyone experienced this?
What can I do?
I'm so distraught
-
Ruth B
- VIP Cat Chatter!
- Posts: 1998
- Joined: Wed Jun 15, 2016 11:31 am
- No. of cats in household: 3
- Location: Wolverhampton
Re: Please help I am heartbroken- non recognizable aggression
While I have been lucky enough to never had experienced this, i have heard it happen to a lot of cat owners, so it isn't uncommon or a sign anything is wrong with your cats.
Scent is very important to cats and when one comes back from the vets they smell entirely different, and if the cats are used to the smell of the vets they can also associate it with 'bad things', being put in a carrier, being poked and prodded, having needles stuck in them, all essential things, but you can't explain that to a cat. So Oliver came home smelling not of himself but of a bad place, Jax has decided he is an evil intruder that must removed from the premises.
The normal advise is to go back to first principles and reintroduce the two cats as if they were meeting for the first time. Separate them, go through all the scent swapping and feeding either side of the door stages until they are happy with each other again. Don't be upset if they don't become friends over night, it might take a few weeks before they are happy in each others company, just take it one step at a time.
Scent is very important to cats and when one comes back from the vets they smell entirely different, and if the cats are used to the smell of the vets they can also associate it with 'bad things', being put in a carrier, being poked and prodded, having needles stuck in them, all essential things, but you can't explain that to a cat. So Oliver came home smelling not of himself but of a bad place, Jax has decided he is an evil intruder that must removed from the premises.
The normal advise is to go back to first principles and reintroduce the two cats as if they were meeting for the first time. Separate them, go through all the scent swapping and feeding either side of the door stages until they are happy with each other again. Don't be upset if they don't become friends over night, it might take a few weeks before they are happy in each others company, just take it one step at a time.