Hi

I have 2 females cats - mother and daughter. They have always been very close - always licking / grooming each other, playing together etc etc.

However...today I took Poppy (the daughter) to the vet to get her spayed. She was there all day - from 8:30 to 5pm - being very well looked after. I've brought her home this evening, and Tigger (mummy) is hissing and growling at her, and doesn't want anything to do with her! She is even refusing to eat next to her!

I'm assuming it's all down to smell, and the daytrip to the vet has brought her back with a different scent. Poppy doesn't seem to be too pleased about being "sent to Coventry" and I'm quite concerned about it too.

Has this happened to anyone elses cat, and how long before they are all back to normal again?

There was a thread about this recently. Basically, you'll have to take it very slowly.

This is quite common when one's been to the vets, it's a scary smell for the other cat.

Can you change their bedding around so they smell the other one's scent ?

Don't force them to be near each other. If you buy a plug in Feeliway atomiser from PetMeds on line that might help.

Try googling for advise.

I've found the thread...way down on page 5.

My apologies for not looking there, and thanks for the advice!

I hope they soon start to get on again.

Recently went through this with my boy who had intergrated fine into my kitty household. He got neutered and had to have a cone on his head for about 3 1/2 days (only taken off when supervised coz he always went straight for the area). So basically he couldn't clean himself up and smelt of vet for an extended period. My bolshy bengal did not like this at all and hissed at him for about a week. She calmed down when he was able to clean himself and re-assert his own scent. Don't worry it will sort itself out its only short term.

one of my 2 cats did this to the other one. It usually took about 3-4 days to settle. You could try wiping the cat that's just come back from the vet with a slightly damp cloth which will encourage her to lick herself - so she'll smell more 'normal' to the other cat - but if she's just been spayed that may be a bit unfair. Depends on how much the hissyfitting is upsetting her? You could also try giving Tigger some Zylkene, which is a milk-based food supplement calming agent for cats (and dogs: different dose). It often works quite well and appears entirely safe.

I agree this stuff is great it was recommended by our vet for Smudge The Barmy Cat and works wonders for her.....

Maybe rub the cat that went to the vets with it's own blanket a bit? Ours tend to be a bit funny like this, but seem to be getting better the more it happens.