Help siblings resolve sibling-cat-fight?
June 9, 2015 8:54 AM Subscribe
We had our kitties groomed, now one cat hates the other.
My brother and I have been roommates for the past two years, but the cats belong to him. A week ago we had a professional groomer come to our apartment. She gave the Maine Coon a lion cut (to get rid of those horrible painful mats that were bothering her) and she gave the Bengal a bath. The groomer herself was amazing and the cats look great, but ever since then the Maine Coon has hated the Bengal with a fiery passion.
She hisses whenever the Bengal approaches, they fight, and then she hides under the chair. He goes around the house crying mournfully, presumably out of grief for his sister who now hates him.
We don't intervene when they fight, though we do keep a watchful eye to make sure no one gets hurt. We have tried separating them at night (him with my brother, her with me) which keeps them from killing each other while we sleep, but does nothing to help solve the problem. We read that this behavior can last anywhere up to a week as the Bengal’s smell returns to normal post-bath, but it’s been a week and there’s been no reduction in animosity.
For extra added fun, we are moving in just under two weeks. My brother is moving to another city, we’ll do the drive together with the cats in the car, and then he’ll have a new apartment of his own (I’m moving elsewhere). Last time the cats did a cross-country move they were each other’s buddies & source of comfort. This time…?
TLDR; How can we facilitate the settling of our kitties’ post-grooming sibling squabble before they are both subjected to more trauma?
Mandatory pictures: Bengal; Maine Coon, Until Bath Do Us Part
My brother and I have been roommates for the past two years, but the cats belong to him. A week ago we had a professional groomer come to our apartment. She gave the Maine Coon a lion cut (to get rid of those horrible painful mats that were bothering her) and she gave the Bengal a bath. The groomer herself was amazing and the cats look great, but ever since then the Maine Coon has hated the Bengal with a fiery passion.
She hisses whenever the Bengal approaches, they fight, and then she hides under the chair. He goes around the house crying mournfully, presumably out of grief for his sister who now hates him.
We don't intervene when they fight, though we do keep a watchful eye to make sure no one gets hurt. We have tried separating them at night (him with my brother, her with me) which keeps them from killing each other while we sleep, but does nothing to help solve the problem. We read that this behavior can last anywhere up to a week as the Bengal’s smell returns to normal post-bath, but it’s been a week and there’s been no reduction in animosity.
For extra added fun, we are moving in just under two weeks. My brother is moving to another city, we’ll do the drive together with the cats in the car, and then he’ll have a new apartment of his own (I’m moving elsewhere). Last time the cats did a cross-country move they were each other’s buddies & source of comfort. This time…?
TLDR; How can we facilitate the settling of our kitties’ post-grooming sibling squabble before they are both subjected to more trauma?
Mandatory pictures: Bengal; Maine Coon, Until Bath Do Us Part
The cats are almost certainly stressed because of the upcoming move and acting up. But I'd try to wipe the Bengal down with water only and then dry them with towels that you guys have already used (to get your scent on the Bengal).
posted by jeather at 9:00 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by jeather at 9:00 AM on June 9, 2015
I think the standard advice when two friend-cats start acting like strangers is to re-introduce them as you would with stranger-cats: isolate one, gradually increase the kind of contact they have (smell first, by exchanging things they've scratched on) while feeding them near each other to rebuild positive associations, etc. I don't know if this makes sense given your short timeline, but if you're already having to separate them at night maybe it wouldn't be that much more work.
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:05 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by LobsterMitten at 9:05 AM on June 9, 2015 [1 favorite]
Feliway, and then do the thing where you touch each of them on the top of the head with a drop of vanilla extract on your finger. Now they both smell weird, the same weird, and their strange territorial lizard brains go "oh okay, we're the same now".
I've seen it work in situations I did not think anything was going to help.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:07 AM on June 9, 2015 [10 favorites]
I've seen it work in situations I did not think anything was going to help.
posted by Lyn Never at 9:07 AM on June 9, 2015 [10 favorites]
I saw one of those cat whisperer shows about this and the guy reintroduced them. Way back to the beginning.
posted by crankyrogalsky at 9:15 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by crankyrogalsky at 9:15 AM on June 9, 2015
Lyn Never has it.... Feliway. I'm totally gonna try the vanilla extract thing, for fun more than anything else. Ya never know right?
posted by answergrape at 9:31 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by answergrape at 9:31 AM on June 9, 2015
Don't use too much vanilla extract. Just a little. You can dab a small amount on chin, shoulder blade and where their tail meets the body.
But really, just a little. I think vanilla extract contains alcohol.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 9:49 AM on June 9, 2015
But really, just a little. I think vanilla extract contains alcohol.
posted by OnTheLastCastle at 9:49 AM on June 9, 2015
I have read that you can dunk your hands in their dry food, get lots of food-dust action going, and rub it all over Scary Smelling Cat to get Other Cat to be more accepting. I have not actually tried this.
posted by shiny blue object at 10:38 AM on June 9, 2015
posted by shiny blue object at 10:38 AM on June 9, 2015
This is called 'non-recognition aggression' if you want to google it. After grooming, my fuzzy monsters take a full week to recover, and my groomer tells me that's on the long end of normal.
If they are being worryingly aggressive, yes, separate them. Individual spaces with litter boxes, food, the whole nine yards. Then, crack open the door a tiny bit and let them sniff one another. If you have anything that the cats regularly sleep on that you can rub them with - like a throw blanket - do that.
It takes a few days, but it won't last.
posted by missmary6 at 11:25 PM on June 9, 2015
If they are being worryingly aggressive, yes, separate them. Individual spaces with litter boxes, food, the whole nine yards. Then, crack open the door a tiny bit and let them sniff one another. If you have anything that the cats regularly sleep on that you can rub them with - like a throw blanket - do that.
It takes a few days, but it won't last.
posted by missmary6 at 11:25 PM on June 9, 2015
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posted by mareli at 8:56 AM on June 9, 2015