Mama cat is fixed now male cat is having behavioral problems? (eating, safe)

[Joracake]

So I have the mother cat that had a litter about 7 to 8 months ago. We kept one of her babies, a male cat. He was fixed about a month ago, Then we just got the mama cat fixed as well this Saturday. I brought her home and she has a cone on her head. As soon as she stepped out of the kennel the male cat lost it. He went directly for her and started hissing and looked like he was going to attack, so I immediately grabbed him and separated him. I didn't really want to try and work it out at the moment because she was just out of surgery and still kind of drugged. I set her up in another room so she could be safe from him and they could both be comfortable. My best guess is she smells completely different and the cone probably looks pretty weird to him. I brought her out the next morning so she wouldn't be cooped up in a room by herself while I worked at home. But he is still hissing and growling at her. Its like he doesn't recognize her at all and is treating her like a foreign animal. He is separated from her right now so he doesn't hurt her or anything, but I want to figure out what I can do right now that is safe so when she is healed in about a week or so, things can go back to normal between the two. They had a great relationship before this (I know that they no longer view each other as Mother and son) PLease let me know any suggestions you would have on this particular situation. Thanks!

[catdad7x]

This sort of thing is quite common after a vet visit or surgical procedure. It's the vet office & medical smells that usually cause it, not to mention the e-collar making it worse. It may take a few days for the smell to go away, so give it some time and keep doing what you're doing. The problem may also continue as long as she has the collar on. FWIW I've had around 10 females spayed in my cat guardian career, and none of them ever needed or wore an e-collar, and there were no problems. If it were me, I would take the thing off (and watch her carefully, of course) and just monitor her for post-op infection. But do what you're comfortable with. Eventually the problem should resolve itself.

[catsmom21]

Never used a collar for a spay, ever. I think vets use them to tack on extra $. As Catdad said, this is completely normal behavior. He doesn't recognize her because of her strange smell. The smell may also trigger a vague memory of his time at the vet though I do think the anesthesia wipes away most of that. Keep them separate as much as possible for a few days until her normal scent returns.

Some people swear by the vanilla trick but I don't know. The method is to put a tiny dab of vanilla (cooking vanilla not perfume) on the chin and root of the tail of each cat, making them smell the same as each other. You could try it anyway. Or just let time passing bring things back to normal.

Well done getting them both neutered and spayed.

[Rene S]

Our late Tucker used to freak out anytime he or the other cats went to the vet's. We'd separate for a few hours and all would be well.

Try rubbing both with the same towel to exchange scents.

FWIW, while others have suggested you may not need a collar, every cat is different. Our Sadie sure needed it--and we actually had to board her for a few days because she tore out one of the stitches! So try without it but monitor and make sure she isn't bothering the incision area.

[LoriNJ]

Gotta agree, this is totally normal behavior any time a cat comes back from the vet. One of our cats used to go bonkers, hissing and swatting anyone who even came home from a check-up appointment.

You are doing the right thing, keeping them separated while she recovers. Eventually, she will start to look and smell normal and their relationship should improve.

As for the e-collar, I agree with the other posters. Most females don't need them, and the internal dissolvable sutures they use during surgery usually keep things together. Of all the females I have ever have spayed -- and that is a LOT -- only one made a mess of her sutures by licking and chewing at them. Try taking the collar off when you can observe her closely. At the first sign of her trying to pull on the sutures or bite them, etc., you can always put the collar back on.