My cats are still not getting along

[TZ]

For those of you who don't know I was away for most of this week. I intended to take both cats to the vet to kennel but I could NOT catch Sophie and I had to leave before I missed my flight so Smokie went to the vet and Sophie did not. Big mistake, I should have left both at home...Both are really stressed still. And even though Smokie came home from the vet yesterday morning, Sophie is still hissing and growling at Smokie when they get too close. Now she is not totslly running away when she sees Smokie like she did yesterday but still. I know they are both still stressed since they aren't eating much but still..They never so much as growled at each other before this. Should I do anything?:shrug:

[huskerlaw]

1. Smokie smells like the vet.

Give it a few more days. When Kyra came home after being spayed, Spencer hissed at her for a solid week.

It's definitely the vet smell. Think about how that must stink when you amplify the smell to cat level.

I'm sure Sophie is also pissed that she got left home alone for a week and Smokie's pissed he got left at the vet. They're probably saying to each other, "My week sucked worse than yours did! I was all alone!" "NUH-UH! I got stuck at the VET! I thought they were gonna cut something off!" ;)

Seriously though, give them time. If there's already a bit of improvement, they'll be ok in a few more days.

[Orsino]

4. ...and like every pained and frightened animal there. n/t

[GreenPartyVoter]

2. My cats are littermates. When they were kittens and went to the vet for

their operations they each got cussed out big time by the sib who was left home. My theory is that they didn't recognize them because they smelled wrong. They were okay after a few days, though, so maybe yours will be too?

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. Take a paper towel and put some vanilla extract on it. Then rub it on both cats.

The vanilla smell should overwhelm the "vet" smell and make the cats smell like each other. If that doesn't work, there are products you can get -- I think one of them is called Feliway -- that are kind of like kitty Valium. They should be OK in another few days.

Glad you had a good time in MN, it was nice to meet you and get totally plastered with temeah and the other MN DUers. :D

[applegrove]

5. Keep them apart for a few days. Perhaps they will miss each other.

[RainDog]

6. my cats fuss at each other sometimes.

I have a male and female who didn't start out together but who have lived together for a decade. They have areas of domiance in the house... If one cat is lying on my bed, the other will sit at the door until the other leaves. but they can stand side by side and drink and eat. they startled me the other day when I realized one of them was at one end of the couch and one at the other.

but they also play at fighting. they'll hide and jump out at each other sometimes (the calico does this to the tabby more - she's younger, too.)

I got another kitten that had been abandoned and, when I did, the younger cat, the calico, would not come near me for months. when a kid came over her, the kitten got out and I didn't know about it. the last I heard of her, she had followed some deer down the overgrown gullyway behind houses. I went everywhere looking for her... that was so hard.

After a month or so the calico became friendly again.

maybe they're re-establishing territory, too?