once loving cats, one is now hissing at the injured cat?

Question

We adopted a male and female cat very young. They were brought up together, both are now fixed and about 10 months old. They are both indoor/outdoor cats. The other night the male came home with an injured tail and back paw. We've cleaned her up and she seems on the mend. But now the female cat hisses at her and puts her paw up at the male like to strike. They always got along very well, sleeping together, playing etc. What's up with this attitude? We're not sure if perhaps the female actually did the damage to the male or if some other animal did it. But is it possible the female thinks the male is now weaker? We have to keep them separated now and it breaks our hearts. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

I think it's unlikely that your female attacked your cat, it was more likely to have been a neighbouring cat or other animal. Cats rely very heavily on their sense of smell. Perhaps she can smell the other animal on him, or maybe it's the smell of whatever you used to clean the wound. There is a scent that she doesn't recognise and she is afraid of it.

Something similar happened to me last month when our boy cat Merlin sneaked outdoors and hid in the engine space of a parked car. When I brought him back inside, I wasn't prepared for the hostile reaction from our female cat Sophie. She was hissing, growling and trying to attack Merlin. I decided to separate them and reintroduce them to each other as if they had never met before. Sophie had the run of the home (allowing her to feel in charge of her territory) and I kept Merlin in our bedroom overnight with his food, water and a litter tray. The following day, I let Merlin have the run of the house and put Sophie in our bedroom for a couple of hours, so that she could investigate his smell. I did this every day, until on the fourth day, Sophie could finally tolerate his presence in the same room as her. I don't know if it helped or not, but I also used a Feliway spray as they are said to emit pheromones that are soothing to cats. They are getting on a lot better now, and today for the first time since they had their fall out, I saw Merlin washing Sophie, so I guess things are almost back to normal between them.

Once the unfamiliar scent on your male begins to fade, your female will react more normally to him. After stroking him, let her smell your hands to help her get used to his scent. After stroking her, handle him, so that you get their scents intermingled. Just be patient, hopefully your female cat should calm down within the next few days.

Good luck.

Answer 2

It could be that the injured cat smells different now. What you used to clean her up and treat her injuries may be masking her normal scent and the other cat is confused and not sure whether it is really the cat she knows or an intruder. Or the scent of whatever injured the cat -- some predator or a dog or another cat -- may still be on your cat.

Hopefully the unfamiliar scents will soon fade away and things will get back to normal. You may be able to speed things along by putting something such as a small amount of baby powder on both cats (just a little, on the top of the head) so they will both smell the same.

Answer 3

Cats have to establish dominance between themselves when they live together. Should circumstances change, the one that becomes the strongest will challenge the former leader.

You are not doing them any favors by interfering. You also need to let both cats know that you are the dominant member of the household and then maybe they will stop. Don't wing it, pick up a book about cat behavior so you know the proper rituals of a dominant cat.