Sister kitten acting weird towards brother!!

CAT24

We have 5 month brother and sister kittens. We got the boy spayed today and since we brought him home the girl is acting very strange towards him. She wouldn't go near him at the start and now when he even looks at her, she hisses and makes really threatening noises.

We are afraid to leave them alone together tonight. Has anyone got any experience of this or any idea what we can do?:eek:

carwash_2006

She is probably feeling a bit sore and cranky. It is a much more intrusive op for the girls than the boys, so he may be looking to play when she just wants to sleep.

Mightn't be a bad idea to give her a few hours of peace.

CAT24

Its the boy that we got spayed the sister got nothing done to her but she is the one hissing at him.

carwash_2006

Sorry I misread that. I'd say he just smells funny then, some animals aren't too keen on the smell from the vets that is on other animals when they come back. You shoul dbe ok leaving them together as long as they have places they can get away from each other if they want.

SMK

I agree, it's probably cos he smells differently and she's confused. Also, he might be feeling sore and is being cranky and the sister doesn't like it!! I notice with my two cats that they can give a look that is more intimidating than an action!!! I reckon they will be back to normal in a 2-3 days.

Sigma Force

Males get neutered, females get spayed.

He probably smells different give them a few days to settle down. Is the female getting spayed?

CAT24

She is not getting spayed for another few months because the vet said that she is still a bit small. It's really upsetting now at this stage, he can't even look at her or she goes mad hissing and growling etc, at our wits end with her now. He is not even retaliating, he just runs away!

He has cleaned himself loads and she must still get the smell and we don't know what to do! Half thinking that we will have to get rid of her if it continues because it is making everyone unhappy

hadook

It's only been a day - give them some time and they'll work it out.

SMK

Try putting a bit of oil from a tin of tuna on both of them (at base of their tails) so they will both smell the same. Or get two towels, rub one towel on the male and then rub the same towel on the female and then do the reverse with the other towel.

I know it's very upsetting watching the two cats act like this but I'm sure it will pass.

Sigma Force

It's a bit drastic wanting to get rid of one after such a short time, she will be fine and also wait until she is spayed..6months is the standard age for females anyway. When she's spayed after a couple of weeks see if things change. She may just be maturing now and be a bit hormonal and he is also probably giving off some sort of vibe as it takes a couple of weeks for the hormones to balance out.

Also instead of getting rid of the cat deal with the behaviour problem how about contacting kitten adoption and see if they can give you some advice on the behaviour side of things.

Also some people use a DAP diffuser thingymajig you can get it at some vets, it's a plug in thing and aparently helps cats when they are stressed out. Be sure to get the ones for cats. Not 100% familiar with it as have never used it but have heard good things about it.

carwash_2006

It's the Feliway that you use for cats, the DAP is for dogs.

Wait and see in another couple of days they will be fine again.

I had to bring one of mine to the vets recently, she was only in there for 5 minutes getting a couple of injections and some antibiotics. When we got home, my boy, who is normally the biggest soppy, was hissing at her and didn't wan't her near him. Ok, so he has a good excuse, after his neuter he managed to lick the cord out of the wound and had to go back in to have it removed which probably was not a nice experience. He goes mad when he goes to that particular vet, but is fine with other vets.

The Sweeper

This might be a bit late - but it's almost definitely a vet smell problem. The stink of a vet's visit is very, very strong to your pet. Try taking off one of YOUR t-shirts, or pulling something out of the laundry basket, and rubbing it all over the male kitten. Do what others have suggested to put the smell of what's familiar on the male - rub bedding on him, rub a towel on her then on him, whatever.

It's not her behaviour that's the problem - see he's come home and he feels a bit poorly, so he bimbles up to his sister, familiar as you please, for a headbut and nose-touch and a wash, and she's going, WhothehellareyouIdon'tknowyougetoutofmyfaceHISSHISSHISSSPIT!!! Her reaction is pretty natural. Don't give out to her for it - make a fuss of her so she feels comfortable, then give the two of them some treats together (her first, then him). Stroke both - her first, then him - you'll also help transfer scent. Based on the date you posted, it should really have already sorted itself out - maybe another day tops!

Rancid

You're right, it does take days for the vet-smells to wear off.

In this case, it's not just the strange antiseptic smell on the kitten's fur, it's the really strong anaesthetic smell that's oozing from every pore of his skin, and probably from his breath, also.
It'll remain in his system for a few days and then gradually lessen, added to that is the inevitable antibiotic injection he was given, so no wonder he smells alien to his sister-kitten.

All the advice above is good, rubbing him with tshirts, etc.,
His litter tray, too, will have that strong vet/meds smell, so change it more regularly.

Another day or so and things should be back to normal.

CAT24

Thanks to everyone for all your advice. Very hard to know whats happening in situations like this when it has never happened before. It has gotten a bit better since I last posted. She can tolerate him a bit more and she even plays with him (only on her terms of course). We can count the amount of hissing today and compared to when he first came back it's a big improvement.

Nobody warned us about this happening and to be honest we thought he was the one that was going to act a bit odd.

Minesajackdaniels, your definitely right. You put into words exactly what happened when he came home. He went over for a bit of nose touching and hugging and she looked like him like he was a wild animal, you could nearly hear her thoughts.

Thanks again to everyone, hoping it gets a bit better every day